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Leading
News
Emergency no bar to holding polls
Staff Correspondent
Law Adviser A. F. Hassan
Ariff on Thursday said some sections of the Emergency
Powers Rules have to be relaxed for holding the parliament
election. "The Emergency Powers Rules would be no bar for
voting but some sections have to be relaxed for
electioneering activities. Activities like electioneering
campaign, meeting and procession need relaxation of
emergency rules," he told reporters at a weekly briefing
at the Secretariat yesterday. Asked whether the emergency
would be withdrawn to return fundamental rights to the
people, the Law Adviser said it is a matter of collective
decision.
On whether Army would go back to the barrack if the
emergency is withdrawn, the Law Adviser said there is no
relation between the withdrawal of emergency rules and the
Army’s return to the barrack as the Army can assist the
civil administration. About the price hike of essentials
due to the enforcement of emergency, he said, "I have no
such information that the prices of essentials are going
up due to the continuation of emergency".
Talking about the various activities by the Law Ministry,
Ariff said the Law Ministry has initiated a separate
secretariat for judiciary. The electoral rules relating to
constituency demarcation and registration of the political
parties have been finalised, he mentioned saying it would
help to hold a free and fair election. The Law Adviser
also said the establishment of the independent Election
Commission Secretariat is almost final. Beside the
Government is formulating Right to Information Act to
ensure the free flow of information, he informed that a
committee has been formed with a representative from the
Law Ministry to examine some drafts by members of the
civil society. Ariff also said that the Human Rights
Commission is in the final stage.
Khaleda sends another letter to EC: Attorney
Staff Correspondent
The detained BNP Chairper-son Begum Khaleda Zia on
Thursday sent another letter to the Election Commission
(EC) asking it to communicate with Khandoker Delwar
Hossain in any affairs relating to the BNP. "In front of
us, Begum Khaleda Zia today (Thursday) has sent letter to
the EC through the jail authorities asking the Commission
to communicate with Khandoker Delwar Hossain," Khaleda’s
attorney Nawshad Zamir said while briefing newsmen at the
Nam residence of Khandoker Delwar Hossain after meeting
Begum Zia in makeshift jail at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in
the capital.
Nawshad Zamir and another lawyer Sanaullah Miah held one
and a half hours meeting with Khaleda Zia. After coming
out of the sub-jail, they first met the party Secretary
General and then briefed the newsmen. "The letter
addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, ATM Shamsul
Huda, said, ‘I appointed Khandoker Delwar Hossain the
party Secretary General on September 2, so you are
requested to communicate with him in any party affairs
including holding dialogue’," Nawshad said, adding,
"Earlier on November 5, Begum Zia had also sent a letter
to the EC, but we as well as madam do not know where the
letter is now and that’s why she sent the second letter to
the EC. The jail authorities have assured us of sending
the letter to the Commission." In reply to a question,
Sanaullah said, "Begum Khaleda Zia termed the 29 October
meeting at Saifur’s residence illegal." "BNP standing
committee meeting cannot be convened by anybody except me
and moreover, there were only six standing committee
members as Mannan Bhuiyan is no more a party standing
committee member following my expulsion," Khaleda Zia was
quoted to have said.
When attention was drawn to the statement of Mahbub Uddin
Khokon, another counselor of Begum Zia and who met her
recently, Nawshad said, "Begum Zia has long been calling
for forging unity in the party and she has no grievance
against anybody inside the party and the party’s door is
open for all." Responding to another query, Nawshad said,
"Begum Zia is still on her earlier stand on the expelled
party leaders." He alleged that although the court has
ordered to allow three lawyers including Delwar Hossain to
meet Begum Zia, the jail authorities did not allow him to
meet her, even after submitting application with
photograph in line with jail code.
Earlier, the party Acting Office Secretary, Ruhul Kabir
Rizvi Ahmed, went to the jail gate and submitted a letter
to the jail authorities seeking permission for the party
Secretary General to meet Begum Khaleda Zia soon.
Rice export to BD
India to protect its interest first: Pinak
Staff Correspondent
India would uphold its own interest first in terms of rice
export and feed its people. "Considering its own interest,
India has put restriction to export rice priced below 500
US dollars", said Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty while answering queries from
newsmen after a meeting with Home Adviser M A Matin at his
office on Thursday. About his meeting with the Home
Adviser, he said, "We have discussed various bilateral
issues including rice exports, exchange of terrorists
between the two countries and political issues". Asked
whether Indian decision to put restriction on rice export
would have any impact on bilateral relation between two
countries, he replied in the negative, saying India will
see to its own interest. On why LCs opened earlier would
come under the latest restriction on rice export, Pinak
Ranjan said the Government has no knowledge where and how
many LCs have been opened but the government has put
restriction considering the greater interest of the people
of India. It is the responsibility of the Indian
Government to feed its people, he said adding his
Government has put restriction on low quality rice only.
Indian High Commissioner mentioned India needs huge amount
of rice as the rice eating people in India is large. When
asked the people of Bangladesh are affected by the
restriction on rice export, he said, "Should we starve and
feed you". On the Indian government's alleged failure to
implement its commitments to assist Bangladesh in
post-disaster situations between 2004 -2008, Ranjan said,
"We have started to implement our commitments and rice has
come to Bangladesh in the last one week".
India has support for the institutional reforms in
Bangladesh, he said adding India wants Bangladesh to hold
a free and fair election to restore democracy. It is
possible to exchange criminal between two countries
without extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India,
he observed.
Second round dialogue with
political leaders
EC to start from Feb 24
Staff Correspondent
The
Election Commission (EC) will start its second round of
dialogue with the political parties on electoral reforms
from February 24.
"As the time is flying away we are going to start the
second round dialogue with the political parties from
February 24. We will hold talks with the three political
parties in a day," Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul
Huda told journalists at his Election Commission (EC)
Secretariat office on Thursday.
He said the EC will sit separately with each political
party, not with all the 17 political parties at a time.
The dialogue will begin at 10.30 am and will continue till
4.10 pm everyday. Each political party will be given one
and half hour for talks. A five-member delegate from each
political party will be invited for dialogue.
"Earlier, during the first round of dialogue, the
political parties had made recommendations. We have
examined the recommendations. Now the EC will make its
stand and views clear to the political parties for holding
a free, fair and credible election. If any political party
disagrees with us, EC will have nothing to do. EC will do
its job as per its responsibility. We think that the task
will be easy as the dialogue will be held separately with
each political party," the CEC said.
As per schedule the EC will begin its dialogue with
Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB), Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) and Bangladesh Sammobadi Dal on February 24, Workers
Party, Communist Party (CPB) of Bangladesh (CPB) and Awami
League on February 25, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya
Samajtantrik Dal (Inu) and National Awami Party (NAP) on
February 26, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Jatiya
Samajtantrik Dal (Rab) and Jatiya Party (JP) on February
27 and Islamic Oikkya Jote, Krishak Sramik Janata League
and Ganotantri Party on February 28. Replying to a query
about holding dialogue with BNP, the CEC said the EC wants
a court decision on holding of the stalled dialogue with
BNP.
"We will wait for the court verdict about which faction
will be invited for dialogue. A decision in this regard is
expected to come after the hearing on a writ filed in the
High Court. Four months have already passed by. We had an
expectation that the feud between the two factions of BNP
will be resolved soon. But both factions are engaged in
filing writ petition against each other," the CEC said.
Utilise country’s every inch of land: Moeen
UNB, Noakhali
Amid a
production shortfall of food-grains, Chief of Army Staff
General Moeen U Ahmed called for utilizing every inch of
country’s land for boosting food output.
He made the remark while addressing a rally on the Char
Jubli Habib Ullah Mia Hat High School premises in
Subornachar upazila on Thursday. "Import of food would not
solve the food-deficit problem nor will it bring down
prices of rice. Food deficit has to be solved through
boosting production," he said, calling for utilizing 30
crore hands of 15 crore people. General Moeen, whose force
is backing the present reformist caretaker government,
told his audience that two-thirds of allocated money of
development projects used to be wasted earlier.
"Now speed has returned in development activities as full
funds are being used in development activities," he said.
Earlier, General Moeen distributed one irrigation pump
machine, one power tiller and one urea fertilizer machine
among the members of Modern Krishi Samabaya Samity.He also
handed over books to the heads of Char Jabbar Degree
College and Habib Ullah Mia High School. GOC of Comilla
region Major General Anwar Hossain was present on the
occasion. General Moeen flew in here by a helicopter from
Feni. After arrival, he went to Gassapia village where he
inaugurated small milk-farm project of the army. Earlier,
the Army Chief, also chairman of the Trust Bank operated
by the Sena Kalyan Trust, inaugurated the bank’s newly
opened Feni branch.
Speaking on the occasion General Moeen U Ahmed underscored
the need for setting up more Export Processing Zones (EPZ)
in the country for boosting its problem-ridden economy.
"Utilizing our concept and example India has set up 250
EPZs in the country where we have only eight," General
Moeen said. Speaking on the activities of the Trust Bank
General Moeen said dividends of the bank are used in
assistance of the poor army personnel and also the uplift
projects. "Country’s people will be able to play an
effective role in the country’s development process by
depositing their money with this bank," Moeen U Ahmed
said.
Talking on EPZ, General Moeen said the government has
already approved the setting up of an Export Processing
Zone at the abandoned Feni Airport owned by the Armed
Forces. Trust Bank managing director Iqbal U Ahmed gave
the welcome speech on the occasion. The function was
attended, among others, by Trust Bank Manager Major
General Aminul Hasan, Comilla containment and 33 infantry
division GOC Major General Anwar Hossain and assistant
vice-president of corporate and marketing department of
the bank Aftab Mahmud.
Fire in city slum
20 injured, 2000 shanties gutted
Staff Correspondent
A
devastating fire injured at least 20 people and gutted
around 2000 makeshift, thatched houses and shops at
Tikka Para slum under Mohammadpur police station in the
city in the early hours of Thursday. Critically injured
people were rushed to different hospitals and clinics.
According to Fire Brigade and police sources the fire
might have originated from an electric fault or an oven
at about 1.55 am and started engulfing the whole area.
Within moments around 2000 makeshift, thatched houses
and shops were gutted by the fire, the sources said
Soon after the catastrophe, thousands of slum dwellers
came out of their residence and gathered on the street
and later started crying. They also sought help from the
nearby people and were seen running for safety leaving
here and there.
On receipt of the information, firefighters from
different parts of the capital rushed to the spot. They
were able to dowse the blaze after hours of efforts. The
extent of damage is estimated to be about Tk two crore,
according to police and local people.
"We saw our houses and properties burning in front of
our eyes; everything were destroyed within moments. We
do not know what we will eat today, Thursday. Our
females and children will be the worst sufferers as we
do not have any living place. We will have to pass
nights under the open sky amid chilly wind," a group of
slum dwellers told this correspondent.
Back Page
Second
submarine cable soon
Steps to improve ICT sector: CA
Staff Correspondent
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin
Ahmed on Thursday said the present caretaker government
has taken various measures to overcome the weakness of ICT
sector and efforts are on to have second submarine cable
soon.
"To ease the communication and connect bridge with the
globe, our government has taken some measures including
setting up of second submarine cable while the formulation
of International Long Distance (ILDTS) Policy is under
implementation," the Chief Adviser said while he was
inaugurating the five-day long nation's largest ICT
exposition. Bangladesh Association of Software and
Information Service (BASIS) organised the SOFTEXPO 2008 at
Bangladesh China Friendship Centre.
Besides, Fakhruddin Ahmed said formulation of National
Broadband Policy will be approved soon and reduction of
bandwidth price is also under process.
"If it is needed we may revise the price again. For
un-interrupted communication, arrangement for alternative
fiber optic connection, between Dhaka and Cox's Bazar has
been made. Preparation for issuance of licenses on Call
Center, IP Telephony, WiMAX and 3G is going on.
Implementing IT-based Voter ID Registration cum National
ID Card Project and Chittagong Port Automation Project,"
he said.
The Chief Adviser said the caretaker government has
identified some key reasons of the weakness of ICT sector.
"These are lack of awareness of what ICTs could offer,
insufficient telecommunications infrastructure and
Internet connectivity, expensive Internet Access, absence
of adequate legal and regulatory frameworks and shortage
of requisite human capacity. But we are confident we will
able to overcome these weakness," he added.
He said it is now widely accepted that ICTs have become
the center of an economic and social transformation that
is affecting all countries.
"In fact, ICTs and globalization have combined to create a
new economic and social landscape. In so doing, ICTs have
brought fundamental changes in the way enterprises and
economies as a whole function. The more connected and
active a country is in the global knowledge and
information economy, the better the chances of the country
to achieve accelerated socio-economic development,"
Fakhruddin Ahmed said.
Realizing the huge importance of this sector, he said the
government has already declared IT as the 'highest
priority sector' in the current National Export Policy.
"A Taka 1 billion fund has also been sanctioned separately
in the current year's budget for an Equity and
Entrepreneurship Fund for the sector," Fakhruddin Ahmed
added.
He said the present caretaker government has taken a
number of initiatives- for-e-governance in different
ministries, divisions, departments and corporations.
"In private sector, e-health and e-Banking have started
functioning. But governments alone can not bridge the
'digital divide' by themselves. The business sector and
civil society all have essential roles to play.
Partnership among all Information Society stakeholders
will be crucial as we continue our efforts to extend the
benefit of the communications revolution to all," the
Chief Adviser further said.
"The government is also looking forward to newer
public-private initiatives, particularly in the areas of
e-Governance implementation, human resources and
infrastructure development in the IT sector for
facilitating its faster growth," Fakhruddin Ahmed said.
He further said the economic benefits of ICT investment
stem from the increased productivity of businesses using
ICT services as catalyst for or complement of other
development activities.
No technology to detect fake notes
Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh Bank has failed to detect fake notes as it does
not have any modern technology to sort out forged
currency.
"As we don't have any modern fake currency detection
machine, we are unable to find out fake notes. We are very
much concerned as the country especially the rural areas
are inundated with huge fake notes of various
denominations, posing a serious threat to the national
economy," Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed said
while talking to reporters after coming out of an
agreement signing function, between National Credit and
Commerce Bank Limited (NCC Bank) and Thengamara Mohila
Sabuj Sangha (TMSS), a micro-credit NGO, in the city on
Thursday.
Fake notes of various denominations have again started
flooding the city markets as well as the country. Well-organised
miscreants are engaged in copying money with a view to
cheating the people. They are preparing and spreading a
huge quantity of fake notes throughout the country every
day as there is no apparent means to contain the crime of
making fake notes, find out the criminals and bring them
to justice.
They have been using computers, machines, seals and other
technologies for long in a bid to produce fake notes and
they are active at different places in the capital. New
comers to the city and the low income groups are the main
target of the forgers. The forgers usually go to crowded
market places at night and hurriedly try to exchange their
fake notes.
Earlier, the members of the RAB and the Detective Branch
(DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested several people
on charge of copying money and other valuable documents
like stamps and educational certificates from different
areas of the city and recovered a large quantity of
counterfeit notes of various denominations along with
computers, machines and emboss seals, which were used to
produce fake notes, educational certificates and revenue
stamps, from their possession.
People panic passing Rangs Bhaban
Ainul Haque Royal
Panic is still griping the
residential people, businessmen and travellers who are
living or passing around the 22-storey vulnerable Rangs
Building at Bijoysarani in the city as deadly accidents
may occur any time.
"Panic always grips us since the night of December 8,
2007. When strong wind blows or mild earth quack jolt the
city, we are frightened. Following the partial collapse of
the tall building on that night, we had left our
residences as the expert cautioned us that the situation
is risky and the building might collapse any time. But
within a short time we were compelled to return," local
residents and businessmen told The Bangladesh Today.
Meanwhile, talking to this correspondent RAJUK Chief
Engineer, Shah Alam said work on removal of all rubbish
and debris from the building will be completed today
(Friday).
"Under the direction of BUET teachers who have been
appointed as advisers, the RAJUK is working. We will be
able to remove all rubbish from the building today,
Friday, and the BUET teachers will visit the site tomorrow
(Saturday). After visiting the site, whatever suggestions
would be made by the teachers, the RAJUK will follow it.
In fact the condition of the building is more vulnerable.
But we hope, the situation would not take a serious turn
as it still stand since December 8 last year," RAJUK Chief
Engineer said. Replying to a query he said it is not
possible to use control demolition equipments for complete
demolition of the building as many residential and
commercial multi-storey buildings have surrounded the
controversial Rangs Building.
Former BUET Vice-Chancellor Ali Mortuza and teacher of
Civil Engineering Department, Mehedi Hassan Ansari,
advisers of the expert team of RAJUK, who earlier had told
reporters a deadly accident might take place anytime, on
Thursday refused to talk to the reporters on the issue.
Talking to this correspondent both Ali Mortuza and Mehedi
Hassan Ansari said, "We are not bound to talk to the
press. We are maintaining continued communication with
RAJUK. Please don't disturb us," he said
Ibrahim, a labour contractor of Six Star Developer Company
said amid life risk some 28 construction workers were
working in one shift from 8:00am to 5:00pm. "We are
working here only for our livelihood. We don't know our
fate as Allah knows everything. But we are in panic all
the time," Ibrahim said.
Fayez Uddin, engineer of Six Star, said, "We are just
carrying out instruction given by the BUET's teachers. We
have nothing to say about the issue. Obviously, the
building is becoming more vulnerable day by day."
It may be pointed out that at least 12 construction
workers were killed, many others injured as all 11 floors
from the top 14th to sixth of the 22-storey Rangs Building
collapsed on December 8 in 2007.
Crime Watch
Timber recovered, 4 held
A Correspondent, Comilla
About 250 sq. ft. teak timbers were recovered and four
persons were arrested in this connection from
Padwerbazaararea on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sadar
Dakkin upazila on Thursday morning.
Acting on a secret information, members of the local
forest camp led by DFO Saiful Alam Choudhury and Mosharraf
Hossain station officer raided a timber laden truck (No:
Ctg-02-0201) recovered the timbers worth Tk 7 lakh, and
arrested four persons were Ibrahim Miah, 24 of Noakhali,
Jalil Miah, 23 of Comilla, Md. Russel, 18 of Pirojpur and
Belal, 26 of Feni.
One kidnaper arrested
A Correspondent, Chapainawabganj
A kidnaper was arrested and a kidnapped victim was rescued
at Chak Pustam area in Gomostapur upazila on Wednesday
night.
Police sources said, acting on secret information, they
conducted drives in Chak Pustam area and arrested the
kidnaper, Amit Kumar (24), son of Achin Kumar of Sonar
Para under Gomostapur upazila with the kidnapped victim,
Fatema Khatun (13), daughter of Rabiul Alom of MominPara
under same upazila.
A case was filed by the victim's father, Rabiul, with
Gomostapur Thana in this connection and kidnaper Amit was
sent to jail, sources said.
Muggers stab Headmaster
UNB, Kishoreganj
Muggers snatched money and a mobile phone set from a
headmaster after stabbing him at Gouranga Bazar in the
town Thursday morning.
Witnesses said four muggers waylaid Khalilur Rahman (37),
headmaster of Chouganga Shaheed Smriti High School in Itna
upazila, when he was going to the town's bus stand by a
rickshaw at about 6:30 am.
They stabbed him indiscriminately and snatched Tk 5,000 in
cash and a mobile phone set from him. He was admitted to
Sadar hospital in critical condition. A case was filed.
Firearms, bullets seized
UNB, Benapole (Jessore)
Police in separate raids seized two firearms and bullets
from two villages here on Thursday.
On secret information, Police seized a pistol and three
rounds of bullet from under a bridge at Bahadurpur village
at around 4:30 am. Later, they conducted a drive at nearby
Sammandhakati village and recovered another pistol from
near a brick-kiln in an abandoned condition. None was
arrested in this connection.
Timber worth Tk 1.15 lakh seized
UNB, Chandpur
Coast Guard members seized timbers worth about Tk 1.15
lakh from a trawler in mid Meghna river near Horina ferry
ghat in Sadar upazila Wednesday.
Acting on a tip off, when Coast Guard members challenged a
Narayanganj bound Mehagani timber-laden trawler in the
river the smugglers fled away leaving the trawler behind.
Later, coast guards seized the timbers and handed over
those to the forest officials.
31 persons nabbed
BSS, Rajshahi
Police arrested 31 persons including three alleged
drug-peddlers on various charges from different areas in
city and nine upazilas of the district on Wednesday.
Police sources said, of them nine including the
drug-peddlers were picked up from different areas in the
metropolis while 22 others from nine upazilas of the
district.
Police arrested drug-peddlers identified as Saidul Islam,
28, Shamsher Ali, 60, and Nazimuddin, 25, and seized 200
bottles of phensidyl, 203 grams of heroin and 1.25
kilograms of ganja during five separate raids at different
places in the district.
After recording separate cases in these connections the
arrested persons and the seized goods were sent to the
court. Traffic police lodged 35 cases under the motor
vehicles ordinance and seized two motorbikes and a truck
for either without registration during drives against the
non-registered motor vehicles during the time.
2 get 4-yr RI in Rajshahi
BSS, Rajshahi
A trial court sentenced two persons to four years rigorous
imprisonment each on charges of carrying 95 bottles of
phensidyl.
The convicts were identified as Golbahar Ali, 52, and
Poban, 35, were also fined Taka 10,000 each, in default to
suffer six months more behind the bar.
Judge of Anti-smuggling Tribunal-3 Lutfa Begum found them
guilty and pronounced the verdict in a crowded courtroom
on Wednesday.
After examining six prosecution witnesses and other
relevant evidences the tribunal handed down the verdict.
Special Public Prosecutor Jane Alam conducted the cases on
behalf of the state while Advocates Syed Ekramur Rasul and
Shaheenul Haque defended the accused.
3 injured in bomb attacks
BSS, Chuadanga
Three persons were injured by bomb attack at Badarganj
village under Chuadanga sadar upazila of the district on
Tuesday night.
Police said the victims were identified as Sajjad Hossain
Lion, Mofizuddin and Abdul Kadir of the same locality.
Unidentified miscreants hurled five bombs on them while
they were returning home after offering Esha prayers from
the village mosque at around 9.00 pm leaving them injured.
The injured were immediately taken to Chuadanga sadar
hospital for treatment.
Police super Mofizuddin Ahamed visited the spot.
7 drug paddlers arrested
BSS, Joypurhat
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in separate
drives, arrested seven female drug-paddlers and recovered
243 bottles of phensidyl from different places of
Panchbibi upazila in the district on Wednesday.
RAB sources said, acting on tips off, a team of the elite
force raided Manik Bazar and Tantipara area under the
upazila and arrested the women along with the phensidyl.
Of them, Jamila, 40, Buli Begum, 42, Minara Begum, 35, and
Dulali, 38, were arrested with 189 bottles of phensidyl
from Manik Bazar.
In another drive, Papiya, 20, Lili, 27, and Rajeka, 25,
with 54 bottles of phensidyl from Tantipara.
Besides, RAB recovered 160 steel-plates as an abandoned
condition near Panchbibi bus stand on the same day.
Smuggled motor parts seized
BSS, Chuadanga
Members of Bangladesh Rifles seized smuggled motor parts
worth about Taka three lakh from two places of Jibannagar
upazila in the district on Wednesday.
BDR sources said, acting on secret information, BDR jawans
recovered the Indian smuggled motor parts.
Editorial
A
Bridge Too Far
Major
General Ibrahim (Retd) who had recently formed a political
party held a press conference on 11 February 2008 where he
contended that the Bangladesh Armed Forces ought not to take
responsibilities for the failures of the Emergency Government.
The General is of course, entitled to his opinions but few
would agree with him and even fewer would subscribe to his
point of view. The Emergency Government is backed by the
military, the Government has said so, various spokesmen of the
military have said so and the public believes so. If that be
the case why should'nt the military take responsibility for
failures when it claims fulsome credit for successes. Such
blank indemnity cannot be provided to anyone, least of all to
a core State institution, not when one is insisting on good
governance, transparency, responsible government and rule of
law; taking responsibility is a part of all these. When the
military (Army) backed the Emergency, it fully understood what
it was getting into and it nonetheless decided to take on the
responsibilities and the burdens. Now it has to accept the
approbations along with the accolades in equal measure.
There is no denying the fact that over the last 37 years the
Bangladesh Military has been directly involved in governing
our State through Martial Laws for a period of 15 years and
therefore it is both politicized and political. To a very
large extent, lack of transparency, good government and
democratic institutional development can be laid directly at
the doors of military lead or martial-law governments. To a
much greater extent, lack of "rule of law" can also be blamed
on such military governments which provided indemnities to
such acts as mass murders thereby undercutting the very basis
of law, justice and constitutionality. Much as we would like
to close our eyes to these historic realities, we cannot
because it is these that have subsequently defined our
understanding of politics, of government, of nation-building
and indeed our notions of what our Nation-state stands for.
Major General Muhammad Ibrahim (Retd) has called for a bridge
to be built between the Army and the common people of the
Country, well that is going to remain a Bridge Too Far, so
long as our Army (or Military) does not owe up to its deeds
and actions both good and bad and so long as it or its
proponents claim blanket indemnities for its doings.
What's Happening to the Print Media
Some
100 editors of newspapers from around the Country attended a
meet in Dhaka on 12 February 2008. There they picked up
certain issues of relevance and interest to the print media.
The first issue under discussion was the unequal distribution
of Government advertisements. Without doubt the main source of
income of daily newspapers come from advertisements and if the
Governments maintains an inequity in its distribution, the
Government is in effect perpetuating unfair and discriminatory
practices, favouring some one while depriving many others.
The print media is already facing a deep crunch because of
uncontrolled rise of newsprint prices; many newspapers
including some iconic ones are unable to meet their essential
expenditures and the brunt of this has to be borne by people
working for these newspapers who are forced to accept
irregular wages even at reduced rates and that too in these
times of galloping inflation and limited employment. Lack of
regular income is forcing many people in the print media to
take recourse to measures to earn a living which can only be
termed criminal such as blackmail and extortion.
The combination of the above two and other factors is forcing
away talented, educated and committed young people from
Journalism, a profession once considered to be suitable only
for people with the highest integrity, education, talent and
commitment, a profession considered worthy of respect and
admiration. Newspapers not only provide news and information,
they also build and mould public opinions, work as public
"conscience" and reflect hopes and aspiration of the common
people. With all the developments of modern information
technology, nothing as yet has been able to replace the daily
newspaper particularly in countries like Bangladesh where the
mass of the people cannot afford the high price of modern
information technology. Therefore, allowing the print media to
wither and to contract would in no way contribute to progress,
mass-education or indeed to National development. In fact the
Government ought to make every effort at ensuring that the
common people are allowed to procure daily newspapers at the
cheapest possible rates so as to further awareness,
dissemination of information and mass education.
Analysis
The Bangladesh Military in
Politics - A Brief Analysis
The ideal of Bangladesh was a political ideal &
the liberation of Bangladesh was a tribute to the success of
that political ideal - men in uniform were a part of that.
Mahmud Ur Rahman Choudhury
Dateline:
Chittagong Circuit House, Zonal Martial Law Headquarters,
evening 17 March 1971. Four Bengali Army Officers namely
Lt.Col M.R.Choudhury, Major Zia Ur Rahman, Captains Oli Ahmed
& Amin Ahmed Choudhury, sat discussing what course of action
they need to take under the circumstances then prevailing in
East Pakistan. It was decided that they would execute a
coordinated revolt against the Pakistan Army; the exact timing
of the revolt depending on the situation. It was also decided
that communication & liaison with the Awami League (AL)
leadership would be established & maintained.
East Pakistan was in turmoil since January 1971. The
Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 7 March 1971, in a
mammoth public meeting, had virtually declared the
independence of Bangladesh, calling on the people to resist,
to the utmost, any attempt to exert control by force by the
Pakistan Government. The people were in open revolt although
discussions continued between the representatives of AL & the
Pakistan Government, aimed at a settlement acceptable to both
parties.
After the meeting on 17 March 1971, attempts were made to
establish contact with the AL leadership. At first, there was
no response and then a feeble & cautious response to "to hold
on as political discussions were continuing". Bengali members
of the Pakistan military, engaged in Martial Law duties, were
fully aware that the Pakistan military was reinforcing itself,
in East Pakistan, with men, material, armaments & ammunition.
They also knew fully well that the Pakistan military would
soon "go into action" in East Pakistan - all these were passed
to the AL through various channels and still there was no
decisive response to revolt. Sure enough starting from the
night of 25/26 March 1971, the Pakistan Government took the
road of forceful suppression by genocide, of the people of
East Pakistan. Caught totally unawares, the people, including
Bengali members of Pakistan military, Police & East Pakistan
Rifles were killed "en mass". Left to fend for themselves,
Bengali Officers & men analyzed situations, took decisions &
executed the design to revolt against Pakistan. This was
the first instance of abdication of political responsibility
by the politicians where they failed to provide purpose,
direction & control to both the Nation & its military; this
was also the beginning of politicization of the Bangladesh
Military.
Throughout the Liberation War, from 25 March to 16 December of
1971, the Bangladesh Military not only organized itself &
fought but also organized, trained, motivated & led at least a
million men & women in a brutal & ruthless war to liberate
Bangladesh. Men in uniform were shoulder to shoulder with
civilians, from every walk of life, fighting, bleeding & dying
imbued with the same purpose & zeal & some of the same
politics too. The ideal of Bangladesh was a political ideal
& the liberation of Bangladesh was a tribute to the success of
that political ideal - men in uniform were a part of that.
The immediate aftermath of Independence was chaos - social,
economic & political. A very small Bangladesh Army, an even
smaller Navy & Air Force pulled themselves back from the chaos
by taking refuge in cantonments, garrisons & bases. In order
to arrest the chaos, the AL Government abandoned the path of
persuasion and took the path of compulsion deploying the
military in "Aid of Civil Power" to disarm the many guerilla
bands still roaming about the countryside, to curb militant &
armed leftist movements and in general to establish & maintain
law & order. Finding the military not as pliable & as
responsive as they would have liked, the AL set about rapidly
organizing an alternative in the form of a para-military force
called the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini or JRB with its manpower
recruited from AL cadres, activists & party members. Many of
the military's better Officers were deputed to it to train &
lead the force. The Military was not in the least bit pleased;
it had initiated the armed revolt of the Liberation War, it
had fought the war to a successful conclusion and it expected
its classical role of National Defense to lie with it; it did
not want to abdicate this role to anyone, least of all to a
political upstart called the JRB.
In the meantime, the leftist movement, in the form of the
Jatiyo Shamajtantrik Dal or JSD, very strong in the period
1974-1975, had infiltrated into every nook & cranny of the
military, in particular its rank & file. So, when on 15 August
1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with most of his family and a few
of his closest colleagues were murdered by a group of Army
officers, for reasons still not clear today, the Nation went
into a tail spin. At the same time, the JSD instigated and
initiated a "Sepahi Biplob" adding to the chaos & setting in
motion a chain of coups & counter coups within the military.
With great brutality & ruthlessness, chaos was controlled &
Martial Law imposed. Meanwhile the politicians abandoned
everything & ran for their lives; thus, for the second time
abdicating political responsibility & failing to provide
direction, purpose & control to the Nation & its Military.
With the imposition of Martial Law and as a response to
events, quite unconsciously, the Military as a corporate body
had decided not to be a party to politics but to control &
direct politics itself and so for the next 5 years set about
governing the state. Nation-building became a part of military
vocabulary. From 1975 to 1980, all institutions of the state
were strengthened and the people were motivated & imbued with
the zeal to build the nation. With the Military participating
in nation building activities & firmly standing behind,
politics was indeed becoming difficult just as General Zia Ur
Rahman had promised.
The coup that led to the murder of General Zia Ur Rahman, the
President, was short lived. The BNP, the party formed by Zia
Ur Rahman, was in government but it failed to take "control of
the situation" preferring to leave it to the military to "sort
itself out". Consequently the military without a pause imposed
a 2nd Martial Law & assumed the "reigns of government". Not
until 1990 was a serious challenge mounted to the control &
domination of the military on both politics & government.
For 15 years from 1991 to 2006, democracy or some form of it
prevailed. Politics, elections & parliament became big
business. Lacking leadership, foresight, abilities & acumen,
politicians & political parties got themselves busy in looting
both public & private wealth leaving the Nation to fend for
itself. Politics became a "zero-sum game", where the party in
power took everything leaving nothing for the vast majority of
"others". Not surprisingly politics became confrontational.
Subjected to either neglect or manipulation every social,
political & economic institution of the Sate simply broke
down. Hectic attempts at reaching an understanding, which
would pave the way for elections in January 2006, broke down.
All avenues were now closed and the Military was once again
called upon to fill a role that was not theirs to fill, this
time in the form of an Emergency Government. For the third
time politicians had failed to shoulder their responsibility
in providing direction, purpose & control to the Nation & it's
Military.
Carl von Clausewitz, the chief & the most famous theoretician
of the Napoleonic wars (mid 18th century), in his book "On
War' states: "War is not merely a political act but also a
real political instrument...". The military which fights wars,
is thus by association "a real political instrument" guided &
controlled by policy - when this fails the military is
constrained to decide policy. One common red thread runs
throughout the 37 years (1971 - 2008) of the history of the
Bangladesh Military and that is: a complete absence of
political direction & control during times of crisis and
"troubles".
(The author is the Editor of The Bangladesh Today. This
article is a re-print of the same article published in TBT on
20 September 2007)
Democracy in Bangladesh
We should soon have an ordinance perhaps under the title
"Democratic Reform Ordinance" or "Electoral Reform Ordinance"
specifying the requirements for registration of political
parties with the Election Commission.
Fazlur R Chowdhury
The success of democracy
depends on various factors. Education is perhaps number one on
the list. Then comes the question of human rights. This will
also include - freedom of expression, right to information,
tolerance to each other's philosophy and the rule of law. All
these factors have to move together to bring success to
democracy. Having an elected parliament and a cabinet does not
mean democracy. Democracy has to be established at every
level. It is not possible to discuss and solve all problems in
a national assembly or parliament. Some of it must be dealt
with at local level. This is what we call "local government".
Besides the essence of democracy cannot be practised by those
who have no democratic principles within their own parties.
Civil service is not government. In democratic society the
Government is elected by the people (Government of the people,
by the people and for the people). Government is the elected
body and civil service provides support and assistance to the
Government for implementation of policies. The way Bangladesh
secretariat at Dhaka provides the support service to the
national Government the same way civil servants at local
levels must also provide similar service to local government.
In this article we shall discuss the two issues - democracy
within political parties and democracy at local governments
separately.
The events of 1/11 have taught us a lot. We do not want to go
back there. God has given us an opportunity and we must make
best use of it. We must achieve fundamental changes and put
democracy on the track so that it does not get derailed again.
First let us talk about reform in political parties. We do not
want political parties to be headed by hereditary leaders
operating in the name of late father or husband. Let not
political parties be used as family property.
We should soon have an ordinance perhaps under the title
"Democratic Reform Ordinance" or "Electoral Reform Ordinance"
specifying the requirements for registration of political
parties with the Election Commission. The ordinance must also
outline the principles on which political parties should be
based. In other words the parties must have their own
constitution based on democratic principles. The parties must
be identified on national basis and not as regional parties
and must be secular in nature. The parties must have it
inherent in their constitution that it shall not maintain or
support any student wing for political means and shall never
instigate violence for achieving political objectives. The
parties must remain committed to resolving all matters through
democratic means within the scope of national law, system and
procedures. Finally it must also spell out as to who can or
cannot contest an election. Any criminal record should
automatically disqualify a person and the person must also
meet some minimum criteria in respect of age, education etc.
The first stage of dialogue should take place immediately
within the existing political parties, the emergency
government and the election commission to decide on a
frame-work for such ordinance. This must be completed by the
end of March 2008. The ordinance should then be promulgated by
April 2008. The state of emergency should be also lifted at
the same time. The political parties that intend to
participate in the forthcoming election must complete their
constitution by June 2008. The parties should then have their
own election in accordance with their constitution by August
2008. The registration of the political parties with the
election commission (notifying the commission of their
constitution and election) and allocation of their election
symbols by the commission etc. should be completed by
September 2008. There will be enough room for political
campaign for more than two months. Election must be held by
second week of December 2008. The president should invite the
leader of the wining party to form a government by the third
week of December 2008 and call the parliament into session at
the same time. The parliament should consider turning into law
(or even part of our constitution) the provisions of the
ordinance. The parliament should then look into all
discriminatory provisions in the constitution and try for
their removal. There must not be any quota system. The
constitution must provide equality and justice for all.
Now let us focus on local governments. There could be several
tiers of local governments. We should give priority over local
governments at zilla/ district and upo-zilla level. The local
governments shall have control and jurisdiction over all
matters (especially development activities) within their own
jurisdiction. However, the district council will work within
the policy and frame-work outlined by the national government
and similarly the upo-zilla parishad will work within the
scope of policy decided by the district council. In other
words the local government will not take any decision contrary
to the policy of the higher body. In a way the local
government will ensure more effective implementation of
national policies. The elected persons will play their role
within the jurisdiction they are elected for.
All civil servants stationed in zilla and upo-zilla level
shall also be answerable to local governments apart from the
administrative control of their respective ministries. The
Deputy Commissioner should be re-designated as the District
Co-ordinator. He is not the zilla proshashak because nobody
has elected him. He will be the senior-most civil servant
within the district co-ordinating all activities with the
central government as well as district council.
In the similar manner all civil servants at upozilla level
must also be answerable to upozilla parishad apart from their
respective department or ministry. The UNO (Upozilla Nirbahi
Officer) should be the senior-most civil servant at upozilloa
level co-ordinating all activities with other civil servants
as well as Upozilla Parishad.
Thanks God, judiciary is already separated. The
Anti-corruption Commission should also continue to act
independently. The country also needs a Commission for Human
Rights, Equality and Justice. The next thing we require a law
providing right of information with certain exceptions as
provided for in the UK law.
In a very brief paper I have tried to give some sense of
direction as to how we should move forward as a civilised
democratic society. The nation-wide dialogue with all
concerned must start now to decide on finer points especially
the final wording of the all important ordinance.
(Fazlur Rahman Chowdhury; 10 Wakefield Gardens; Ilford, Essex
IG1 3SJ; England, UK. Tel: Off: 020-7562 1320, Res: 020-8554
7118, Mobile: 0796-223 1495. London 12-February-2008)
Comment
An independent Kosovo
BARRING some
unforeseen development, Kosovo should become independent this
weekend, the timing of the unilateral declaration of
independence (UDI) itself being very intelligently chosen. The
Security Council does not meet on Sundays which means, when it
does on Monday, the UN's executive arm will be faced with a
fait accompli. Most likely, the UDI will take place this
weekend, since Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci says it is
"a done deal." Russia has made its anger known to the West,
but given the full support that Kosovo's independence enjoys
from America and the European Union, there is nothing that
Moscow, much less Belgrade, can do about it. In addition, no
less than 100 countries have already pledged support for an
independent Kosovo. To add to Serbia's discomfiture, Slovenia
is the EU's current chairman, and the former Yugoslav republic
has supported Kosovo's independence. Also meeting in Brussels
on Feb 18 will be EU foreign ministers, who will send a
commission to supervise Kosovo's transition to independence
over 120 days. This will end the UN's presence in the former
Serbian province and pave the way for the induction of the
EU's 2,000-man civilian mission.
Belgrade's hostile attitude toward an independent Kosovo is
not going to serve Serbia's long-term interests, especially
when it is keen to join the EU. Instead, if it accepts the
reality of Kosovo's independence, Serbia as the leading Balkan
power could play a major role in the region and contribute to
its integration with Europe. Its concerns about the future of
the Serb minority in Kosovo seem baseless because the EU will
not tolerate discrimination against the Serb minority.
Besides, Kosovo itself hopes to join the EU in a decade and
for that reason it will hate to do anything that will block
its entry chances. One can here examine the reasons behind the
US and EU's positive attitude toward Kosovo's independence.
One obvious motive is to make Russia disabuse itself of the
notions that the south Slavs are its responsibility and that
no changes can occur in the Balkan map without Moscow's
assent. More important, with Turkey's EU entry prospects being
what they are, the emergence of a new predominantly Muslim
country in Europe with US-EU support will help rebut the
allegations in some quarters that the western powers in
general and America in particular follow anti-Muslim policies
the world over.
Source:
www.dawn.com
Viewpoints
Turning SAARC Into A
Delivery Group
SAARC
must rise above all prejudices, reservations and mistrust and
show up as a credible organization and serve the teeming
millions groaning under the yoke of abject poverty and
deprivation.
Sayed Eqbal Rezvi
South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is in the
third decade of its formation in Dhaka. It is still in its
infancy. The 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi 3-4 April 2007 in
its declaration acknowledged the urgent need to move from
'declaratory to implementation phase'. The summit decided to
set up a common food bank, a South Asian Development Fund with
an initial capital of $300 million and a concrete unilateral
Indian step allowing imports from SAARC's least developed
member countries on a zero duty basis without any reciprocity
requirement. The least developed countries are Bangladesh,
Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan.
Whether SAARC's transition from a 22 year old talking shop to
a delivery group only next few months, till the next summit in
the Maldives, will tell. The declaration had other laudable
aims and targets in sight too, namely the setting up of a
South Asian University in India with likely campuses in all
other member countries, an action plan for the protection of
environment and recognition of the need for 'expediting
development of conventional sources of energy in a sustainable
manner and for strengthening renewable energy development such
as in hydro-power bio-fuel, solar and wind'.
The last summit called for the implementation of the SAFTA
(South Asian Free Trade Agreement) in letter and spirit'
successful implementation of SAFTA the SAARC leaders
recognized 'will catalyze other areas of regional economic
cooperation' and to realize its full potential 'SAFTA should
integrate trade in service at the earliest. The importance of
SAFTA and free flow of trade in the region cannot be
overemphasized as one recent World Bank report suggested free
trade within the region could easily touch $9billion mark and
unleash huge benefits all round.
Unfortunately, there remains a stubborn gap between hopes and
actions. There are national compulsions, political and
economic, which cannot be wished away. And no single country
can be entirely blamed for the yawning gap. Pakistan's refusal
to grant MFN (Most Favored Nation) trading status to India
despite India having given that status to Pakistan years ago
is just one example.
Experts at a regional seminar in Dhaka recently stressed the
need for a 'SAFTA-Plus' agreement to promote intra-regional
investment and service trade among the member countries of the
SAARC. SAFTA-Plus agreement is needed to include regional
cooperation mechanism in the areas of investment, finance,
service trade, trade facilitation and technology transfer as
the existing SAFTA should go beyond the mere agreement in
'trade in goods' they said.
The existing SAFTA treaty is predominantly centered on 'trade
in goods', which means that Bangladesh cannot hope for too
much gain from the treaty to enhance its growth opportunities
merely by promoting exports to the regional market.
Maintaining the sensitive list for some of the critical
products produced by India will not help Bangladesh to
increase its export share within the South Asian countries.
Therefore, the experts suggested a new agreement 'SAFTA-Plus'
which according to them could enhance Bangladesh prospects for
getting larger investment inflows from the more developed
partner countries in the region.
South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) Executive
Director Dr Selim Raihan feels that investments whether 100
per cent ownership by regional investors or joint ventures
should help improve the country's export supply capability and
boost exports both to the region f and the outside world. The
prevailing situation demands that the SAARC should give top
priority to the 'SAFTA-Plus' for enhancing investment growth
in Bangladesh and other least developed countries in the South
Asian region. The suggestion of adopting 'SAFTA-Plus' is very
much practical and all efforts concentrated in this regard.
It is relevant to mention here that gradual and reasonable
trade liberalization would be favorable for Bangladesh
economy. Economic benefit and balance cannot be achieved
unless all members of the regional hub would go for trade
liberalization. Bangladesh has no other option but to go for
multilateral trade and increase its export diversification to
reduce the trade gap. An early agreement on 'SAFTA-Plus'
keeping in view the problems of least developed countries
within SAARC ought to be given utmost priority for the
balanced development of the region.
Pakistan's inability to sort out its trade links with new
SAARC member Afghanistan is again a political reality,
hopefully to be resolved sooner than later. Once this is
resolved land trade route to Afghanistan for India and other
members could also unleash Afghanistan's potential as
facilitator of SAARC's trade with Central Asian economies. A
gas or oil pipeline from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan
and Pakistan could also be on the cards once political issues
between the two neighbors are sorted out.
The need for more roads, air and other physical connectivity
within the region is growing along with expansion of
people-to-people contacts which implies liberalized visa
regimes across the region. The agreement in the last Summit to
allow 50 journalists from each country to travel for work to
any member country is a welcome step to reduce the trust
deficit that exists between some of the members. Hopefully
this is just a start with much more expected from foreign
office diplomats of the region.
There is also some movement for a common legal framework for
tackling trafficking in drugs, human beings, eventually even
terrorism. Spotlight on action for poverty alleviation in the
region has evinced unanimity of approach on the issue. Poverty
in reality is the common and core issue of the region which
has a population of nearly 1.47 billion or quarter of the
world population. The region also has the largest number of
people below the poverty one (BPL), nearly 25 per cent of the
total at a conservative guess based on various official
estimates which are non-credible. More than half of the
region's BPL people live in rural areas and are struggling for
subsistence quite unlike European or American poor who suffer
from huge inequalities rather than from lack of two square
meals.
In sharp contrast, poverty in South Asia has its own
definition and meaning. Lack of micro-credit for people below
poverty line is the core issue of the region and unfortunately
not enough attention has been paid to the issue over the last
22 years of the existence of SAARC. Nor is it because of lack
of a way out of this darkness. Not until the regional
leadership can create a Yunus-style micro-credit system for
the "below poverty line" people of member countries can SAARC
do anything meaningful for its peoples. A start can be made
with half of the new South Asian Development Fund reserved for
below the poverty line borrowers. Spread of such micro-credit
banking among member countries may sound a tall order but
nothing short will do if SAARC is to show some collective
leadership and emerge as a dynamic regional entity.
SAARC must rise above all prejudices, reservations and
mistrust and show up as a credible organization and serve the
teeming millions groaning under the yoke of abject poverty and
deprivation.
(The author is a senior journalist and columnist)
War and US elections
Aside from the Iraq issue -
Obama voted against the war while Clinton voted for it - the
remaining differences are not significant enough.
Ramzy
Baroud
AS
THE race for the presidential nominations progresses, the
stances of and attitudes towards both Republican and Democratic
candidates continue to bring up causes for concern, in terms of
their past behaviour, current appeal and general
trustworthiness.
Republican Mitt Romney's exit has practically assured Sen John
McCain's victory in his party. While we might expect McCain's
narrow-mindedness and pro-war rhetoric to make him an
uncontested darling of conservatives, the doubts that remains
about his credibility - and the seemingly absurd accusations by
some that he is more liberal than Democratic liberals -
highlight two disturbing trends.
The first is the extent of the moral corruption among many
Republicans that would enable viewing McCain as a liberal. Then
again it might be a fair assessment in the context of Armageddon
enthusiast, Mike Huckabee, surpassing expectations on Super
Tuesday. The rise of the former Arkansas governor - highlighting
the growing power of fundamentalist evangelical Christians -
should have been picked up as an alarming trend by Americans,
but the media was largely unmoved.
The second is that making such comparisons between McCain and
Democratic nominees doesn't necessarily point to a lack of
judgement in characters. Clinton's hawkish foreign policy views
would indeed qualify her as a faithful follower of the
warmongering policies of Bush himself.
On the Democratic side, Super Tuesday only served to confirm
Barack Obama's recent gains. After the vote count, Clinton, who
was previously seen as the uncontested frontrunner now was now
conceivably the underdog. True, the numbers of delegates' votes
garnered by both nominees is too close to place either on top,
but Obama's speed in squashing Clinton's lead in national polls
and his fundraising ability should be a cause for great concern
in the Clinton camp.
Naturally, as both nominees will vie for as many votes as
possible in the next round, charm and charisma alone can no
longer suffice. The sizable dilemma is that Obama and Clinton
elections programmes are in many ways only superficially
different.
Both nominees claim to be establishment nominees. Clinton
appeals to an older generation by virtue of her 'experience'.
Obama appeals to the impressionable young, who have been taught
political correctness early in life, and who are eager for new
language and a new approach.
Obama's record is certainly more honourable than Clinton's. His
genuine involvement in community activism at a young age and his
antiwar stance during his Senate years point at a certain degree
of moral clarity, a rare quality in Washington indeed.
But both nominees walk a very fine line. Aside from the Iraq
issue - Obama voted against the war while Clinton voted for it -
the remaining differences are not significant enough to be
exploited by either to guarantee the decisive victory needed
before the August Democratic Convention. If neither have enough
votes to become the uncontested nominee, the party's more
influential delegates - the super-delegates - will have the
final say, a worst-case scenario that could compromise the very
democratic nature of the entire process.
There is a good chance that both candidates will avoid an
all-out war over issues that are significant concerns for most
Americans. While race and gender are supposedly defining issues
for most voters, the fact that Clinton is a woman, and Obama is
African-American does not mean they represent the interests of
their respective group. Moreover, neither Obama wishes to be
defined solely by his colour nor Clinton by her gender.
The Iraq war will most likely define President Bush's legacy.
Moreover, once the presidential candidates for both parties are
determined, the war will probably position itself as the lead
point of contention. Sen McCain is already gearing up for the
anticipated fight over war with the democrats. In Norfolk, VA,
he attacked Obama and Clinton for wanting to set dates for
withdrawal from Iraq. "I believe that would have catastrophic
consequences. I believe that Al Qaeda would trumpet to the world
that they had defeated the United States of America, and I
believe that therefore they would try to follow us home."
McCain - presumably a 'war hero' - realises that the disastrous
Iraq war is most likely to be his campaign's weak point, and the
faltering economy will not divert attention from it. In fact, in
the minds of many Americans, both issues are linked. According
to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll after Super Tuesday, the
majority of Americans believe that the best way to escape
recession is to pull out of Iraq.
If the Iraq debate has indeed emerged as the most significant in
coming months, the chances are Obama will have the upper hand.
But Obama's antiwar stance has become a source of concern to
Israel, whose 'pro-Israel' camp in the US remains too
significant to overlook. Justin Elliott, writing for Mother
Jones, discussed Obama's challenges in putting that group at
ease. After all the man is black, his middle name is 'Hussein'
and he a few 'slips' of a tongue on his record - notwithstanding
his statement last March that "no one has suffered more than the
Palestinian people," which he grossly reinterpreted later.
MJ Rosenberg of the Israel Policy Forum, a dovish advocacy
group, told Elliot, "The more right-wing segments of the Jewish
community are the least likely to be comfortable with an
African-American president."
To prove them wrong, Obama sent a letter to the US ambassador at
the security council demanding that the council "should clearly
and unequivocally condemn the rocket attacks against Israel… If
it cannot... I urge you to ensure that it does not speak at
all." He also claimed to understand why Israel was "forced" to
impose a siege on Gaza, a siege that human rights organisations
have held responsible for causing mass starvation and
unparalleled catastrophe.
What's important about Obama's dramatic shift is that he has
proven to be just as self-serving and easily manipulated as the
rest. If he can so readily support the starvation of 1.5 million
people, who is to guarantee that he will not renounce his moral
stances on issues pertaining to Iraq, Iran, and indeed America
itself?
Source: www.khaleejtimes.com
Opinion
Climate change - panic in the trenches
It's
an old joke: everybody talks about the weather, but nobody
does anything about it. The same, unfortunately, is true for
the climate.
They are talking about it. They were at it again in Honolulu
last week, discussing mandatory, internationally binding
commitments on greenhouse gas emissions (although Russia and
India refused to allow any mention of that subject in the
final statement). At the Bali meeting in December, China even
hinted that it might consider something like binding emission
caps in the long run. But there is no sense of urgency.
Not, at least, the sense of urgency that would be required to
take actions that would invalidate the prediction, in the
latest issue of the journal "Science", that climate change may
cost southern Africa more than 30 per cent of its main crop,
maize (corn, mealies), by 2030. No part of the developing
world can lose one-third of its main food crop without
descending into desperate poverty and violence.
Even some parts of the developed world would be in deep
trouble at that point. One part of the developed world,
Australia, is already in trouble, with its farmers facing what
may be a permanent decline in the country's ability to grow
food, although Australia's overall wealth is great enough to
cushion the blow. But elsewhere, the mentality of "it can't
happen here" persists.
Over the past couple of years, due to a major shift in public
opinion, we have arrived at something close to a global
consensus that climate change is a major problem. Even George
W. Bush now says that he is concerned about it. But there is
no consensus on the best measures to deal with the problem,
even among the experts, and the general public still does not
grasp the urgency of the situation.
The two Democratic candidates for the presidency in the United
States promise 80 per cent cuts in emissions by 2050, and John
McCain for the Republicans promises 50 per cent cuts by the
same date, and nobody points out that such a leisurely
approach, applied in every country, condemns the world to a
global temperature regime at least three or four degrees
centigrade warmer than today.
Nobody points out that those are average global temperatures
which take into account the relatively cool air over the
oceans, and that temperatures over land would be a good deal
higher than that.
Source:www.jordantimes.com
International
Top Hezbollah
commander killed in Syria blast
AFP, Syria
Mughnieh, a top Hezbollah commander linked
to notorious attacks against Western and Israeli targets
in the 1980s and 1990s, was killed in a car bombing in
Syria, the Shiite militant group announced on Wednesday.
It said Mughnieh, a shadowy figure in the world of
terrorism and on America's most wanted list for more than
20 years, died late Tuesday in the Syrian capital Damascus
in an attack orchestrated by Israel.
"A great jihadist from the Islamic resistance in Lebanon
has become a martyr," the Syrian- and Iranian-backed
Hezbollah said in a statement. "Haj Imad Mughnieh died a
martyr at the hands of the Israeli Zionists."
In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied
Israel was behind the killing. "Israel rejects any attempt
by terrorist organisations to attribute to it any
implication in this affair," it said in a statement.
Washington openly welcomed his death.
"The world is a better place without this man in it,"
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"He was a cold-blooded killer."
Senior Israeli figures also welcomed news of Mughnieh's
death, while the news media were quick to predict that
Hezbollah would attempt to carry out revenge attacks
against Israeli targets.
But Syria, branding the killing a "cowardly and terrorist
act", said a probe was underway to try to unmask the
assassins. Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid voiced
condolences to the Lebanese people and Mughniyeh's family.
Mughnieh, 45, nicknamed "the fox" for managing to elude
capture, allegedly masterminded a string of attacks
against US and Israeli targets, including the abduction of
Western hostages in Lebanon in the 1980s and the 1992
bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires that killed
29 people.
He was also linked to the bombing of the US marine
barracks at Beirut airport in 1983, in which 241 American
servicemen died and the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in
1985, in which a US navy diver was killed.
After the hijacking to Beirut, the United States offered a
reward of up to five million dollars for information
leading to Mughnieh's arrest. Western intelligence
services suspected him of working directly for Iranian
intelligence and he was on the US State Department's list
of most wanted terrorism suspects, ranking alongside Osama
bin Laden.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini
"strongly condemned the terrorist operation which led to
the martyrdom of Imad Mughnieh", branding it "a clear
example of the organised terrorism of the Zionist regime."
Mughnieh, who went into hiding in the 1990s, was said to
have undergone plastic surgery in recent years to change
his appearance.
Mass rally in Lebanon to mark Hariri killing
AFP, Beirut
Thousands of pro-government supporters were set to
converge on central Beirut on Thursday to mark the third
anniversary of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri's
assassination amid a deepening political crisis.
The rally was being held on the same day that the leading
opposition group Hezbollah was to hold funeral services
for one of its top commanders killed on Tuesday in a car
bombing in Syria.
The Shiite Muslim militant group said that Imad Mughnieh,
a top terror suspect linked to a string of attacks against
US and Israeli targets in the 1980s and 1990s, was killed
by Israel, which denied involvement.
Security was tight in and around the capital with army
troops deployed heavily and stringent measures imposed to
avoid violence.
Schools and universities were ordered shut and most
businesses were set to close as the government declared
Thursday a holiday to commemorate Hariri's death.
The rally for the slain ex-premier, killed in a massive
car bombing on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005,
comes amid escalating tensions in Lebanon which is mired
in its worst political crisis since the end of its
1975-1990 civil war.
A standoff between the Western-backed government and the
opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, has left the country
without a president since November, when Emile Lahoud
stepped down.
Since then, 14 sessions of parliament to elect his
successor have been postponed.
Street clashes in recent weeks between militants from the
two camps that have left a number of people dead and
mudslinging among rival politicians have raised fears of
civil strife.
Although pro-government leaders have urged hundreds of
thousands to turn out for Thursday's rally at Martyr's
Square to show their rejection of Syrian efforts to regain
influence in Lebanon, many say they will stay home.
"The rally is aimed at stoking unrest and dissent rather
than unifying the Lebanese," said Kahlid al-Solh, 50, a
Sunni merchant from the Bekaa Valley. "So I don't see a
reason to take part."
George, a hairdresser in Ashrafiyeh, a Christian district
of Beirut, said he also planned to snub the protest.
Police arrest rival leaders in Mumbai for stoking violence
AFP, Mumbai
Two rival
political leaders in India's financial hub were arrested
on Wednesday for stoking violence as part of a battle over
"outsiders" thronging the city for jobs, police said.
Raj Thackeray, head of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
party, earlier this month allegedly encouraged supporters
to attack migrants from north India who are said to have
taken jobs from people native to Maharashtra state, of
which Mumbai is the capital.
Also arrested was Abu Azmi, a leader from the Samajwadi
party, which has its base in northern Uttar Pradesh,
India's largest state.
Both leaders were granted bail by a local court late
Wednesday.
The arrests raised fears that riots could break out as
reports came in that crowds were stoning buses in some
towns in the state. One man died in Nashik city, a
Thackeray stronghold, some 180 kilometres (110 miles)
northeast of Mumbai, after the bus he was travelling in
was pelted with stones, a police official confirmed.
India's financial capital remained calm but many commuters
rushed home early.
Earlier this month, workers such as taxi drivers were
attacked by Sena activists who hurled stones. Several
movie-goers watching films in the north Indian language of
Bhojpuri were also injured in attacks.
Thackeray and Azmi have traded barbs over the violence
after the Sena party asked migrants to respect Maharashtra
culture or leave. Officials in Maharashtra, ruled by the
Congress Party, which heads the federal coalition
government, met Wednesday to review security and called
for additional forces from the central government.
Mumbai, a city of around 18 million that is also the
country's entertainment capital, has witnessed severe
religious and political riots several times in the past
two decades.
The violence dates from the early 1990s when the Hindu
nationalist party Shiv Sena led by Bal Thackeray, Raj's
uncle, began attacks on migrants.
The party later eased its tactics targeting immigrants,
but Raj Thackeray broke from Shiv Sena in 2005 and has
raised the issue again.
State assembly elections are due in late 2009 in which
northern Indian political parties are expected to run a
large number of candidates.
Polls in Malaysia on March 8
AFP, Malaysia
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