"It was BJP that gave Ambanis licenses to build two 30 million tone refineries with free land and tax holidays in refinery surplus Gujarat , big KG basin gas reserves worth over $100b almost free" With Regards Abi  Knowledge is the best gift, and manner is the best transaction - Ali --- On Wed, 4/22/09, Ravinder Singh <progressindia008@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Ravinder Singh <progressindia008@yahoo.com> |
Staring at the sun in Afghanistan By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON - United States President Barack Obama and other top officials in his administration have made it clear that there can be no military solution in Afghanistan, and that the non-military efforts to win over the Afghan population will be central to its chances of success. The reality, however, is that US military and civilian agencies lack the skills and training as well as the institutional framework necessary to carry out culturally and politically sensitive socio-economic programs at the local level in Afghanistan, or even to avoid further alienation of the population. The US government does not even have enough people capable of speaking Pashto, the language of the 14 million ethnic Pashtuns who represent about 42% of the population of Afghanistan. It is in the Pashtun southern and eastern regions of the country that the complex insurgency that has come to be called the Taliban has been able to organize and often effectively govern at village level in recent years. "If all you are going to do is kill the bad guys, then you don't need a lot of Pashto speakers," said Larry Goodson of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the National War College, who was a member of the team assembled by Central Command Chief General David Petraeus to formulate a proposal for Afghanistan and Pakistan. But any effort to win over Pashto-speaking Afghans cannot succeed without officials who can communicate effectively in Pashto. According to Chris Mason, who was a member of the Interagency Group on Afghanistan from early 2002 until September 2005, the Pashtuns of southern Afghanistan are "proto-insurgents", meaning that they are "naturally averse to the imposition of external order". The United States needs "thousands" of Pashto speakers to have any chance of success in winning them over, said Mason, recalling that 5,000 US officials had learned Vietnamese by the end of the Vietnam War. "The Foreign Service Institute should be turning out 200 to 300 Pashto speakers a year," he said. But according to an official at the State Department's Bureau of Human Resources, the United States has turned out a total of only 18 Foreign Service officers who can speak Pashto, and only two of them are now serving in Afghanistan, both apparently in Kabul. The Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California trains roughly 30 to 40 military personnel in Pashto each year, according to media relations officer Brian Lamar, most of whom are enlisted men in military intelligence. That indicates that there are very few US nationals capable of working with local Pashtuns on development and political problems. The National War College's Goodson said the almost complete absence of Pashto-speaking US officials in Afghanistan "belies the US commitment to a nation-building and counter-insurgency approach". It is also emblematic of a broader human resource deficit in regard to a US political approach to counter-insurgency as distinct from the past military approach in Afghanistan, according to Goodson. Winning over the Pashtun population "requires a level of human capital that, even prior to the global economic crisis was hard to come by", Goodson said. But in his view, "None of that staff is really in place." Obama announced in late March that the number of US civilian officials to be involved in the new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy would be increased by at least 50% to more than 900, as reported by the Washington Post. But even a doubling of the civilian presence would not address the yawning human resource gap in regard to a non-military approach to the insurgency, according to Goodson. That's because the additional civilians would be based on a model of "highly paid contractors" who live far from the people they are supposed to be helping to win over, Goodson explained. That creates friction with their poorly paid Afghan counterparts and does nothing to establish relations with local people, said Goodson. "You really do wonder if we are set up to do what we need to do in Afghanistan." Mason warns that increased US troop strength in Afghanistan is more likely to further alienate the population than help win them over unless the troops are trained for completely different operations than in the past. "Simply putting in more imperial storm troopers who do not speak the language and who are going to kick in more doors is just going to piss off more people," he said. Mason believes many army officers do understand the need to avoid traditional operations aimed at finding and killing or capturing insurgents, but are hamstrung by the army itself. "The army needs to move away from its default position, which has been war of annihilation, destroying the enemy, and focus on civil affairs," Mason said. Colonel David Lamm, who was chief of staff of the top US commander in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, Lieutenant General David Barno, is doubtful about the willingness of the army leadership to shift to a counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan. "The institutional army doesn't want to do this," he told Inter Press Service in an interview last September. "There isn't a lot of money in counter-insurgency. It isn't a high-tech war - it's a low-tech humint [human intelligence] operation." Lamm recalled that the army's role in Afghanistan before Barno took command in 2003 had been "counter-terrorism" rather than counter-insurgency. The army "wanted to roll in, round up terrorists, drive them out of the country, kill them," he said. Barno shifted the mission to one aimed at winning over the Afghan population, but he did so on his own, without any guidance from Washington, according to Lamm. With the transition to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsibility for Afghanistan that began in late 2005, the emphasis of US military strategy was on "force protection", and keeping casualties low, Lamm said. After the shift to NATO responsibility, most US troops in Afghanistan were still committed to an explicitly "counter-terrorism" role of destroying al-Qaeda and Taliban "holdouts". One of the hallmarks of that role, which has continued since 2006, is heavy reliance on airpower as a means of trying to weaken the insurgency. Barno, now director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, told IPS in an interview last September, "There is a predilection to use airpower in lieu of close up encounters [with insurgents] to avoid US casualties." Barno recalled that he dramatically reduced reliance on airpower, because he regarded the Afghan tolerance for the US military presence as a "bag of capital" that was used up "every time we used airpower or knocked down doors or detained someone in front of their family". Barno's policy of curbing airpower was abandoned by his successor, General Karl W Eikenberry, from 2005 to 2007, and the number of air strikes has continued to grow exponentially since 2005. Eikenberry was nominated by Obama to be ambassador to Afghanistan in March, an indication that the broad outlines of US strategy in Afghanistan will continue to emphasize air attacks on suspected Taliban targets. Growing Afghan anger at the hundreds of civilian casualties from US air strikes, often based on bad intelligence, has been exploited by insurgents across the country. Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist specializing in US national security policy. The paperback edition of his latest book, Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, was published in 2006. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KD23Df01.html |
My daughter's holiday in the Muslim world! I live partly in Britain. I'm not sure I want my daughter to visit her father's homeland any more, but I do want her to have an interesting and safe holiday in Egypt, Oman or Dubai. Jonathan Power My eighteen old daughter asked me on Saturday where she can safely travel to when she finishes school in June and has three months holiday before going to university in September.. "The Muslim countries or Japan", I replied. She was quite taken aback. At school they talk about the USA, Australia, Thailand and South America. "No", I said very emphatically, "I don't want you to go there", and then set about explaining to her and her mother why I felt so strongly. I pulled out the figures from the new 2009 UN World Development Report. After a lot of research into different types of measurement, the UN decided that the only accurate one was the homicide rate. If you try to compare rape, theft, break-ins etc. there is confusion- every country, apart from those in European Union, measure these in different ways. Some figures are accurate, some seem like they've been drawn out of a hat. But most countries report their murder rate pretty accurately. There may be under counting where there is civil strife, as in Sri Lanka, where murder and the killings of war can blur into each other. But in most difficult cases, like Russia, press reports can help balance the official figures. To cut a long story short, I would gladly let her go to Egypt, which has the world's lowest murder rate- at 0.4 per 100,000 population. Although it is closely followed by Japan at 0.5, other Muslim, mainly Arab, countries follow next, all with less than 1 murder per 100,000 of population. The United Arab Emirates, including that hot bed, Dubai, is at 0.6; Oman at 0.6; Saudi Arabia at 0.9; Bahrain at 1; and Jordan at 0.9. Even Indonesia, with all its political troubles, comes out at 1.1. Outside the Arab countries, the Scandinavian countries are the safest. Norway is at 0.8, Denmark at 0.8 and Iceland at 1. But Sweden breaks the Scandinavian success rate with a poor 2.4. Holland and Ireland do well too. So daughter, there is your list that I approve and your mother has been persuaded to approve. None of the others you mention or think about are safe, so forget about them. Ironically for us, they are countries with a Christian heritage- the U.S at 5.6; Mexico at 13; Russia at 19.9; South Africa at 47.5 and Columbia at 62.7. OK, we can put India on the positive side of the ledger. It is at 3.7. But it is a big, very diverse, country and parts of it, like West Bengal and its capital, Calcutta, are very safe.Your "mad dad" has been to them all, I know, but journalists have a name for being stupid and taking too many risks. The murder rate can change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. South Africa, which gets a bad press, has statistics that are reliable over a range of crimes. Its murder rate has fallen since 1996 - from 70 to 38 last year. (Since these figure come from the South Africa Police Department they are more up-to-date than the UN's.) Also interesting, if very worrying, is the situation in Britain, a country with good statistics. The murder rate is higher than other European countries. And with non-deadly violence Britain soars alarmingly ahead of the rest of Europe, with a rapid increase since 1988. A New Yorker visiting Britain is less likely to be murdered than he would be at home, but he is more likely to be beaten up. Doctors say that they see more stabbing victims than before and injuries from guns have more than trebled since 2000. Although over 35s are being murdered less frequently, those under 17 are being murdered more often. Indeed, the increase has been fast. Why? Take a look at any British city and stand and watch the pubs empty out on a Saturday night- many young men come out ready for a fight and it doesn't take much for them to start one. A government study reveals that both the killer and the victim are drunk in about half all male-on-male murders. Britain, an old civilization, has been keeping murder statistics since the 17th century. From then until the late 18th century, when industrialization got under way and peasants were forced into urban jobs, the murder rate dropped dramatically from 8.1 to 0.9. But land enclosures, the "satanic mills" and the "Gin Lanes" of Dickens' nineteenth century England inflicted a massive social wound, which has led to an alienated working class (how few working class people will call in the police when there is a beating up) and produced a sub culture in which knife and gun fighting are part of youthful bravado. Over 150 years, the murder rate has increased sharply, although in fits and starts. The recent jump is partly a legacy of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who, in the name of free market reforms, encouraged policies that led to a more socially divided society.. At the same time, because of renewed economic growth, working class young men had growing purchasing power which enabled them to spend more on beer. These are probably the main causes of heavy drinking and heavy violence. I live partly in Britain. I'm not sure I want my daughter to visit her father's homeland any more, but I do want her to have an interesting and safe holiday in Egypt, Oman or Dubai. (Jonathan Power is an internationally renowned freelance columnist. Copyright Jonathan Power. Dateline London; April 24th 2008. E-mail: JonatPower@aol.com or phone: +46 706 510879) |
President Ahmadinejad's Speech At The Durban Review Conference On Racism
Mr. Chairman, honorable secretary general of the United Nations, honorable United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Ladies and gentleman: We have gathered in the follow-up to the Durban conference against racism and racial discrimination to work out practical mechanisms for our holy and humanitarian campaigns.
Over the last centuries, humanity has gone through great sufferings and pains. In the Medieval Ages, thinkers and scientists were sentenced to death. It was then followed by a period of slavery and slave trade. Innocent people were taken captive in their millions and separated from their families and loved ones to be taken to Europe and America under the worst conditions. A dark period that also experienced occupation, lootings and massacres of innocent people.
Many years passed by before nations rose up and fought for their liberty and freedom and they paid a high price for it. They lost millions of lives to expel the occupiers and establish independent and national governments. However, it did not take long before power grabbers imposed two wars in Europe which also plagued a part of Asia and Africa. Those horrific wars claimed about a hundred million lives and left behind massive devastation. Had lessons been learnt from the occupations, horrors and crimes of those wars, there would have been a ray of hope for the future.
The victorious powers called themselves the conquerors of the world while ignoring or down treading upon rights of other nations by the imposition of oppressive laws and international arrangements. Ladies and gentlemen, let us take a look at the UN Security Council which is one of the legacies of World War I and World War II. What was the logic behind their granting themselves the veto right? How can such logic comply with humanitarian or spiritual values? Would it not be inconformity with the recognized principles of justice, equality before the law, love and human dignity? Would it not be discrimination, injustice, violations of human rights or humiliation of the majority of nations and countries?
The council is the highest decision-making world body for safeguarding international peace and security. How can we expect the realization of justice and peace when discrimination is legalized and the origin of the law is dominated by coercion and force rather than by justice and the rights?
Coercion and arrogance is the origin of oppression and wars. Although today many proponents of racism condemn racial discrimination in their words and their slogans, a number of powerful countries have been authorized to decide for other nations based on their own interests and at their own discretion and they can easily violate all laws and humanitarian values as they have done so. Following World War II, they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering and they sent migrants from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in occupied Palestine. And, in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.
The Security Council helped stabilize the occupying regime and supported it in the past 60 years giving them a free hand to commit all sorts of atrocities. It is all the more regrettable that a number of Western governments and the United States have committed themselves to defending those racist perpetrators of genocide while the awakened-conscience and free-minded people of the world condemn aggression, brutalities and the bombardment of civilians in Gaza. The supporters of Israel have always been either supportive or silent against the crimes.
Dear friends, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. What are the root causes of the US attacks against Iraq or the invasion of Afghanistan? Was the motive behind the invasion of Iraq anything other than the arrogance of the then US administration and the mounting pressures on the part of the possessors of wealth and power to expand their sphere of influence seeking the interests of giant arms manufacturing companies affecting a noble culture with thousands of years of historical background, eliminating the potential and practical threats of Muslim countries against the Zionist regime or to control and plunder the energy resources of the Iraqi people?
Why, indeed, almost a million people were killed and injured and a few more millions were displaced? Why, indeed, the Iraqi people have suffered enormous losses amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars? And why was billions of dollars imposed on the American people as the result of these military actions? Was not the military action against Iraq planned by the Zionists and their allies in the then US administration in complicity with the arms manufacturing countries and the possessors of wealth? Did the invasion of Afghanistan restore peace, security and economic wellbeing in the country?
The United States and its allies not only have failed to contain the production of drugs in Afghanistan, but the cultivation of narcotics has multiplied in the course of their presence. The basic question is that what was the responsibility and the job of the then US administration and its allies? Did they represent the countries of the world? Have they been mandated by them? Have they been authorized by the people of the world to interfere in all parts of the globe, of course mostly in our region? Are not these measures a clear example of egocentrism, racism, discrimination or infringement upon the dignity and independence of nations?
Ladies and gentlemen, who is responsible for the current global economic crisis? Where did the crisis start from? From Africa, Asia or from the United States in the first place then spreading across Europe and their allies?
For a long time, they imposed inequitable economic regulations by their political power on the international economy. They imposed a financial and monetary system without a proper international oversight mechanism on nations and governments that played no role in repressive trends or policies. They have not even allowed their people to oversea or monitor their financial policies. They introduced all laws and regulations in defiance of all moral values only to protect the interests of the possessors of wealth and power. They further presented a definition for market economy and competition that denied many of the economic opportunities that could be available to other countries of the world. They even transferred their problems to others while the waves of crisis lashed back plaguing their economies with thousands of billions of dollars in budget deficit. And today, they are injecting hundreds of billions of dollars of cash from the pockets of their own people and other nations into the failing banks, companies and financial institutions making the situation more and more complicated for their economy and their people. They are simply thinking about maintaining power and wealth.. They could not care any less about the people of the world and even their own people.
Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, Racism is rooted in the lack of knowledge concerning the root of human existence as the selected creature of God. It is also the product of his deviation from the true path of human life and the obligations of mankind in the world of creation, failing to consciously worship God, not being able to think about the philosophy of life or the path to perfection that are the main ingredients of divine and humanitarian values which have restricted the horizon of human outlook making transient and limited interests, the yardstick for his action. That is why evil's power took shape and expanded its realm of power while depriving others from enjoying equitable and just opportunities of development.
The result has been the making of an unbridled racism that is posing the most serious threats against international peace and has hindered the way for building peaceful coexistence in the entire world. Undoubtedly, racism is the symbol of ignorance which has deep roots in history and it is, indeed, the sign of frustration in the development of human society.
It is, therefore, crucially important to trace the manifestations of racism in situations or in societies where ignorance or lack of knowledge prevails. This increasing general awareness and understanding towards the philosophy of human existence is the principle struggle against such manifestations, and reveals the truth that human kind centers on the creation of the universe and the key to solving the problem of racism is a return to spiritual and moral values and finally the inclination to worship God Almighty.
The international community must initiate collective moves to raise awareness in afflicted societies where ignorance of racism still prevails so as to bring to a halt the spread of these malicious manifestations.
Dear Friends, today, the human community is facing a kind of racism which has tarnished the image of humanity in the beginning of the third millennium. World Zionism personifies racism that falsely resorts to religions and abuses religious sentiments to hide its hatred and ugly face. However, it is of great importance to bring into focus the political goals of some of the world powers and those who control huge economic resources and interests in the world. They mobilize all the resources including their economic and political influence and world media to render support in vain to the Zionist regime and to maliciously diminish the indignity and disgrace of this regime.
This is not simply a question of ignorance and one cannot conclude these ugly phenomena through consular campaigns. Efforts must be made to put an end to the abuse by Zionists and their political and international supporters and in respect with the will and aspirations of nations. Governments must be encouraged and supported in their fights aimed at eradicating this barbaric racism and to move towards reform in current international mechanisms. There is no doubt that you are all aware of the conspiracies of some powers and Zionist circles against the goals and objectives of this conference. Unfortunately, there have been literatures and statements in support of Zionists and their crimes. And it is the responsibility of honorable representatives of nations to disclose these campaigns which run counter to humanitarian values and principles.
It should be recognized that boycotting such a session as an outstanding international capacity is a true indication of supporting the blatant example of racism. In defending human rights, it is primarily important to defend the rights of all nations to participate equally in all important international decision making processes without the influence of certain world powers.
And secondly, it is necessary to restructure the existing international organizations and their respective arrangements. Therefore this conference is a testing ground and the world public opinion today and tomorrow will judge our decisions and our actions.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, the world is going through rapid fundamental changes. Power relations have become weak and fragile. The sound of cracks in the pillars of world systems can now be heard. Major political and economic structures are on the brink of collapse. Political and security crises are on the rise. The worsening crisis in the world economy for which there can be seen no bright prospect, demonstrates the rising tide of far-reaching global changes. I have repeatedly emphasized the need to change the wrong direction through which the world is being managed today and I have also warned of the dire consequences of any delay in this crucial responsibility.
Now in this valuable event, I would like to announce to all leaders, thinkers and to all nations of the world present in this meeting and those who have a hunger for peace and economic well-being that the unjust economic management of the world is now at the end of the road. This deadlock was inevitable since the logic of this imposed management was oppressive.
The logic of collective management of world affairs is based on noble aspirations which centers on human beings and the supremacy of the almighty God. Therefore it defies any policy or plan which goes against the influence of nations. The victory of right over wrong and the establishment of a just world system has been promised by the Almighty God and his messengers and it has been a shared goal of all human beings from different societies and generations in the course of history. Realization of such a future depends on the knowledge of creation and the belief of the faithful.
The making of a global society is in fact the accomplishment of a noble goal held in the establishment of a common global system that will be run with the participation of all nations of the world in all major decision making processes and the definite root to this sublime goal.
Scientific and technical capacities as well as communication technology have created a common and widespread understanding of the world society and has provided the necessary ground for a common system. Now it is upon all intellectuals, thinkers and policy makers in the world to carry out their historical responsibility with a firm belief in this definite root. I also want to lay emphasis on the fact that Western liberalism and capitalism has reached its end since it has failed to perceive the truth of the world and humans as they are.
It has imposed its own goals and directions on human beings. There is no regard for human and divine values, justice, freedom, love and brotherhood and it has based living on intense competition, securing individual and cooperative material interest.
Now we must learn from the past by initiating collective efforts in dealing with present challenges and in this connection, and as a closing remark, I wish to draw your kind attention to two important issues:
Firstly, it is absolutely possible to improve the existing situation in the world. However it must be noted that this could be only achieved through the cooperation of all countries in order to get the best out of the existing capacities and resources in the world. My participation in this conference is because of my conviction to these important issues as well as to our common responsibility of defending the rights of nations vis-Ã -vis the sinister phenomena of racism and being with you, the thinkers of the world.
Secondly, mindful of the inefficiency of the current international political, economic and security systems, it is necessary to focus on divine and humanitarian values by referring to the true definition of human beings based upon justice and respect for the rights of all people in all parts of the world and by acknowledging the past wrong doings in the past dominant management of the world, and to undertake collective measures to reform the existing structures.
In this respect, it is crucially important to rapidly reform the structure of the Security Council, including the elimination of the discriminatory veto right and to change the current world financial and monetary systems. It is evident that lack of understanding of the urgency for change is equivalent to the much heavier costs of delay.
Dear Friends, beware that to move in the direction of justice and human dignity is like a rapid flow in the current of a river. Let us not forget the essence of love and affection. The promised future of human beings is a great asset that may serve our purposes in keeping together to build a new world. In order to make the world a better place full of love and blessings, a world devoid of poverty and hatred, merging the increasing blessings of God Almighty and the righteous managing of the perfect human being, let us all join hands in friendship in the fulfillment of such a new world.
I thank you Mr. President, Secretary General and all distinguished participants for having the patience to listen to me. Thank you very much. |
"At least two major newspapers have informed their desks that the word "recession" is not to be used in connection with India. Recession is something that happens in the United States, not here" No issues: a recession of the intellect
P. Sainath
At least two major newspapers have informed their desks that the word "recession" is not to be used in connection with India. Recession is something that happens in the United States, not here. The word stands exiled from the editorial lexicon. If a rather disastrous situation has somehow to be indicated, the term "downturn" or "slowdown" will suffice — and it is to be used with some discretion. But not recession. That would upset the happy buying mood so vital amongst media audiences for the economy to come out of, er, um, well, recession. This don't-worry-be-happy decree throws up both funny and tragic situations. Several times, the same and other publications in this denial mode sport headlines telling us "the worst is over and recovery is just around the corner." The worst of what? Recession? And what are we recovering from anyway? Now many of the publications and channels into this kind of evasion have also been laying off employees in droves, including several journalists. Those poor souls (many with large home loan EMIs contracted when the economy was in even less of a "downturn" than it is now) are losing their jobs because of — well, whatever. Imagine you were one of them, working at the desk, filtering copy for your readers to reassure them that all is well. In the evening, you're exorcising the columns of the ghosts of recession. Next afternoon, you find you are a victim of what you've purged. The hypocrisy of the media in acting the opposite of what they tell their audiences is the reality — gee, that's part of business strategy. Scare the public and there will be less spending. Which means less advertising, less revenue, less etc. The one time a headline in one of these dailies mentioned the 'R word', it mocked it as in "What recession?" More cars were being sold in a particular segment; rural India is shining (the word here is "new found prosperity"). We need the sunny side up stories — even as we practise something quite different on the underside. Television channels also trot out the usual (suspect) experts to explain that things are not as bad as they're made out to be (By whom, we are seldom told). There were happy headlines for a while about declining inflation. (Though a few have lately become cautious about making a production number of this). But there is much less on how serious a problem food prices are. How huge an issue hunger still is. One indication of that does surface in the manifestos of political parties promising rice at Rs. 3 or Rs. 2 or even at Re. 1 a kg. (Oddly, to a population which seems to be set on buying cars, not foodgrain.) But then you know what these manifestos are. So the media speak to their select bunch of certified experts, spokespersons and analysts and declare: there are no issues in this election. There certainly aren't many the media are talking about. And yes that comes as a relief to political forces enabled to evade some massive problems now unfolding. Even the chance of highlighting the emerging issues — which would be a big help to many voters — gets spiked. So we were treated to IPL versus elections, Varun Gandhi, Budiya, Gudiya, and heaps of similar blather. It is to the credit of Jarnail Singh (who gives Barefoot Journalism a whole new meaning) that he got us off the Varun Gandhi trivia and actually scored on an important issue of all elections since 1984, There is a bizarre disconnect between what we report as developments in the United States and what we insist is the reality here. And, of course, there are significant differences — but we don't want to explore how those came about. For years, we've touted the benefits of one particular form of globalisation. In which the more integrated we were with the world economy (read U.S. and European), the better things got to be. But when things get worse there, it doesn't affect us. Oh no, not at all. It's also a measure of the distance, in many ways, between the partygoers and the plebeians. For the latter, there was not much to be gung-ho about, anyway. Many of them would assure you they have issues. But how do we address problems whose existence we barely acknowledged in the first place? So forget about the agrarian crisis, and the 1,82,000 farm suicides associated with it over the past decade. And when was hunger or joblessness an issue (in the media), anyway? Most publications have given zero space to India's dismal show in the Global Hunger Index. All these are problems that pre-date the meltdown in Wall Street (itself something that, for the media, happened out of the blue, without warning). Over the last year and a half, things have not been so great elsewhere either. The crisis of industry, negative growth in manufacturing, the loss of some jobs in these sectors — all these do find some mention. Most often, a passing mention. But things get really bad when the Top Ten per cent get spooked. They need to be reassured and must keep buying cars. At some point "not spooking them" means blurring the lines between illusion, ideology, reality and reporting. It could have very dangerous consequences. For the vast mass of the population, which does not receive stock market updates on cellphones, things were not so bright anyway. The year 2006 is on record in the media as one of our great boom years. But it is the data from that year that place us at 132 in the United Nations Human Development Index. That's a fall from the already dismal rank of 128 we held — and places us below Bhutan. In terms of underweight children and malnourishment, India is a disaster zone. Many below us in the index fare a lot better on that front. We have the largest number of such children on the planet. And there are no issues? That the dominant political forces are able to evade the issues does not mean an absence of them. That we are unable to give coherence to the giant processes unfolding around us says more about the media, less about the issues. As their orders run out, export-oriented sectors are in the doldrums. That's true of Gujarat, Maharashtra and elsewhere. As that happens, lakhs of workers — migrants from elsewhere — return to their homes in Orissa, Jharkhand or Bihar. What do they return to? To districts where there is an acute shortage of work — which is why they left in the first place. To a public distribution system in tatters that could not cater for even the earlier reduced population. To an NREGA that was insufficient to begin with — and which certainly, at present levels of funding, cannot cope with the addition of lakhs of people. There is a time lag between the onset of the latest phase of recession — or call it what you will — and voting in these elections. We go to the polls this month and in May. The job losses amongst migrant workers and others are mounting by the week. You could have a pretty bad situation by the time the monsoon sets in. A few months later, it could be spectacularly bad. But the voting takes place now. Were these polls held some months from today, you would have very decisive results in most States. And the issues would not be Varun, Budiya, Gudiya or Amar Singh's endless adventures. Meanwhile, there is little in the media that informs our audiences that we are part of the greatest economic crisis the world has seen in 80 years, the worst since the Great Depression. Nothing that prepares readers, listeners and viewers for what could follow. The only slowdown is in the news (and paralysed editorial intellect). The big downturn is in the media's performance. For the rest of the world it's a recession. One from which we could move towards far worse. With Regards Abi Knowledge is the best gift, and manner is the best transaction - Ali |
Playing the Fear Card : Diverting Attention from the BDR Massacre Probe?Dr. K. M. A. MalikThe recent (April 12-13) visit to Dhaka by India 's foreign secretary Mr Shiv Shanker Menon has raised a lot of questions and speculations. He landed in Dhaka without being invited by the foreign office and met with prime minister Sheikh Hasina and army chief Gen. Moeen, few junior ministers and foreign secretary M. Touhid Hossain. Few details of his discussions with the Bangladesh authorities were made public. It was initially suggested in Dhaka media that he had invited some Bangladesh officials to visit the controversial Tipaimukhi Dam project on the Indian side of the Barak river. But nobody believed this cock and bull story. It was also assumed that the discussions had involved bilateral issues such as cross border terrorism and infiltration, road and river transit facilities, use of the Chittagong port facilities for transporting goods to India 's north east regions, opening up Bangladesh market for Indian exports and investments, etc. But these are also long-standing issues and could not possibly prompt the Indian official's surprise visit to Dhaka .In principle, there is nothing wrong in India 's foreign secretary visiting Bangladesh by arrangement with foreign ministry to discuss issues that affect the interests of both countries. But there are questions regarding the abrupt timing and the undiplomatic manner in which the visit was conducted. Under normal protocol, Mr. Menon should have met with his Bangladesh counterpart Mr. Hossain to discuss any relevant issue and then probably could have visited the ministers as a matter of courtesy. Instead, he first met with prime minister Sheikh Hasina, without anybody else being present, and then with army chief, Gen. Moeen, obviously to discuss some 'secret' issues or a hidden agenda. Naturally one may ask the question: Can Bangladesh foreign secretary go to New Delhi and meet with the Indian prime minister and India 's army chief on a very short notice and bypassing the South Block? What message Mr. Menon conveyed to Gen. Moeen that cannot be made public ? And is it within the normal protocol for a foreign civil bureaucrat to call on the army chief of another sovereign country? Has Bangladesh under the new regime already become another Bhutan or a satellite state of India ?
The true purpose of the Indian official's emergency visit to Dhaka is shrouded in mystery. An initial report on April 15 (2009) in The Indian Express [1] revealed that "Menon emphasised the need to crack down on elements that aim to destabilise peace and security in the two countries." Menon was said to be "very satisfied" with the discussion in Dhaka .
The nature of the 'elements' to be cracked down was not made explicit, but one can easily understand that he was talking about the 'Islamic' terrorists and ULFA and other insurgents in India's north east. But these issues again are not new; Indian rulers embedded have been raising these issues for more than a decade now, mainly to corner Bangladesh in international arena and to justify their ever-increasing militarism and subversion in Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries.
Another story on the purpose of Mr. Menon's visit, according to a report in The Indian Express on April 18 (2009) [2], was to 'warn' Dhaka of a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Hasina. The report again said that there was a plot by 'terrorists' to target the new Sheikh Hasina Government, which "prompted India to go ahead and warn the Bangladesh top brass of the threat. Given the sensitivity of the information, Menon himself went to Dhaka to convey the information." Menon also "exchanged notes with his counterpart on the activities of the radical groups operating in Bangladesh and are suspected to have played a role in the recent BDR massacre."
The plot to assassinate Sheikh Hasina was given extra coverage in the Ananda Bazar Potrika of Kolkata on the same day (April 18, 2009) [3]. The story, written by Mr. Joyanta Ghosal, dealt with the recent BDR rebellion in Dhaka (February 25-26, 2009) and said that the plot was aimed at killing Sheikh Hasina and destabilising her government by 'Islamic terrorists'. Mr. Ghosal blamed the outlawed 'Harkat-Ul-Jihad - Bangladesh (HUJI-B) for two earlier attempts to assassinate Sheikh Hasina.
Mr. Ghosal also engaged in shameless fabrication and propaganda against the BDR forces. He alleged that on April 18, 2001, BDR forces under the command of Maj. Gen. Fazlur Rahman abducted and killed a number of BSF forces (Padua–Roumari border area) which was an act of aggression against India and also had militant (Jongi) links.
This type of propaganda carried by the 'big brothers' in India and supported by some of their 'little brothers' in Bangladesh is clearly motivated. It is clearly directed against the BDR forces by portraying them as aggressors and main barrier for peace along the border. However, for the sake of truth, it should be noted that on April 18, 2001, a contingent of heavily armed BSF forces forcibly entered into Bangladesh territory in Boraibari (Roumari) and faced a fierce resistance by the local BDR soldiers and Bangladesh villagers. About 18 BSF intruders were killed, all inside Bangladesh territories, which confirmed that it was BSF that was the intruder and aggressor and that BDR only did what was required of them, that is, to defend their country's lands and people from foreign aggression. It is a shame on the part of Bangladesh governments and the self-styled 'pro-liberation intellectuals' that the BDR soldiers and common citizens (some of them gave their lives) who faced the enemy aggression have not been accorded their due honour and recognition. A nation that does not honour its heroes, inevitably end up being ruled by cowards, villains and traitors.
That the Indian official went to Dhaka to have exclusive meetings with the prime minister and the army chief just to warn Dhaka of a possible plot to assassinate Sheikh Hasina does not seem credible either. Even if there were a plot, Indian government could have simply passed on the specific information to Dhaka without the necessity of any controversial visit. In recent years, Bangladesh army together with different security and intelligence agencies have suffered setbacks due to a variety of reasons, but the country is still capable of protecting her prime minister by taking the necessary security measures..
The most likely reason for Mr. Menon's unscheduled visit was probably connected with the investigations of the BDR massacre on February 25-26. By now, Bangladesh army's own probe committee must have some definite idea about the real criminals and traitors within the BDR ranks as well as their external masterminds. Whether they will disclose the details (or will be allowed to do so) is another matter. But we want to know. Our people want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The nation would not accept any cover up.
The tragic event has shaken in a very significant way the very fabric of Bangladesh state and its defence forces. The ruling government and their Indian 'friends' have been dishing out what seems to be a propaganda ploy by suggesting the involvement of, in their words, 'anti-liberation forces', HUJI-B/JMB, opposition Jamat or a section of BNP. Hundreds of BDR forces who took part in the conspiracy and/or the actual mayhem have been taken into custody and being interrogated. But nothing concrete has resulted so far. The investigations that should have taken only one week to finish according to the boastful Home Minister's original announcement have now dragged on for nearly two months, without any immediate end in sight. The process is very complicated and may take some time, but there is a growing concern regarding the true intentions of the BAL government, since a national tragedy is being manipulated for political purposes.
It is now known that the trial of the BDR personnel involved in the Peelkhana crime would be held under military rules. It is most likely that all those found guilty in the murderous campaign would be given severe punishment including death sentence. But these are the foot soldiers. Many of them would pay a very high price for being involved (willingly or unwillingly) in somebody else's deadly conspiracy.
But what about those who masterminded the commando-style operation to destroy the country's defence forces? What about those elements belonging to the ruling BAL party who held conspiratorial meetings before the actual event on February 25? What about those ruling party MPs and leaders who were in contact with the BDR rebels? What about the crores of taka that were distributed within Peelkhana as Mr. Nanak said? What about the various killer groups and their leaders hiding in India during the last 5/6 years (to avoid 'encounters' with RAB) but returning home after the present government came to power in January last? Is it not mysterious that Indian Intelligence knows everything that happens or about to happen in Bangladesh while it fails to unearth hundreds of conspiratorial plots within its own boundaries?
What about the possible involvement of foreign commandos capable of planning and executing such a surgical strike against Bangladesh army? Who will gain most if the country and its defence forces collapse? Was the real mastermind ISI, R&AW, MOSSAD, CIA, MI6 or any other foreign agency determined to destroy Bangladesh defence forces? Was it, as alleged by some Indian media outlets, some elements of the Bangladesh Army itself who were supposed to be 'anti-liberation' and ousted by the 'pro-liberation' Gen. Moeen during the last two years?
We have to wait for few more months to see exactly what the government would do to identify the masterminds behind the Peelkhana conspiracy.
The threat to Sheikh Hasina's life is not new; she had been targeted for assassination several times before by some 'Islamic' terrorist groups. But assassination of political leaders in South Asia (and also in other countries) is not something new and all the conspirators are not Muslim fanatics. The murderers of Sheikh Mujib and Ziaur Rahman were not 'Islamic' terrorists but agents of foreign powers. Assassins who took away the lives of M. K. Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajib Gandhi in India were Hindu or Shikh fanatics. The true identities of the assassins of Liakat Ali Khan and Benazir Bhutto are still shrouded in mystery. So, conspiracy for terrorism and assassination is not an exclusive reserve for some 'Islamic terrorists' alone, as implied by Indian media and their cohorts in Bangladesh . The culture of terrorism was first introduced in Bengal in early 20th century by the 'nationalist' Hindu youths (Anushiloni and similar underground groups). The culture of 'suicide bombing' was first introduced in the South Asian region by the Tamil Tigers (Hindu) in Sri Lanka .
The reports on the threat to Sheikh Hasina's life by 'Islamic terrorists' are not ordinary 'news stories'. These are designed to create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty in the minds of Bangladeshi people as a part of 'information war' by India 's rulers. This game of the 'fear card' is being played by Indian 'information warriors' in collusion with their surrogates and agents in Bangladesh . There are many historic and strategic reasons for this game against Bangladesh but the most important one at the moment is to divert public attention from exposing the real masterminds behind the Peelkhana massacre. The dark hands of R&AW and India's other special forces (trained by MOSSAD) are widely believed to have planned and executed the commando-style operation at Peelkhana, with the use of some misguided BDR soldiers as front covers and cannon fodders. Whether Mr. Menon came to Dhaka to warn Sheikh Hasina and Gen. Moeen of 'dire consequences' in case India 's involvement in the conspiracy is made public is not known. But such a possibility cannot be ruled out.
Let me conclude this essay with a quote from columnist M. Sahidul Islam, "The broader strategy involving the fate of Bangladesh is being implemented by phases. Now that the spotlight is being carefully shifted from the BDR tragedy to the removal of Khaleda Zia from her legitimately owned house, and to the bogey of Islamic militancy, we once again are scared to the hilt by the ongoing deflections and deceptions." [4]
( Cardiff April 21, 2009)
Notes and references: [1] http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-tells-bangla-to-crack-down-on-elements-threatening-peace/447028/ [2] http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-tells-bangla-to-watch-out-for-assassination-plot/448308/ [3] http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1090418/index.htm [4] http://www.weeklyholiday.net/front.html#02
[Dr. K. M. A. Malik is a former Professor of Chemistry, Dhaka University , and a Lecturer in Chemistry, Cardiff University (UK). He has published about 370 research papers in chemistry journals. As a freelance columnist, he also writes regularly on contemporary political and social issues. His published books include: Challenges in Bangladesh Politics - a Londoner's view (2005); War on Terror - A pretext for new colonisation (2005), and Bangladesher Rajniti - Mookh O Mookhosh (2003). His e-mail contact: kmamalik@aol.com] |
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2:00 PM, 25th April 2009
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