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Leading
News
Hasina, Khaleda not eligible to
appear before Truth Commission: CA
Govt to accept whatever court verdicts
against the two ex-PMs, he says
CA unveils some curbs under emergency to be lifted for
electioneering; Elections must by Dec
UNB, Dhaka
Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin
Ahmed has said detained former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia
and Sheikh Hasina would not be eligible to appear before
the proposed Truth Commission for pardon as they are
already arraigned on corruption charges and facing trial
in courts.
Dr Ahmed, however, said his caretaker government would
accept whatever verdict is given against them by the
judiciary which he said is now independent.
The Chief Advisor made the remarks during an interview
with Al Jazeera television in London last week. Renowned
journalist David Frost took the interview during the CA's
tour and was aired on Friday at 1 am in a special
programme styled "Frost".
On the question of lifting the state of emergency, he said
some curbs imposed under the state of emergency on some
political activities would be withdrawn to create
congenial atmosphere for electioneering. Asked whether the
proposed Truth Commission will be constituted in South
African model, Dr Ahmed said the government has looked at
similar models set up in different countries.
Explaining the logic behind instituting Truth Commission,
he said some people who have already been accused of
corruption have been going through normal judicial process
and there are others who may be willing to say that they
had been involved in some of irregular corrupt practices.
If the Commission is set up, those people will go through
that process. They will know and the people will know
about their corrupt practices through a legal process, if
not the judicial process, he added.
Asked whether those corrupt would be forgiven by the Truth
Commission, the Chief Advisor said, "Yes, the idea is that
they will be forgiven if they admit to having indulged in
some kind of irregular corrupt practices of certain amount
of money. But, as part of that process, there may be some
kind of restrictions on their participation in political
activities for a limited time."
Asked if the two 'Begums' (Khaleda and Hasina) will also
be pardoned if they go through the Truth Commission, Dr
Ahmed said the way thinking is going on is that if
somebody is already arraigned and charge-sheeted and the
judicial process has begun, they should go through the
judicial process. It is not only the two ex-premiers, he
said, those who have crossed that some sort of threshold,
they will not be eligible for appearing before the Truth
Commission. "That's the thinking now, but it is not yet
finalized."
Asked when the emergency will be lifted, Dr Ahmed said,
"We've not yet fixed the time. We will be looking at all
options when and how the state of emergency will be
lifted." He said the state of emergency was declared to
improve the law-and-order situation and bring the country
back into normalcy. Now the law and order has improved a
lot, and even though there is the emergency, it is not
being enforced in that sense in many fields.
Citing an example, the head of caretaker government said
press is free ever since his government came to power. "We
told the press that they can criticize the government and
they have been doing that-and we benefit from those
criticisms."
He said as normal activities have been going on and they
will be going on, they would, in any case, make it
possible for the election to take place. To ensure
congenial atmosphere for election campaign, he said, there
would be need to lift "some of the curbs on some of the
activities up to the elections".
Asked whether the general election will be held by
December this year, as promised, Dr Ahmed said,
"Absolutely, that is some kind of deadline. I have said
this more than once and the elections will be held at the
latest by December 2008."
He said the Election Commission has also announced a
roadmap detailing all priority activities and "I am
absolutely committed and confident that the elections will
be held according to the roadmap". Asked whether Khaleda
and Hasina would be able to lead active politics, Dr Ahmed
said it would depend on several factors. "At this point in
time they have been arrested and facing trial in courts.
So, judicial process will go on." In this context, the CA
noted that the judiciary is an independent institution and
they would accept whatever decision comes from the
judicial process. "It will depend on judicial process and
outcome of the judicial process."
Asked whether the number of detained persons in Bangladesh
is 250,000 as published in some British press, Dr Ahmed
straightaway denied, saying that the number is much lower.
The total number of convicts and under-trial prisoners is
around 75,000 to 80,000, and a handful of them have been
detained under the Special Powers Act.
Asked about whereabouts of the two former premiers-Awami
League chief Hasina and BNP chairperson Khaleda-the Chief
Advisor said they were not under house arrest. They were
arrested and put in two special houses declared sub-jails
by the government for under-trial prisoners.
Asked whether the level of corruption has gone down due to
the ongoing anti-graft drive, Dr Ahmed said corruption has
started going down significantly, but it is very difficult
to estimate what the current level of corruption is.
But, he said, a general impression is it has a positive
impact not because of the people being brought to trial
for corruption but the government is working on rules and
regulations, making them simpler, clearer and transparent
and a strategy to prevent the corruption. Asked whether he
has any intention to float a political party and run for a
political office, Dr Ahmed outright dismissed the idea. He
said that since he is heading a caretaker government, his
first duty is to hold free, fair and credible elections
first and carry out institutional reforms to ensure
sustainable democracy in Bangladesh.
Asked what he will be doing after the elections, the Chief
Advisor, a former governor of Bangladesh Bank, said he has
not yet thought about that but added that he would make
himself available to serve the country.
Finance Adviser invites concrete
proposals for safety net to face food price
UNB, Dhaka
The Armed Forces, earlier
assigned to prepare the ongoing voter list, will handover
the final list to the Election Commission (EC) by October,
2008. This was stated by Major Ferdous Hasan Selim,
spokesman of the 'Central Control Cell on Preparation of
the Voter List and National ID Card' project at the Army
Head Quarters in the capital on Saturday.
Replying to a query, he said, "In the mean time, the
registration of about 4.93 crore voters has already been
finalised till Thursday." "We expect that registration of
more than five crore will be completed across the country
on 26th instant," Major Selim said adding "The printing of
on-going voter list of some 100 areas under 11 districts,
including four city corporations -Rajshahi, Sylhet,
Barisal and Khulna - and seven pourasavas - Manikganj,
Shariathpur, Sreepur, Fulbaria, Sitakunda, Cox's Bazar and
Gopalganj - will be completed by Monday (tomorrow)."
"Besides, under the 'Operation Nabajatra', printing of the
draft voter list of more 130 areas - out of around about
500 administrative areas all over the country - will be
completed within the month of May next," he added.
The representative of AHQ said, "We expect that the total
number of voters will be over eight crore across the
country. He told the newsmen that the matching work of the
enlisted voters was being carried out through 'Biometrics
System (matching of face and finger prints of voters) to
identify the duplication of enlistment. "Apart from the
Central Control Cell for the printing the voter list,
seven more Cells will be set up in some seven districts by
April for the quick completion of the task," he told the
newsmen. About manpower, Major Selim said, "Besides, the
civilians, as many as 10,000 members of Armed Forces are
widely connected in preparing the voters' list." Here it
may be mentioned, as per the directive of the EC, the
Armed Forces started their work for voter list
registration from June last year.
Freedom
Fighters vow to try War Criminals
Staff Correspondent
The leaders of Sector Commanders’ Forum
(SCF) on Friday at a convention reiterated their vow to
continue their campaign to pile pressure on the government
demanding immediate start of trial of the war criminals.
At least 15000 people, including freedom fighters across
the country, participated in the convention at the city's
China-Bangladesh Friendship Conference Centre organized by
the SCF who led 11 sectors during our 1971 liberation war.
The day-long convention that ended with 16 points
declaration including demand of the trial of the war
criminals who opposed the liberation war. The declaration
also demanded filing of cases by the state for trial of
the war criminals, appealing to the UN for an
international tribunal, banning parties of war criminals
from the election and building public opinion to boycott
them socially and politically.
Besides, it also said, "the present Caretaker Government
should have to take immediate steps to bring the war
criminals to justice as they had helped Pakistani
occupation forces and killed hundreds of thousands of
Bangladeshi violating the International war codes during
our liberation war. The government must bring them to
justice forming a tribunal under the 'International
Tribunal Act 1973 and it will have to inform the matter to
UN to ensure its participations in the jurisdiction
process."
The SCF convention also opined through its declaration
saying, " the trial of the war criminals is not a matter
of any political party rather it includes the aspirations
of the hundreds of thousands of freedom fighters who laid
down their lives for Bangladesh. Considering these reasons
the Government will have to take steps without making any
delay." The SCF leaders also raised the voice against the
participation of war criminals in any kind of election
saying, " the Government should not allow any war
criminals to participate in the upcoming polls and in this
regard the Election Commission should not allow such
political parties to be registered with the EC."
The politicians present on the occasion included Tofail
Ahmed of Awami League, Suranjit Sengupta, Rashed Khan
Menon of Workers Party, Dilip Barua from Samyabadi Dal,
Hasanul Haque Inu of JSD and other eminent personalities
such as Birsreshthho Motiur Rahman's wife Mili Rahman.
In his opening speech, AVM (retd) Khandker said, "No
government has so far taken any punitive steps against the
war criminals. As they remained unpunished, offenders from
subsequent generations tended to be compulsively
delinquents, defying all social and legal barriers." He
said: "The war criminals' trials should be held as soon as
possible to ensure justice and holding free and fair
national polls. The nation today seems united on barring
the war criminals from all elections." Urging all to join
hands in the streets voicing demands of holding the war
criminals' trials, Khandker said: "We must succeed in
doing what we now profess to accomplish so many years
after the war."
Former army chief Lt Gen (retired) Harun-Ur-Rashid said:
"Nations all around us are at this moment trying war
criminals in at least 31 places all over the world. We
must be able to accomplish it too, or all our anti-graft
work and words will seem futile and hollow."
It may be noted that after delays , the Dhaka Metropolitan
Police (DMP) on Wednesday has permitted the Sectors
Commander Forum to hold the national convention on war
crimes on March 21. The sectors Commander Forum, a
platform of the commanders who led 11 sectors during the
1971 Liberation War, had earlier planned the convention
for Saturday (March 15) at Bangladesh-China Friendship
Conference Centre but the government refused to give
permission for security reasons.
BNP
ex-MPs demand release of Khaleda
Staff Correspondent
In a dramatic development in BNP, one hundred and nineteen
former BNP lawmakers, most of them of pro-Khaleda camp and
some of them of the reformist camp, on Saturday unitedly
demanded release of the detained BNP chairperson, Khaleda
Zia, and Sheikh Hasina before the Independence and
National Day. They lodged their demand from a press
conference held at flat of party Secretary General,
Khandoker Delwar Hossain, where BNP joint Secretary
General Selima Rahman read out the statement of 119 ex-BNP-MPs.
However, only some 30 out of 119 ex MPs were present at
the briefing.
The former BNP MPs observed that the present caretaker
government has shifted from its earlier stand on
implementing much-talked-about minus-two formula and
that's why the government will set free the two leaders -Khaleda
Zia and Sheikh Hasina. The statement put forward a
ten-point charter of demands to be implemented by the
government immediately to pave the way for creating a
congenial atmosphere of holding the stalled ninth
parliamentary election. They also demanded release of the
party's senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman and
his bother Arafat Rahman, and the Awami League president
Sheikh Hasina to have proper treatment.
Answering the questions of reporters about the unification
of the party, Shahjahan said, "The matter is now on court
of Saifur Rahman and Hafizuddin Ahmed. Let us see what
they do. The grassroots activists and leaders are united
with Khandoker Delwar Hossain."
When asked whether the reformist ex-MP whose names were
included in the list have given their consent to be
enlisted, BNP Organizing Secretary Mohammad Shahjahan
said, "They have given their consent." Some of the
reformists whose names were included are: Ehsanul Haque
Milon, Omar Khaiyum, Shahidul Haque Zamal, Sabu and
Noor-Afroz Jyoti, who were not present at the briefing.
However, talking to this correspondent, a pro-Delwar ex-BNP
requesting not to be quoted said, "At first, we have
prepared a list of some 110 ex-MPs who are loyal to Begum
Khaleda Zia. But I do not know how some eight to ten
reformists have been included in the list as later it was
finalized by Mohammad Shahjahan."
The statement read, "This time the 37th Independence Day
is going to be observed at a time when Bangladesh is
passing through a critical period. The parliamentary
system of democracy was one of major expectations which
led us to the war of independence but since the past 14
months, the system remains inactive and ineffective." The
party will send the chief adviser a memorandum on the
release of their chairperson in a day or two, Shahjahan
added.
Meanwhile, the reformist camp on Friday night held a
meeting at the Gulshan residence of Saifur Rahman under
his chairmanship to chalk out the programmes to mark the
Independence and National Day on March 26. Maj (retd)
Hafizuddin Ahmed, Mofazzal Karim and Omar Khaiyam were
present, among others.
Clash
among students in Dhaka
Staff Correspondent
Serious clashes between two factions of Jatiytabadi
Chhatra Dal (JCD) on Jagannath University (JU) campus and
Tejgaon College in the capital on Saturday left at least
12 students injured.
According to sources, ABM Parvez of JCD president of JU
unit along with other activists equipped with sharp
weapons swooped on general secretary Anisur Rahman Khokon
of the organisation and his group at about 11:30 am in the
University campus. They beat up Khokon and his associates
indiscriminately leaving at least ten activists critically
injured.
Among the injured, Faruk and Kazal students of the
University were sent to a local hospital for treatment. A
good number of police were deployed in and around the
campus to maintain law and order. Campus sources said
earlier on Thursday, Khokon with the help of his
accomplices launched an attack on Mithu a second year
student and also a supporter of Parvez group over love
related issues.
Meanwhile, a serious chase and counter chase between two
factions of JCD of Tejgaon College unit took place at
about 12:30 pm over the distribution of tolls collected
for admissions. Police picked up around nine activists of
both factions from the spot.
According to sources, around 15 activists of JCD led by
Mizanur Rahman Raj a second year degree (pass) student of
the college equipped with firearms and sharp weapons
attacked their rival leaving five activists critically
injured. The attacker also damaged some small shops of the
area.
Back Page
Energy sector
Govt to finalise coal policy soon: Dr Tamim
Experts for prompt decision on coal
extraction
UNB, Dhaka
Energy experts on Saturday
suggested that the government take prompt decision to
utilize coal, found abundant in deposit in the country, as
an alternative fuel for power generation as gas reserves
are getting depleted fast.
Otherwise, they forewarned, the country would be faced
with a severe crisis in power generation within a very
short time when gas will be in short supply.
"The existing gas reserves will start exhausting if we
fail to make any new discovery in the future," said Dr
Eunuse Akan of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission at a
roundtable.
Sheba Bangladesh Foun-dation organised the discussion at
the Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) conference room in
the city on Friday.
BUET Prof Dr. Izaz Hossain presided over the function
while Prof Abdur Rahim moderated. Dhaka University Geology
Department Chairman Prof Kamrul Hasan also spoke at the
function.
Chief Advisor's Special Assistant for Power and Energy
Ministry Dr Tamim, who was chief guest at the function,
said the caretaker government would take policy decision
on coal extraction after the national coal policy is in
place. Few months back, a technical expert committee
submitted a draft coal policy to the government for final
approval.
Dr Tamim said the government would form another committee
to review the draft policy and finalise it for
government's approval. He said the ongoing debate on the
methods of coal extraction should come to an end in view
of the country's energy crisis. "We should take a decision
on coal on a consensus basis for the sake of our energy
security without any more delay. Everybody should realise
the crisis," he told the meet.
He observed that 80 percent of the National Energy Policy
was not implemented as of Saturday. He said the country
needs foreign investment in power and energy sectors for
three reasons-to arrange funds, to attain technology and
to establish a good management. Mentioning the debate on
Phulbari Coal Mine, he said the government should have an
independent survey on the potential, benefits and damage
to the local community.
Dhaka University Prof Mustafizur Rahman said the issue of
Phulbari coal mining has been a political issue in the
country. Mining specialist Dr Mushfiqur Rahman said the
optimum extraction of coal and its proper utilization
should be the main objective of the coal-extraction
debate.
He said in the open-pit mining, 85 percent coal extraction
is possible while in the underground, only 15 percent is
possible.
BTTB call rate to be reconsidered
Staff Correspondent
Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Brigadier General
MA Malek (Retd) on Saturday said the prices of call rate
and line rate of State owned Bangladesh Telephone and
Telegraph Board (BTTB) will have to be reconsidered in a
bid to survive in the competitive market. "In the interest
of existence of BTTB, officials and staffs will have to
remove consumer sufferings. Changing your (BTTB officials
and staffs) minds, you will have to go to the doorsteps of
the consumers and give them service properly. On the other
hand, considering the competitive market, prices of call
rate and line rate would be reconsidered," he said at a
discussion on telecommunication, policy and strategy held
at telecommunication building.
BTRC Chairman Major General Manjurul Alam and BTTB
Chairman Ashraful Aleem, BTTB members Syed Mamun Akhter
and Shamshul Alam also took part in the discussion.
Altercations lead to JU student violence
JU Correspondent
Angry students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) set ablaze
three passenger buses and ransacked five other vehicles on
the Dhaka-Aricha Highway near the main gate of the
university in Savar on Saturday afternoon. The students
also put barricade on
highway protesting the attack from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. As
a result heavy traffic congestion was created on the
highway causing immense sufferings to passengers.
The students also blocked the highway near Dairy Farm Gate
area under Ashulia police station at around 3:30pm. Soon
after the incident, police of Savar and Ashulia thanas
rushed to the spot and brought the situation under
control.
Editorial
The
Budget This Year
What
the national budget would be this year is difficult to say but
the Finance Adviser has set the ball rolling by talking to
various segments of the populace such as economists, members
of civil society, journalists etc, although he did not appear
to be much keen on talking to political parties, one of the
major stakeholders in the national budget formulation. This
year is significantly different than other years. First and
foremost is the fact that our economy is in deep recession
with everyone, quite literally, being barely able to keep
their body and soul together except of course the few thousand
rich and very rich. Secondly, if elections do take place at
the end of 2008, fully half of the financial year would have
to be tackled by the political party or parties forming the
next government; whether that political government would be
willing to live with a budget formulated by the Emergency
Government, is open to considerable doubt and question
particularly when the political parties were not given a scope
to have their say in its making.
The economic concerns however, are pretty clear: Firstly,
people are suffering horribly because of very high food prices
making food commodities virtually unobtainable to vast
sections of the populace including the middle-class. So, food
commodities have to remain subsidized for at least the poorest
sections of the populace numbering some 15 to 20 million
people. The Government has to obtain money for this food
subsidy not by removing subsidy from fuel, which will then
increase transportation costs driving food prices even higher,
but by drastically cutting down expenditures on non-productive
sectors and imposing and exacting higher taxes on
big-businesses, the very rich and the super-rich. Secondly,
emphasis on agriculture must continue because this is what
provides us with food. The agricultural and the rural economy
must be revitalized not only by providing inputs for increased
productivity but by also bringing in more land under
cultivation by preventing encroachments into agricultural
lands by industry, urbanization and infrastructure
developments. Additionally industrialization and agricultural
must be balanced by encouraging industries which use
agricultural raw materials such as jute, sugar, fruits and
vegetables; subsidies to industries which import raw materials
must be stopped and diverted to agriculture or
agriculture-based industries. Thirdly, the ADP must be made
realistic and practical. There is no gainsaying the fact that
government spending in the form of ADPs have a considerable
impact on the economy because they generate economic
activities providing employment and living to a large number
of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled work-force who would
otherwise remain unemployed or at best under-employed. These
large numbers of people then spend the money they earn in
consumption of goods and services and they also save some of
their earnings. The entire process of government spending thus
"fuels" the economy particularly in times of economic troubles
we are facing right now. Having an ADP which cannot be
implemented is no help to anyone.
These concerns are well known to everyone, most of all to the
Government; whether the Government will take these into
consideration while formulating the national budget is an
entirely different matter. If the Emergency Government is
interested in merely balancing the account books, nothing much
can be expected and we will continue to have the same sort of
national budget we had in all the past years where the
expectations and the hopes of people are rarely reflected.
Power crisis
Power
crisis has been persisting in the country since long, But the
crisis was never as grave as it is now. According to a report
published in The Bangladesh Today on Friday, power situation
has taken a serious turn with the country experiencing a
shortfall of about 1500 mw of electricity due to inadequate
generation by the Power Development Board (PDB). The PDB has
the capacity to generate 3900 mw to 4000 mw electricity
against the demand for 5550 mw during the summer. Officials of
Rural Electrification Board (REB), Dhaka Electric Supply
Authority (DESA) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and
the PDB said the actual demand is 5,500 mw while the daily
production is hardly 4000 mw on an average. As a result the
country is experiencing about 1500 mw power shortage daily.
The power crisis has aggravated with the advent of dry season
and almost the entire city has been facing power outage for
hours everyday. The power shortage is affecting people of all
walks of life and hampering business, industrial production,
studies etc. Worse still, the power crisis is also causing
water crisis in the city and elsewhere. Besides, disruption to
power supply has been impeding the irrigation work in the
rural areas. Experts apprehend that the power situation will
deteriorate day by day as most of the power plants are old.
Many units of different power plants in the country with a
generation capacity of 1500mw of electricity are reportedly
remaining out of operation due to different mechanical faults.
This alarming situation has resulted from the fact that no new
power plant could be set up in the recent past to boost
electricity generation while the old plants are losing
production capability gradually. As the country is gripped by
a grave power crisis the government should make all out
efforts to face the situation by ensuring proper internal
management, increasing production as much as possible,
arranging power import on urgent basis, if possible, and
setting up new power plants both under public and private
sectors. The authorities should also take measures to stop
corruption in the power sector including theft and misuse and
streamline the distribution system.
Analysis
Democracy at Risk: Emerging
challenges for the future leadership in Bangladesh
The entire nation has passed through
"unimaginable limits of violence" for last several years and
now is the time to pass equally through "unimaginable limits
of nonviolence"..
Mohammad Gani
It
is almost time for this nation to innervate fresh and
"honestly talented" bloods into its leadership with the
commitment of true dedication, resolute and motivated
leadership with visionary idea, indisputable nationalism and
love for this impoverished nation of 145 million people. In a
country like Bangladesh, legacy of family dynasty can not be
entirely ruled out for many compelling reasons and field
reality; such as intractable and mercurial behaviors among our
political leaders for self dominance which create power
struggles. Also, probably their lack of knowledge about and
respects for the superior performance of unified team works
and incompetence in jointly translating and coalescing
nation's vital interests usually hinder the unity and strength
of political parties that often cause free fall disintegration
of the party itself. As the last resort of rescuing a
political party from a level of almost ground zero, family
dynasty automatically steps in or triggered to step in as a
symbolic but powerful force for securing the party unity that
sometimes turns into axis of evils. An authentic and true
leader of dynastic roots is not always bad and we find the
Gandhi dynasty, despite insurmountable challenges in Indian
politics did fabulous on leadership and Statesmanship, locally
and globally in keeping the world's largest democracy moving
forward.
Our capricious politicians must stop their enormity as well as
stop the practices of settling their political differences
with hostility. They need to bear in mind that the entire
nation has passed through "unimaginable limits of violence"
for last several years and now is the time to pass equally
through "unimaginable limits of nonviolence". We should not
forget even for a moment that nation's interests, rights and
spirits of freedom are more important than any individual
freedom!
Leadership is not an event, it is a process and to be a
patriotic leader, one must have the commitments of dedicated
workmanship, statesmanship with appealing ideas and
indispensable qualities those other shall be eager to follow
and so many more for his/her national interests. This nation
now desperately needs such a leader and Statesman of unshaken
confidence who shall deliver smiles to 145 million faces with
the glory of success, happiness and prosperity to Bangladesh.
As still on progress, the army backed Care taker Government
has so far taken a big bite out of corruptions that generated
shock waves with tremendous and sudden ground vibrations on
its (corruption) many years old reinforced structures.
Fighting this war on corruptions has long been overdue and now
it seems, started weeding out some troubling big trees along
with many smaller ones in Nation's political forest.
Corruption virtually has not been a punishable crime over the
years and is finally getting the attention it deserves as a
debacle to our economic development and poverty reduction. As
long as our expectations from this ephemeral Care Take
Government are realistic; there are ostensible reasons to
believe that it is working well as an effective drug in
curbing almost all the "alarming patriotic symptoms" among our
political leaders, bureaucrats and businessmen. We need to
also accept that the Care taker Government could NOT be
absolutely perfect on all these onerous tasks but so far, is
performing way better than those of our all past elected
Governments. The entire nation and the world community have
accepted their visible success.
We also need to recognize that Corruption is a worldwide
phenomenon, especially in developing countries which have been
making transitions from years of foreign occupations;
virtually have become alluvial farmlands for cultivating
endemic like corruptions! Though corruptions have created
national, moral and economic catastrophes, it could have been
arrested, reduced significantly and be managed with the
effective and appropriate legislative actions, its enforcement
and with the tougher election regulations. Corruption, as
considered as a moral and legal problem since it involves
undocumented and frivolous appropriation of public wealth for
personal gains; it is also a product of inefficient leadership
and poor governance in Bangladesh. The exact picture is,
corruption in Bangladesh is endemic that infected and infested
all public sectors, top to the bottom; starting from
Minister's Secretariats, public corporations, law enforcement
agencies, tax and customs administration, banking systems
those plagued by default and bribery, theft in utilities
services such as electricity, telephone. These practices
infuse public funds and other resources to the corrupted
public officials, to the greedy politicians and to the
businessmen for their personal use and abuse. Majority of
nation's population and families become victims of
corruptions, one way or other and the poor suffers its
astringent burdens at the worst.
Government aggressive reforms on various public sectors could
ameliorate the habitual pressures leading to inveterate
corrupt practices. These reforms must be intended to ensure
transparency and absolute accountability with the provisions
of harsh punishments; anyone for not complying with public law
and regulations. Financial accountability of political
parties, election campaigns and tougher election commission
regulations need to be thoroughly reformed those could
compromise the integrity of politicians, government officials
and businessmen as well as those could extirpate public
interests. Political party's sources of income and their
expenditures must to be made public and be transparent.
Tougher election regulations on transparency of prospective
candidates and elected officials, on their criminal records,
loan default and public misconducts records should be
introduced and violators must be barred from candidacy and/or
be barred from the office if discovered later. We need to
understand that once public sectors are not engaged in
corruptions, there can not be any alarming corruption. This is
a strong argument for "privatization" of public enterprises.
Finally, Government also could curb the opportunities of
corruption by reducing bureaucratic red tapes and authority,
introducing information technology traps to locate and
apprehend violators and giving out options that provide
multiple alternatives to citizens during their interactions
with public officials. It is also essential that citizens have
reasonable access to the points of contact of reporting
corruptions.
(Mohammad Gani is an engineer residing in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, USA and is a regular contributor to The
Bangladesh Today)
Better
late than never
The government is now considering a donor-funded move to turn
the state-run Bangladesh Railway into a public limited
company.
Ripan Kumar Biswas
It
is better to do something late than to never do it at all. It
will be a positive movement if the present interim government
can implement necessary reforms for Bangladesh Railway as it
is in need of urgent reforms.
Talking to the reporters in his office on Sunday, March 16,
2008, the communications secretary Mohammad Mahabubur Rahman
told that the government is now considering a donor-funded
move to turn the state-run Bangladesh Railway into a public
limited company. "The sick service of Bangladesh Railway
cannot be revived without turning into a business
organization, and that it is likely to be changed into a
limited company," he underlined following a monthly meeting of
agencies and departments under the communication ministry.
Bangladesh Government signed credit agreements with the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) to support the
government's plans to transform Bangladesh Railway into a
well-managed, customer-focused organization on February 15,
2007 under the Railway Sector Investment Program (RSIP), a
joint initiative of ADB, WB, JBIC (Japan Bank for
International Cooperation) which, together with the United
Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), to
develop joint strategies to assist Bangladesh in a more
coordinated manner.
Under the Bangladesh's national poverty reduction strategy
(2005), ADB's total commitment for RSIP amounts is US$430
million under the Multi-Tranche Financing Facility to support
the railway sector development as it is critical for
accelerating economic growth and poverty reduction, which
remains a formidable challenge in spite of the impressive
socio-economic progress over the recent years. RSIP entails a
total of US$924.5 million, of which besides ADB's commitment,
WB will provide US$250 million, US$100 million from JBIC, and
with the balance provided by the Government of Bangladesh.
To restructure Bangladesh railway into a 'lines of business'
organization, DFID will provide technical assistance to the
Planning Commission on wider sector governance issues,
including the preparation of a 20 year Railway Development
Master Plan. The multi-year, multi-donor railway sector
reforms program will be used to support Bangladesh Railway's
priority investments, to support Government efforts to make
institutional and governance improvements in Bangladesh
Railways, as well as to improve financial management and human
resource management, and to increase operational efficiency.
Besides transforming it into a modern transport sector
comparable at least to the neighboring countries, Bangladesh
signed an "Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian
Railway Network" on Friday, November 9, 2007 at the UN
Headquarters in New York to create a transcontinental railway
network across Europe and Asia by which Bangladesh will
enabled to expand its rail communications with other Asian
countries, and subsequently with Europe. But with archaic
infrastructure, Bangladesh Railway will not be able to move
even a single kilometer.
So far, the failure of the policymakers concerned to expand,
improve, and modernize Bangladesh Railway has not only
deprived the government of large revenues, it has also denied
the public of the service of this comfortable and hugely
popular mode of service. Historically, the railway was built
by the British colonial administration in 1884, running
between Kolkata (India) and Khulna (Bangladesh). But since the
partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947, or even in
pre-Bangladesh days, or Pakistan times, this sector has
suffered from gross neglect by policymakers and mismanagement
by the railway authorities.
Although Bangladesh Railway is a principle transportation
agency of the country as well as the safest and cheapest mode
of transport, but its passengers has dwindled because of the
improvement in other areas of surface transport in Bangladesh.
Presently it covers a length of 2,855 route kilometers
employing a total of 34,168 regular employees while Bangladesh
has more than 20,000 kilometers of paved highway. Before
independence, around 70% of the travelers and 43% of goods
were handled by the railway, but now 8% of the population uses
the service regularly. In addition, during the last fiscal
year, the railway's annual income was 4,660mn taka, while its
expenditure was 9,750mn taka.
There are so many government organizations in the public
sector which may have bigger budget but are not as big as
Railway that have huge property and massive infrastructure.
Influential quarters including railway employees and different
trade unions leaders are grabbing railway property frequently.
Communication minister of the immediate past government
Barrister Nazmul Huda had exercised influence to bend rules
for leasing 4.16 acre land of Bangladesh Railway in the
capital without any tender process for constructing a
five-star hotel.
Apart from occasional addition of imported coaches, the
significant upload in Bangladesh Railway was the road-rail
bridge at Banga Bandhu Bridge, opened in 1998 to connect the
previously isolated east and west rail networks. Fortunately
Bangladesh Railways used optical fiber, giving it a modern
digital system, with more capacity than it could use. The
airwaves of the growing mobile telecommunication in Bangladesh
are now using glass fiber buried alongside the railway tracks,
by which railway is earning extra revenue.
According to the last decision, the friendship train between
India and Bangladesh, called Maitree Express linking Kolkata
and Dhaka will commence its run from the Bengali New Year Day
April 14, 2008. Bangladesh Railway is also expecting to expand
its rail communications with other Asian countries, and
subsequently with Europe in the near future through
Trans-Asian Railway Network.
In the coming future, to transform Bangladesh Railway into a
well-managed, customer-focused organization and to maximize
the use of its resources, its manpower should be trained
according to strict professional criteria rather than
eliminating them and more people should be recruited if need
be. The reform proposal should be started soon and completed
sooner than the projected timeframe.
(Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York.
Dateline: New York, March 20, 2008. E-mail:
Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com)
Comment
Déjà vu all over again on Iraq
Two news reports
Wednesday document the Bush administration's unfortunate
continued blindness, one might even call it delusional
thinking, on Iraq. First, U.S. President George W. Bush once
again defended the war, saying it was necessary to topple
Saddam Hussein. Speaking at the Pentagon, Bush was
unapologetic while commemorating the fifth anniversary of the
beginning of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He once again
maintained that "removing Saddam Hussein from power was the
right decision.".
Bush then repeated his recent mantra that the "surge" in U.S.
troop levels and the new -- certainly more effective --
counter-insurgency policy pursued over the past 14 months by
U.S. Gen. David Petraeus had already achieved "a major
strategic victory in the broader war on terror".
That same day, however the British Broadcasting Corporation
suggested a far different reality. The BBC reported that the
death toll from Monday's terror bombing in the Iraqi city of
Karbala had reached 52. Another 75 people were injured in the
explosion, which occurred as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
was on a tour of the country.
Meanwhile, current U.S. opinion polls show Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., leading both the Democratic front-runners, Sens.
Barack Obama , D-Ill. and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in the
American presidential race. Therefore Bush's bull-headedness
on Iraq may yet carry over to the next administration. This
looks an increasingly possible scenario as Sens. Obama and
Clinton continue to battle it out, exposing and increasing
each other's vulnerabilities. Yet the latest terrible attack
in Karbala serves grim notice that the successes Petraeus has
achieved have only been tactical, not strategic or political,
and that they remain fragile at that. For Monday's bombing in
Karbala and other insurgent attacks the same day could have
been taken straight from the headlines of nearly four years
ago when, once again, guerrilla attacks against Shiites in
Iraq were on the increase with terror bombs routinely
massacring scores of innocent people at or near cherished
Shiite religious shrines.
Monday's attack occurred near the shrine of Imam Hussein. The
attack highlighted the continuing capabilities of the
insurgents to inflict massive random suffering on innocent
civilians, and the continued inability of the U.S. armed
forces and the U.S.-raised and trained Iraqi police and army
to prevent such attacks from continuing.
Nor was the Karbala attack the only fatal one that day. At
least 26 other Iraqis were killed in smaller scale attacks by
believed to be in large part carried out by the insurgents. In
Baghdad, six teenagers were killed when their sporting field
was bombarded by mortar attack and two more U.S. soldiers were
also killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, the BBC
reported.
Five years after launching a needless, un-necessary war on the
Middle East, the current president of the United States
refuses to acknowledge his errors, and continues to fantasize
progress where there is none. One can only hope and pray that
the candidates still fighting it out to succeed him may yet
show the open eyed vision and political and moral courage to
speak and act differently.
Source: www. middleeasttimes.com
Viewpoints
Taiwan's general
election on March 22nd could help make a grand Chinese peace
By the time the next election comes around in
four years, it is possible to conceive of China standing down
its threatening missiles.
Jonathan Power
In
the Chinese government's eyes it has two rebellious provinces
on its plate- Tibet and Taiwan, and both are in a volatile
state. In Tibet protestors are clashing with police and
soldiers. In Taiwan there is no occupation but 1000 Chinese
missiles are pointed at its heart.
The Tibetans, by and large, no longer try and argue for
independence, but even the notion of autonomy is not
acceptable to Beijing. In marked contrast, while confronting
Taiwan and its significant independence movement, the Chinese
offer autonomy as long as Taiwan will accept sovereign rule
from Beijing. At the moment, however, there are no takers,
neither in the outgoing government of President Chen
Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party, which likes to talk
about independence and membership of the UN, nor in the
opposition party descended from the Nationalists of China,
settled by a retreating General Chiang Kai-shek, which for
historical reasons has a soft spot for "One China".
During the eight years of Chen's rule Taiwan's China debate
has matured at a fast rate. Chen may not have won many
converts to his independence line (which is supported by about
30% of the voters) but he has undoubtedly shifted the terms of
the debate. He has persuaded the electorate that they must
never kow tow to China. At the same time they have been
convinced by the opposition that Taiwan should not provoke
China.
In broad terms it might seem that this is just the policy of
the status quo. Neither independence nor union. In many
aspects this is so. But it is not the same status quo as eight
years ago- it is both more independent (not independence)
minded and more conciliatory.
Looked at this way, assuming the Nationalists' leader Ma Ying-jeou
wins the presidency this week as the polls suggest, the
relationship between Beijing and Taipei is becoming not just
more mature, but healthier and less confrontational. As Ma
says it could go on like this for 50 years before union is
seriously discussed. Intellectuals in Taiwan have always hoped
for a consensus on a long timetable because by then democracy
may have arrived in China itself. Maybe Beijing by then would
countenance a loose confederation, rather like Britain had
until relatively recently with what it called its "Dominions",
Australia and Canada.
There is much to suggest that in Beijing the tea leaves are
being read in a similar way. Despite Chen's continuous stream
of provocative remarks and policy suggestions, President Hu
Jintao is as conciliatory as a communist leader can be, much
more low key in his approach than his predecessors. At the
Party Congress held soon after he came to power he deleted
harsh words on Taiwan from his keynote speech. His offer of a
peace treaty, although framed within the "One China" policy,
has many conciliatory elements. Mr Hu, unlike his
predecessors, does not talk of using force.
The next few years are going to be interesting. One can
foresee, if Ma is elected, a raft of new measures: direct air
links on a permanent daily basis, direct banking links,
shipping and freight links, the lowering of trade barriers and
a sharp step up of the already hefty rate of Taiwanese
investment on the mainland.
In Taiwan there will be more Chinese migrant workers, more
tourists and more cultural exchanges (Taiwan, thanks to Chiang
Kai-shek, holds in its magnificent museum most of the best of
the artefacts of China's long civilization.) There will
undoubtedly be much more Chinese investment, which at the
moment is rather rare.
By the time the next election comes around in four years, it
is possible to conceive of China standing down its threatening
missiles, of Taiwan's and Hong Kong's democracy being looked
at with less hostility in Beijing, and a fast growing
prosperity on both sides, fuelled by Taiwan's high technology
and pots of money for investment and China's willingness to
make as many bucks as possible.
It was not that long ago- during the presidency of Bill
Clinton- that the U.S. was sending warships to keep the peace
in the Straits of Taiwan. Then strategists were writing that
if there ever were a new world war Taiwan would be the
trigger. Now one should write that Taiwan could be the
catalyst for turning the Chinese carnivorous dragon into a
vegetarian panda. And maybe having found a peaceful way to
deal with Hong Kong and Taiwan Beijing could turn its
attention to a policy of peaceful coexistence with Tibet.
(Jonathan Power is an internationally renowned freelance
columnist. Copyright Jonathan Power. Dateline London, March
20th 2008.E-mail: JonatPower@aol.com or phone +46 706 510879)
The Universal View of Unity in Islam
There is only one religion whose name is
Submission, "Islam." Through this announcement, the Prophet (S.A.W.A.)
universalizes it and gives the idea of Submission a universal,
historical view.
Dr. All Shariati
The
holy Quran clearly announces the principle that "Islam" is not
a new religion because, throughout history, there has only
been one religion. Every Prophet was appointed to establish
this religion in accordance with the circumstances of the time
and in compliance with the needs of that era.
There is only one religion whose name is Submission, "Islam."
Through this announcement, the Prophet (S.A.W.A.)
universalizes it and gives the idea of Submission a universal,
historical view. He relates the Islamic movement to other
movements which have struggled to free people. They have stood
up to confront the powerful the wealthy and the deceivers. In
this way, they have shown their unity of vision: one spiritual
struggle, one religion, one spirit and one slogan throughout
the whole of humanity's history in all domains, all times and
in all generations.
Let us take a look at this verse of the Quran and consider its
historical context and choice of words to see how the
historical perspective is expressed in the Quran and see how
it places these movements one after the other. "Those who
disbelieve in the signs of God and slay the prophets without
right and slay men who do justice...." (3:20) We see that in
this verse three points are connected to each other. First,
the signs of God, second, prophets and, third, men who call
for equality in opposing the disbelievers. The prophets came
to bring a message. Their message consisted of wisdom, the
Book and justice for human beings. The Prophet (S.A.W.A) of
Islam is the last messenger of this world. He started a human
movement which, in the name of Submission (Islam), called
people to serve God, the One, so that they will be freed from
obeying and serving any other than Him.
The slogan of Islamic unity was a slogan which gave freedom,
Before intellectuals, scholars, the educated and philosophers
became aware of it, slaves, the tortured, hungry and the
belittled were sensitive to and aware of it. It is because of
this that the group which gathered around Mohammad (S.A.W.A.)
in Mecca were among the most deprived, who were belittled and
were among the most debased elements of society. The Prophet (S.A.W.A.)
of Islam marked the turning point for slaves who, throughout
history, were certain that their fate was slavery. Slaves and
the debased were convinced by the tongue of religion, science,
philosophy, with the tongue of the day, poetry or art that
their fate was to serve their masters and they believed that
they existed solely to experience suffering, to carry heavy
loads and to go hungry so that others might receive pleasure.
They thought they were born and created for this. This
deprived class, which believed that the gods or God were their
enemy, believed that in order for the world to function and
for the performance of necessary jobs, they were created.
Aristotle and Plato, intellectual geniuses that they were,
said, "God, or nature, has created some as salves of creation
and others as free so that the salves perform the ordinary
jobs and the free ones can then be free to attend to the
higher affairs, such as morals, poetry, music and
civilization."
The Prophet (S. A. W. A.) of Islam was chosen to complete the
movement which had existed throughout history against
deception, falsehood, polytheism, creation of discord,
hypocrisy, aristocracy and class differences which were all
made an object of the spiritual struggle, by announcing that
all of humanity is of one race, one source, one nature and
belong to one God, Who declared equality for all, with
philosophical explanation and by fighting an economically
powerful regime to maintain social equity.
Everyone accepted his position. Suddenly the inhabitants of
Medina, the Arabs, Jews, the Quraish found themselves greeting
the young slave of Hozaifah as an equal, he used to go about
in the narrow streets as a debased and deprived salve, now, in
the Mosque he led the prayers in front of the noble emigrants
of the Quraish, and became one of the dearest, most radiant
figures. The most distinguished present time stood behind him.
All values were shattered when the Prophet (S. A. W. A.)
himself began his efforts to destroy all of the values of
ignorance and aristocratic thinking. He instructed them to
shorten the long, flowing robes they wore and to trim their
long beards which were signs of aristocracy. He ordered people
not to strut with pride in the streets and to ride two at a
time on horseback. Sometimes, in order to break down the
values of the aristocracy in the eyes of the people, he would
ride a donkey bareback.
One day an old woman, who had for many years heard of the
greatness and magnificence of the Prophet (S.A.W.A.), came
before him. She stood tongue tied in awe of his presence. The
Prophet (S. A. W. A.), softly, kindly and simply touched her
on the shoulder and said, "Why are you afraid? I am the son of
that Quraish woman who milked sheep. What are you afraid of?"
When the last appointed prophet, the last messenger for those
who suddenly arose out of silent deserts and assaulted the
lords of power, wealth and deceit in the cities died, suddenly
everything was different. Discrepancies appeared immediately
upon his death. The path of historical events did not deviate
from the true way more than a centimeter at first. The angle
of differences which appeared between this School of Islam,
and the History of Islam between the truth and reality was
narrow in the beginning. But after the Prophet (S.A.W.A.)
died, the gap between them grew wider and wider. It was like
the angle between two lines which are at first close together
(no more than a thousandth of a centimeter apart) but
gradually the distance expands as history moves forward. The
two lines widen so that in an eternity there are kilometers of
space between them. If other factors and causes become
operative as they do, we may see that the two lines which
extend from an angle move apart as the line of history from
the line of the truth of Islam has done in this case.
Now divisions and disunity have created the weak community and
encouraged the enemies of Islam to mobilize their forces to
defeat this religion of Islam even in the Muslim's homeland.
To overcome this painful situation, the Muslims have no other
way but to put aside all their sectarian differences and
disputes and make all efforts for their united Muslim
community.
(The author is a Councilor at the Embassy of Iran in
Bangladesh)
Anti-Obama
Slur Shows Racism Still a Problem in the US
Orlando Lima
Geraldine Ferraro
tried to stick her foot in her mouth, but her loafers were too
small. So instead she unpacked a whip and stuck that in there,
and it fit just right. This week she theorized that a
self-made black guy with a Muslim name has a political
advantage over a white woman who is the wife of a two-term
president.
Put in historical context, a statement like that doesn't make
sense. Let's conduct a poll of all the presidents and see
which of the black ones felt their ethnicity aided their
ascent to the White House. Wait, there's never been a black
president. All the black people who ran for this office before
Barack Obama were so thoroughly marginalized that you can't
even call what they did running for president.
Let's set the record straight on this race issue yet again.
I'm a black man. Despite how close my skin tone is to white, I
can't think of a single instance in which my color has worked
to my advantage. You are at a constant disadvantage to your
white counterparts in everything you do.
The first time I heard the term "race card" was during the OJ
Simpson trail. Whites insisted that Simpson manipulated his
race to get acquitted. In reality he manipulated his
checkbook, and it pissed off whites that a black man possessed
the financial means to beat the state of California in court.
Forget producing the race card, I don't need to see it to
believe it exists. A concrete definition will suffice. In
absence of one my working definition is this: Race card means
when a white person makes a discriminatory remark about blacks
and gets called out on it, said white person can claim blacks
are being overly sensitive about race.
Geraldine, if you say something racially insensitive and
someone calls bullshit on you, your immediate reaction should
not be hostility. If you are defensive and you point blame
elsewhere it's an automatic admission that you have not taken
the time to look internally at whether or not you are acting
intelligently.
Ferraro is not racist but the fact that she doesn't understand
what the term "racism" means highlights why it is a massive
problem in America. In defense of her statements about Obama
she said: "Racism works in two different directions. I really
think they're attacking me because I'm white."
GF, you're talking about prejudice. Racism is a much larger
issue. It entails the use of power, money and public policy to
create a system that encourages and enforces discrimination
against a specific group of people based on the notion that
their race is inferior. Black people make up a small
percentage of the American population. We don't have much
wealth or education and we are grossly underrepresented in
government. We can be prejudiced, and I know plenty of blacks
who hate the man, but racist ... it simply isn't possible,
because we don't have any power. Sometimes I wish blacks could
be racist because white folks look like they're having a hell
of a fun time with it. Heck, I don't even want to buy the damn
thing. I'd settle for a test drive around the block.
It's troublesome that liberal whites act in a racist fashion
so often without realizing it. We all know where the
conservatives stand. They're transparent. They hate black
people. The liberals are translucent. They like us when it's
convenient.
When liberals need black votes they come into our communities
and act like they're down. They'll crank dat Souljah Boy like
the dance is still in style. When we're dunking basketballs
and cracking jokes they commend us for being so darn
entertaining. But when they feel challenged by blacks, as the
Hillary campaign does by the Obama campaign, we're not so
fresh after all.
In essence, what Ferraro is saying about Obama is that he has
not earned his lead in the race for the democratic
presidential nomination. He's just lucky. He was in the right
place at the right time and he's a trendy color. Apparently,
black is the new black. The reality is that Obama is running a
better campaign. Don't take my word for it. Ask the American
people. The primary results speak for themselves. If the shoe
was on the other foot and Hillary had the lead, the DNC would
be insisting that, for the greater good of the party, he step
aside and let Hillary assume the nomination.
Source:www.arabnews.com
International
China pours troops
into Tibet, admits shooting protesters
AFP, China
Thousands of soldiers were seen in Lhasa on Thursday amid
reports of a huge military build-up as China admitted for
the first time it had shot Tibetan protesters.
State-controlled Xinhua news agency reported four people
were shot and wounded last weekend by police in a Tibetan
area of southwestern China, as the Dalai Lama expressed
fears that the crackdown on unrest had caused many
casualties.
Long military convoys were on the move in Tibet while
troops also poured into nearby provinces after a week of
violence directed against China's rule of the Himalayan
region, witnesses, activist groups and media reports said.
"We saw a big convoy of military vehicles with troops in
the back," German journalist Georg Blume said from the
Tibetan capital Lhasa early Thursday.
"One convoy was about two kilometres (1.2 miles) long and
contained about 200 trucks. Each had 30 soldiers on board
so that's about 6,000 military personnel in one convoy."
Blume, who works for the German newspaper Die Zeit, and
another witness in Lhasa said they had seen security
forces going from one house to the next.
A week of protests against China's 57-year rule of Tibet
erupted into rioting in Lhasa last Friday. Demonstrations
have since spilled over into nearby Chinese provinces with
sizeable ethnic Tibetan populations.
China said rioters killed 13 innocent civilians in Lhasa
while denying that it used deadly force to end the
protests. Exiled Tibetan leaders have said about 100
people were believed to have been killed in the Chinese
crackdown.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who fled his
homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in
1959, on Thursday expressed concerns for the many people
he said had fallen victim to the Chinese security forces.
"We don't know exact numbers. Some say six, some say 100,
but places have been cut off. There are movements of
Chinese troops. I am really worried a lot of casualties
have happened," he said from his base of exile in northern
India.
Xinhua said security forces had shot and wounded four
protesters "in self-defence" during protests in the remote
Tibetan-populated county of Ngawa in Sichuan last Sunday.
Activist groups, however, have said at least eight people
were killed by security forces in the Ngawa protests.
They circulated photos this week of dead bodies with
apparent bullet wounds to back up their allegations that
Chinese forces were using lethal force despite official
claims to the contrary.
The unrest has been a public relations challenge for China
in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics in August, an event
the nation's communist rulers had hoped would showcase a
harmonious country.
While no government has called for a boycott of the Games,
China has faced increasing international pressure to
resolve the unrest peacefully and to hold talks with the
Dalai Lama.
Taiwan votes for new president with China in mind
AFP, Taipei
Taiwan went
to the polls to vote for a new president Saturday in an
election expected to turn on the slowing economy and hopes
their new leader will mend damaged relations with China.
The vote is being closely watched by Beijing and
Washington for signs of a new approach in the flashpoint
region after eight years of recurring tensions under
outgoing President Chen Shui- bian.
Harvard-educated Ma Ying-jeou of the opposition Kuomintang
is seen as the favourite against pro-independence ruling
party chief Frank Hsieh.
While China's military crackdown in Tibet has allowed
Hsieh to attack Ma's calls for an economic common market
and peace treaty with China, analysts do not expect him to
bridge the gap.
Polling stations opened under grey skies and visibly
tightened security at 8:00am (0000 GMT) and were to close
at 4:00pm. Official results were expected within hours.
Taiwan's 17.3 million voters were also being asked
Saturday to vote on two rival referendums on joining the
United Nations, although neither is expected to reach the
required turnout threshold.
Hsieh, casting his ballot in the southern city of
Kaohsiung with his wife and adopted son, said he was
looking forward to a smooth election.
Asked if he had slept well, he replied: "Well, I'm not
sure whether I fell asleep or simply passed out. I was so
tired."
Quizzed about how sure he was of victory, he spread his
arms out wide. "I have this much confidence," he smiled.
Ma was shown on television going for his usual morning
jog.
He was due to vote in the capital Taipei in early
afternoon.
"I am afraid of not being able to land a job after
graduation because the economy has been so bad," said
Angela Lin, a 20-year- old student.
Chen Che-yu, running off to his job in a fast food
restaurant after voting, said he was looking for social
harmony and an improving economy.
"What is happening in Tibet is too far from me and I am
not interested in one-China or common market, I just want
a better life," he told AFP.
Cheney expects new Pakistan govt to be good allies
AFP Report
US Vice
President Dick Cheney said Thursday that Pakistan's new
government had a duty to battle extremists and that he was
confident they would, as he made a surprise visit to
neighbouring Afghanistan.
"I expect they'll be good and effective friends and allies
of the United States, just as the previous government has
been," Cheney told a joint news conference with Afghan
President Hamid Karzai.
"I have no reason to doubt their commitment to dealing
with the problems that emerge" from the troubled tribal
area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the US vice
president said.
He said the new government, which has already vowed to
take on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally
in the US-led "war on terror", had "as big a stake as
anyone else" in fighting militancy.
Musharraf faces a fight for his political survival after
his backers were trounced at the polls last month, with
voters showing their anger over growing Islamic militancy
and a host of economic problems.
The party of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto
won the most seats in the elections and has agreed to form
a coalition with the grouping of Nawaz Sharif, who was
ousted as prime minister by Musharraf in 1999.
The resulting government has "as big a stake as anyone
else in dealing with the threat that sometimes emerges
from those areas along the border," said Cheney.
Pakistani authorities and the US Central Intelligence
Agency have accused an Al-Qaeda-linked militant chief
based in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan for slaying
the pro-Western Bhutto in a suicide attack on December 27.
"A government has an obligation to control its sovereign
territory, to make certain that that territory doesn't
become a safe haven or a sanctuary for, especially,
terrorist groups," said Cheney.
"I would expect that Pakistan will certainly fulfil that
obligation in the years ahead," he added.
Hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants fled into
Pakistan's lawless tribal areas after the US-led invasion
of Afghanistan, and US officials have identified the
region as a haven for Islamic militants.
Missile strikes targeting insurgents in the region and
attributed to US forces in Afghanistan have increased in
frequency in recent weeks, with one in January killing a
top Al-Qaeda militant, Abu Laith al-Libi.
Bhutto's widower and effective successor as party leader,
Asif Ali Zardari, has vowed to continue cooperation with
the United States and has said that Pakistanis must accept
that the fight against extremism is "our problem."
Barbs fly in contentious Democratic White House race
AFP Report
Tensions between Democrats
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton rose again Saturday after
the rival campaigns exchanged harsh words as Obama gained
the backing of the country's only Hispanic governor.
Rival Hillary Clinton's campaign dismissed the nod from
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as coming too late to
have any effect, while Obama's staff hit out at Clinton's
alleged dishonesty after records detailing her years as
first lady were made public.
The fresh mudslinging Friday capped off a week in which
the hard-fought race took on an increasingly nasty tone
with both sides trading charges of misleading the public
and trying to divert attention from political scandals.
On the campaign trail, Richardson's move was a setback for
Clinton and gave Obama a supporter with influence among
pivotal Hispanic voters-who have leaned towards his
rival-and well-known ties to the Clinton family.
The New Mexico governor called Obama a "once-in-a-lifetime
leader" who could inspire voters, repair America's image
abroad and overcome racial and political divisions.
Richardson served as energy secretary and UN ambassador in
the administration of president Bill Clinton and carried
out delicate diplomatic missions in North Korea and Saddam
Hussein's Iraq.
He dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination
on January 10 after a poor showing in the early
state-by-state primary and caucus contests.
The Clinton campaign played down the significance of the
endorsement, with chief strategist Mark Penn saying "the
time when he could have been most effective has long since
passed."
The Obama campaign this week pounced on the release this
week of White House records during Clinton's tenure as
first lady, saying the documents exposed a lack of candor
about her role in policy decisions and were "just the
latest in what has become a legacy of misleading voters."
The Illinois senator's campaign issued a statement Friday
saying: "Honesty is a crucial metric in this race because
the Democratic nominee is going to be running against John
McCain, who is viewed by voters as one of the most
trustworthy politicians in America."
For weeks, Obama and Clinton, his Senate colleague from
New York, have been locked in a battle for the right to
face McCain in the November 4 presidential election.
Richardson praised Obama's widely-publicized address on
race and politics Tuesday, in which he tried to blunt the
furor over comments by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright,
saying the senator's words were "courageous."
Clinton's aides meanwhile accused Obama trying to shift
attention from his troubles, without openly mentioning the
row over his controversial pastor, whose fiery sermons
have been televised repeatedly in recent days.
"At this point, it is no secret that the Obama campaign is
in political hot water, given the news stories of the last
several weeks, and is basically desperate to change the
subject," Phil Singer, deputy communications director for
the Clinton camp, told reporters.
Barbs fly in contentious
Democratic White House race
AFP Reportunt in Kenya over
cattle theft
Tensions between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton rose again Saturday after the rival campaigns
exchanged harsh words as Obama gained the backing of the
country's only Hispanic governor.
Rival Hillary Clinton's campaign dismissed the nod from
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as coming too late to
have any effect, while Obama's staff hit out at Clinton's
alleged dishonesty after records detailing her years as
first lady were made public.
The fresh mudslinging Friday capped off a week in which
the hard-fought race took on an increasingly nasty tone
with both sides trading charges of misleading the public
and trying to divert attention from political scandals.
On the campaign trail, Richardson's move was a setback for
Clinton and gave Obama a supporter with influence among
pivotal Hispanic voters-who have leaned towards his
rival-and well-known ties to the Clinton family.
The New Mexico governor called Obama a "once-in-a-lifetime
leader" who could inspire voters, repair America's image
abroad and overcome racial and political divisions.
Richardson served as energy secretary and UN ambassador in
the administration of president Bill Clinton and carried
out delicate diplomatic missions in North Korea and Saddam
Hussein's Iraq.
He dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination
on January 10 after a poor showing in the early
state-by-state primary and caucus contests.
The Clinton campaign played down the significance of the
endorsement, with chief strategist Mark Penn saying "the
time when he could have been most effective has long since
passed."
The Obama campaign this week pounced on the release this
week of White House records during Clinton's tenure as
first lady, saying the documents exposed a lack of candor
about her role in policy decisions and were "just the
latest in what has become a legacy of misleading voters."
The Illinois senator's campaign issued a statement Friday
saying: "Honesty is a crucial metric in this race because
the Democratic nominee is going to be running against John
McCain, who is viewed by voters as one of the most
trustworthy politicians in America."
For weeks, Obama and Clinton, his Senate colleague from
New York, have been locked in a battle for the right to
face McCain in the November 4 presidential election.
Richardson praised Obama's widely-publicized address on
race and politics Tuesday, in which he tried to blunt the
furor over comments by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright,
saying the senator's words were "courageous."
Clinton's aides meanwhile accused Obama trying to shift
attention from his troubles, without openly mentioning the
row over his controversial pastor, whose fiery sermons
have been televised repeatedly in recent days.
"At this point, it is no secret that the Obama campaign is
in political hot water, given the news stories of the last
several weeks, and is basically desperate to change the
subject," Phil Singer, deputy communications director for
the Clinton camp, told reporters.
Rice calls Chinese FM to urge restraint in Tibet
AFP, Washington
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China to show
restraint in Tibet and open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama
in a phone call with her Chinese counterpart, a US
official said Thursday.
Her conversation late Wednesday with Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi came amid reports of a huge Chinese military
build-up in the region with thousands of soldiers seen in
Lhasa on Thursday.
"Nobody wants to see violence ... So we have strongly
urged Chinese restraint in these regards," State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Rice repeated US pleas for restraint in Tibet and a
dialogue with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the
Dalai Lama.
"She was able to reiterate very directly with the foreign
minister our views urging Chinese restraint in dealing
with protestors," McCormack told reporters of the
20-minute call.
"She also urged the Chinese government to have a dialogue
with the Dalai Lama as we have in the past," McCormack
added.
Despite the news of the crackdown, in which exiled Tibetan
leaders believe about 100 people have been killed, the
White House said President George W. Bush had no plans to
call off his August trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games.
"The president's position about the Olympics has been that
this is not a political event, but a chance for athletes
to compete at the top of their class," said White House
spokeswoman Dana Perino, asked whether Bush should rethink
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