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Olmert career doomed
Political crisis in Israel
affects Palestine issue
Mohammad Amjad Hossain
It is really matter of coincidence that President Bush is having difficult time on the issue of flawed war against Iraq and his closed ally in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under pressure to resign for his folly in conducting war against Hezbollah militia group in Lebanon last year.
A massive demonstration of people ranging from moderate and hardliners to secular and religious turned out at Tel Aviv on May 3 demanding the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. This demonstration is the follow-up of the interim report of the Winograd Commission, named after its retired Tel Aviv District court judge Eliyahu Winograd on war in Lebanon. The report neither spared the prime minister nor the defence minister Amir Peretz. It pointed out the failure of the Prime Minister in "exercising judgment, responsibility and prudence to lead the war time decision making process". The report has made scathing attacks on Peretz by saying that he did not demand presentation of serious strategic options for discussion with the prime minister and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). It may be noted that Peretz was a trade union leader and does not have a military background. The report diagnosed the main disease of the Israeli politico-military elite's lack of comprehending strategic doctrine in the fullest sense of the term. More than 1000 Lebanese and combatants were killed in the war, so did 120 Israeli soldiers and 39 Israeli civilians.
It is very interesting reporting which pointed finger at Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister, who took decision to hastily pull out of Lebanon in 2000 leading to Hezbollah's unchecked presence on Israel's northern border.
The commission was also critical of former chief of Staff; Air Force General Dan Halutz, who dismissed the threat of Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah during the war. However, Gen. Halutz had resigned before the interim report came out.
The Winograd Commission report in fact established the prima facie case that Hezbollah militia won the 34 days war against Israel. Many Arabs are of the opinion that this is the first war that the Jewish state has lost.
Apart from this, the Israeli prime minister is facing accusations of his abuse of power and corruption of illegal real estate transactions.
Although Ehud Olmert has vowed to continue to hold premiership as he has been elected for four years in April, 2006, yet Olmert is unlikely to survive when the full report gets published and multiple police investigation against Olmert will be finalised. At this time, one cabinet minister has already resigned. Israeli Premier, however, survived three no- confidence motions in the Parliament on May 6 by comfortable margins.
Olmert is barely holding together a fractured and scandal-ridden government; his military leaders are publicly feuding, his defence minister may soon be dropped by his own party and public support has reached its lowest ebb as President Bush's has.
President Bush is not in a much better position either. A lame duck President is presiding over an unpopular war in Iraq and is looking for help through European and Arab alliances, including Syria and Iran in extricating him from the mess made in Iraq. Until recently President Bush has refused to talk to Syria and Iran in spite of recommendation of bipartisan Iraq study group and lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum.
On the other hand, President Bush is facing inquiries of war policy, intelligence failures and war profiteering. The Israeli Premier is facing corruption case involving allegation of steering government contracts to friends.
The interim report appears to have doomed the political career of Olmert. The Israeli premier, who appears to have received blessing from President Bush in waging the war against Lebanon last year and President Bush will go down in history as failed leaders, who took their countries to war without adequate preparation and on the basis of falsehood.
With United States pre-occupied in Iraq, and Israeli Prime Minister being in trouble politically, there is no indication Bush administration is ready or willing to devolve time, energy and political capital to revive road map to resolve Israel-Palestinian problem.
The writer is former Bangladesh diplomat lives in Washington.
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US right to pick World Bank
chief questioned
As the search for a new World Bank chief to replace Paul Wolfowitz begins, many are questioning the United States' traditional right to pick the top man - a claim reasserted by the White House, reports IANS from Washington.
As the influential New York Times noted, "For decades, the World Bank has lectured borrowers on the virtues of competitive bidding, merit selection and transparent procedures. Yet when it has come to choosing the bank's leadership, Washington has never accepted those principles."
Under an unwritten rule, US presidents pick up the World Bank chief -whether or not the chosen one has the desired managerial skills or development credentials. European leaders have exercised similar authority over the top job at the International Monetary Fund since the two institutions were created six decades ago in the aftermath of World War II.
"That deeply flawed selection process ...has long made the bank a less effective and credible vehicle for financing international development than it should be," the daily suggested, seeking a reform to require merit selection and throwing open the job to highly qualified applicants worldwide.
But "unfortunately, that is not likely to happen," the Times acknowledged as the White House had agreed to Wolfowitz's resignation only after the bank's directors signaled that they would let President George Bush decide who would fill out the three years left in the current presidential term.
Wolfowitz's departure under an ethics cloud also leaves Washington facing the tough task of healing rifts with Europeans who said his handling of a high-paying promotion for his companion damaged the institution's credibility. Bank staff complained the crisis had undermined their mission of fighting poverty in developing countries.
The White House said Bush would move quickly to nominate an American successor. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said he would help Bush identify a nominee after consulting with other countries. But he made clear it would be an American.
Wolfowitz's decision to step down at the end of June did not quell anger among staff. The bank's staff association said it was important to the institution's credibility to ensure the process of choosing the next chief was more transparent. "The next president should be selected based on merit and qualifications, after full consultation of all shareholders," it said.
The association also demanded that Wolfowitz, a former US deputy defence secretary and Iraq war architect, be put on administrative leave immediately and forbidden from making policy decisions.
Senior bank managers urged staff to focus on the bank's goal of fighting poverty with Praful Patel, Vice President, South Asia Region noting, "For over a month - while our work has continued strongly - the institution has been battered by a crisis of governance."
Wolfowitz's departure would allow the bank to "return our full attention to continuing the development work at hand," Patel stated noting that South Asia had a great opportunity to end mass poverty with reforms opening up new pathways for the region to accelerate growth to new highs of 8 to 10 per cent.
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Greater focus on rural development
China to reform various sectors this year
Chen Deming, vice chairman of the State Development and Reform Commission, said earlier in April that China will focus on five key points for reform in 2007: the transformation of government functions and pushing forward the reform of the administrative system; increasing competitiveness and control, accelerating strategic adjustments and the reform of the state-owned economy and enterprises; improving the macro-control system and promoting the reform of the financial and taxation systems; promoting social harmony and expanding the reform of the social structure; coordinating urban and rural development and expanding rural reform.
This year, the government will focus on the transformation of government functions and push forward the reform of the administrative system. The goal is to simplify and standardise administrative examination and approval procedures.
It will stress the construction of a responsible government that serves the people and performs its duties in accordance with regulations and the law. It will endeavour to simplify and standardise procedures for administrative examination and approval as well as improve social management, public services and administrative functions according to the law. It will also increase its research efforts to develop an overall program for the expansion of reform.
Central SOEs
China will continue to increase its competitiveness and control of power as well as further the restructuring of state-owned economy and enterprises. The government will ask central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to focus their business on those industries and areas that are closely tied to national security and economic lifelines. It will support qualified enterprises to help them become more successful. Efforts will be made to promote shareholder reforms of large state-owned enterprises and improve the corporate management system. It will also attempt to improve the state-owned assets supervision and management system by launching pilot projects for state-owned assets operation budget formulation and standardizing the distribution relationship between the state and enterprises.
Non-tax income
The government will continue to concentrate on improving the macro-control system, and promoting the reform of the taxation and financial system. The key focuses are accelerating the construction of a public finance system, improving the fiscal transfer payment system, continuing the reform of the budget management system, formulating a comprehensive restructuring program for the transformation of the added-value tax system, and establishing a standardized government non-tax income system. The government will prepare for the implementation of the new enterprise income tax law and improve tax policies to save more energy.
Agricultural bank
The country will work to implement shareholder reforms at the Agricultural Bank of China and further the reform of the China Development Bank. It will strive to promote the construction of a multi-layer capital market and improve direct finance. Much will be done to promote the steady development and reform of the stock, bond, and futures markets. The government will also continue with market-oriented interest rate reforms, and improve the exchange rate formation mechanism.
Income distribution
The government aims to promote social harmony and expand the reform of social structures. This will be done primarily by steadily furthering the reform of the income distribution system and implementing various new policies; expanding the reform of the social security system; making medical and work injury insurance accessible to various workers; pushing forward a pilot project for endowment insurance through personal accounts; building a basic medical insurance system for major illnesses for urban residents; promoting injury and major sickness insurance for migrant workers; researching methods to handle trans-regional social insurance accounts; expanding the reform of education, health care and cultural systems; and improving the social management system.
Rural development
This year, the government will put greater effort into coordinating rural and urban development and expanding rural reform by consolidating and expanding the scope of pilot projects on rural tax reform, accelerating rural financial reform, developing new financial institutions, and fostering various micro-finance organisations. China will waive tuition fees for all students undertaking the compulsory nine years of education in rural areas. It will extend the coverage of the new type of rural cooperative medical care and establish a minimum subsistence allowance system in rural areas. In 2007, the government will release an "opinion on further reform of household registration management" and launch a number of employment pilot projects in urban and
rural areas.
Non-public sectors
To date, China has issued 25 documents related to non-public economic sectors. It will release another 12 in 2007, so as to further remove obstacles to the development of non-public sectors.
Chen Deming said that this year, China will gradually straighten out prices of natural gas and oil, appropriately adjust the price of water resources, and accelerate the reform of heating supply prices. Efforts will be made to accelerate the reform of the management system for monopoly industries as well as the electricity, railway, and telecommunication industries, and postal system.
- Source: People's Daily
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Saudi women are high fliers
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer in Riyadh
Amidst all the ongoing debate as to whether women should be allowed to drive, some, it seems, have taken to the skies.
History was made recently, as Capt. Hanadi Zakariya Hindi, became the first female pilot accredited to soar over this desert kingdom. Unflinchingly resolute in his endeavor to champion women's issues and characteristically magnanimous, Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), who sponsored Capt. Hanadi's training, proposed, "If there is any Saudi lady who is interested in the field of aeronautics or becoming a pilot then I extend her an open invitation to call me. I will fully underwrite any such undertaking from A to Z."
Having signed a 10-year contract with KHC in November last year while still enrolled at the aviation academy in Jordan, Capt. Hanadi expressed her gratitude to her parents and the prince for all their unwavering support.
Prince Alwaleed reaffirmed, "I supported Capt. Hanadi to fulfill her dreams of becoming a pilot. As you can very well see, she had the complete support of her parents throughout her quest. This is because she is an honorable Muslim lady who is not doing anything in contradiction to the teachings of Islam. We must destroy the myth that allowing women to work somehow undermines our religious practices. On the contrary, it is my belief that to be a good Muslim, irrespective of gender, you have to work hard and not be a burden on any society."
Capt. Hanadi further stressed that her diligence and tenacity were widely substantiated by the fact that she went on to take a Commercial Pilot's License and an Instrument Rating (CPL and IR) from the Mideast Aviation Academy in support of her contention. In order to achieve her goal she claimed to have faced many obstacles, but always persevered and strove harder to eventually overcome them.
In a recent interview, the courageous Hanadi did not rule out marriage with someone in the same line of work. She did, however, say, "I have no plans to marry in the near future despite the fact that all my sisters are already married."
A graduate of the Amman-based Mideast Aviation Academy, Capt. Hanadi and her proud parents, were received at the Kingdom Holding offices personally by the prince. Evidently pleased by her recruitment to the ranks of his all-male contingent of pilots, Prince Alwaleed expressed his confidence in her abilities and that of Saudi women in general. "I believe that Saudi women are as capable, if not more capable than their male counterparts," he reiterated.
Having signed a 10-year contract with KHC in November last year while still enrolled at the aviation academy in Jordan, Capt. Hanadi expressed her gratitude to her parents and the prince for all their unwavering support. Upon being asked whether she had found it hard to counteract any social stigma attached to her entering an arena solely dominated by men, she said: "My family and the prince supported me at every step of the way. That was the main support I needed, so I didn't really care about anyone else's opinion. My mother and father were instrumental in the realisation of my dream and they were always behind me." She added, "Some of my friends were in favour, although some were against the career I chose."
Capt. Hanadi initially studied English literature in Makkah, where she studied for two years before moving to Umm Al-Qura University. However, her burgeoning childhood desire to enter the cockpit meant that she did not complete her studies opting for a career in the field of aviation instead.
It is entirely up to them to decide where they work. They should always receive the fullest support and training in order to enable them to achieve their objectives. Being a good Muslim lady and working are not mutually exclusive options. It seems that the business community is finally waking up to this fact and to the reality that women can do an awful lot and have so much to offer in terms of professionalism, commitment and dedication."
Source: The Muslim Women's Newsletter
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A pragmatic strategy needed
to deal with LTTE rigidity
Jehan Perera in Colombo
During the election campaign of November 2005 that saw him scrape through to a narrow victory, President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised an honorable peace with the LTTE. This was in contrast to what he and his nationalist allies described as the peace bended knees of his rival, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The President also promised to present a viable political solution to the ethnic conflict in three months.
More than 18 months later, the SLFP, the President's party, has finally come up with its proposed solution. It falls woefully short of anything that could even go half way to meeting the demands of the aggrieved Tamil ethnic minority, let alone the LTTE which has been fighting for a separate state for the Tamils. It is easy to find fault with the ruling party for coming up with this proposal. It is also important to try and understand the rationale for it.
There are three key issues in finding a negotiated settlement to Sri Lanka's three decade long ethnic conflict. The first, and most difficult, is to persuade the LTTE to enter the mainstream of democratic politics and to renounce its use of violence. The two other issues are not easy ones at all either, and have defied a solution for the entirety of the nearly six decades of Sri Lanka's independence.
These are the issues regarding the extent of Sri Lankan territory that could be regarded as being under Tamil domination, and the quantum of power that a regional government set up for that territory should possess. In ordinary discourse these two issues have also been described as concerning the unit of devolution and whether Sri Lanka should be a unitary or federal state.
Proponents of a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict have long insisted that the missing ingredient in arriving at a negotiated solution to the ethnic conflict is a consensual political proposal that could address the power sharing issues in the country. President Mahinda Rajapaksa appeared to be of this view as well, which is why he set up the All Party Conference to develop a solution to the ethnic conflict shortly after being elected as President.
However, the ruling party's proposals to the All Party Conference that emerged in mid May have disappointed those who were hoping for a bold proposal from it. The SLFP's proposed solution to the ethnic conflict limits the devolution of power to the unitary state and to district units. It has come as a disappointment to those who continue to believe in the need for a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict. It is reported that President Mahinda Rajapaksa's input into his party's proposals was decisive in watering them down to their present levels.
Tamil aspirations
With regard to the unit of devolution, the aspirations of the Tamil polity is that the Northern and Eastern provinces, which amounts to little less than a third of the territory of Sri Lanka, should be considered as the Tamil Homeland. The Indo Lanka Peace Accord of 1987, and the 13th Amendment to the constitution that followed the signing of the Accord, gave a degree of legal recognition to this Tamil demand by merging the two provinces, albeit on a temporary basis.
This year the Supreme Court stepped in to de-merge the two provinces, much to the chagrin of the Tamil polity. Now the SLFP proposal has sought to further reduce the unit of devolution by asserting that this should be the district. Indeed in 1981, districts were made the unit of devolution, but this was given up in the legal changes effected by the Provincial Council system of 1987. The SLFP's proposal would mean that instead of one political unit for the Northern and Eastern provinces there would be eight district units.
The second bone of contention with regard to the SLFP proposal is the issue of central control over the regional units that are set up as part of a power sharing arrangement. The SLFP proposal asserts that whatever power that is devolved or shared has to be within the framework of a unitary constitutional framework. This would mean that the authorities in Colombo would wield overriding powers over the regional units, and retain unilateral power to alter any and all arrangements. This is unacceptable to the Tamil political parties that virtually in one voice insist that the framework of a political solution will have to be a federal one, in which unilateral central rule will no longer be possible.
Until President Rajapaksa took over the leadership of the SLFP, there had been a tacit consensus between the two main political parties with regard to a federal solution. The SLFP when it was headed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the UNP headed by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, were of one mind that a federal solution was necessary to resolve the ethnic conflict. But today the President has broken with that consensus to preserve his alliance with the Sinhalese nationalist parties that assure him of a majority in Parliament.
It seems that the President's reading of the present scenario with regard to the ethnic conflict seems to be that the chance of a negotiated settlement between the main protagonists is extremely slim at this time. The LTTE which blocked Tamil voters from voting at the Presidential elections of November 2005 for Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who stood for a federal solution, will certainly not agree to the solution offered by the ruling party, which is a unitary state with or without district units.
It would require an idealist or an ideologue who cared not for political self-preservation to present a federal solution so soon after the LTTE saw to the defeat of the pro-federal Opposition leader. Accordingly the President's assessment seems to be that getting the LTTE, whose rigidity is legend, to come nearer to the middle ground of federalism would be the work of years, if not for his military campaign that seeks to reduce their strength. It is this understanding that appears to be at the basis of the ruling party's minimal proposals at the present time.
President's strategy
President Rajapaksa's strategy of pragmatism has been to do whatever is necessary to prevail in the short term. At the present time, it appears that the President's assessment is that he cannot afford to alienate the forces of Sinhalese nationalism whose support he needs whilst the Sri Lankan military attempts to reduce the ability of the LTTE to be an obstacle to a political solution in the middle ground. In the meantime, the All Party Conference will continue its deliberations, in which the SLFP's proposals will be one among many. If the LTTE shows itself amenable to compromise, a time may come when those proposals are upped to occupy the middle ground again.
It may be a mistake, therefore, to view the SLFP's present stance as reflecting long term rigidity on the President's part in regard to the political solution to the ethnic conflict. Both as a member of the opposition, and as a relatively powerless Prime Minister under former President Kumaratunga, President Rajapaksa was not known for being particularly nationalistic or anti-Tamil. On the contrary, he carefully built up an image for himself as a human rights activist and a defender of labour rights.
Those who hold on to rigid positions are either ideologues or idealists. These terms are seldom if ever used to describe President Rajapaksa, who is most often described as a pragmatist who has a grasp of the popular pulse. As a pragmatist, President Rajapaksa has demonstrated a remarkable ability to forge alliances and sign agreements with parties that are at the opposing ends of the political spectrum. He has also succeeded in holding together a diverse coalition of political parties during his year and a half of the presidency.
But the pragmatism of the President needs to be also directed at the long term, and not only at the short term. The political posturing he is currently engaged in may keep the forces of Sinhalese nationalism with him on a temporary basis. The problem is that this same short term pragmatism is continuously eroding the confidence of all others in the President's moral commitment and problem solving capacities. Winning elections and holding on to power is one thing, winning the trust of others and solving intractable problems, is another. Hopefully, posturing will give way to real pragmatism that is based on securing the well being of all.
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Is Taj Mahal really turning yellow?
Mausoleum changes colour,
depending on weather
A parliamentary committee headed by Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) has expressed deep concern over the Taj Mahal turning yellow. The committee has asked for urgent measures to initiate remedial steps, IANS reports from Agra.
However, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) circles and historians in Agra do not seem to agree with the committee. The ASI circles feel that the building is being well looked after.
The Taj Mahal, according to one historian, is a unique building, which reflects several moods and changes according to weather and time of the day. During the hot summer months when the sun is at its brightest the white marble mausoleum appears jaundiced, but after the rains it is again sparkling white.
Local guides and travel agents also feel the Taj Mahal has not yellowed. "If it appears yellowish in the afternoon blame it on the weather conditions and the age of the structure. Marble is a delicate stone," a guide at the monument said.
Renowned Mughal historian R. Nath said, "Beauty facials and mud packs will not be a lasting solution. The real problem is with the dry river Yamuna. If you want to save the Taj Mahal for posterity release water in the river."
The Archaeological Survey of India scientists who have been closely monitoring the health of the monument feel the yellowish tinge does not reflect the health of the Taj Mahal, which is generally healthy.
Samadhia, a scientist, said the data was regularly analysed and reported. "No alarming signals have been detected," said another chemical analyst.
However, ASI and other agencies looking after pollution in the Taj Trapezium Zone agree the suspended particulate matter (SPM) level has continued to remain alarmingly high. They say dust particles affect the monument's surface.
The dry Yamuna bed for most part of the year raises enough dust to scrub the surface of the white marble monument, leaving pockmarks. In recent years, dust laden westerly winds from neighbouring Rajasthan desert have further compounded this problem of SPM.
The Aravali range used to act as a barrier and prevented dust laden winds from entering Agra and neighbouring districts. However, local environmentalists say large-scale mining activity in the Aravalis has created huge gaps, right from Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to Banaskantha district of Gujarat.
On the basis of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 1993, the Supreme Court had directed the Uttar Pradesh forest department to plant several rows of trees on the western border of Agra to create a green filter. But there has been no movement in this direction because of lack of resources.
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WB's corruption fighters
complain of failing image
Emad Mekay in Washington
Dozens of World Bank employees in a department entrusted with charting anti-corruption policies weighed in earlier in May on the nepotism scandal surrounding bank president Paul Wolfowitz, saying that their credibility was wearing away because of the escalating controversy.
The statement was sent to Wolfowitz and to the 24-member Board of Executive Directors, who help with running the Bank's day-to-day affairs, from the World Bank Group's Governance and Anti-corruption (GAC) Strategy Team.
The message was signed by 46 staff members who say they also represent an even greater body of bank employees and field officers. They cite reports that they are now facing increasing questioning of their role and of the authenticity of their mission of fighting fraud in borrowing nations.
"We are deeply concerned by the impact of the current leadership crisis on the bank's credibility and authority to engage with governments, non-government stakeholders, and donor partners on the GAC agenda," says the letter, seen by IPS.
Wolfowitz is facing accusations of abusing his power to promote and enrich his girlfriend and bank staffer, Shaha Riza, with a compensation package that went above and beyond bank protocols.
The controversy has become especially acute because Wolfowitz, best known for his role as an "architect" of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, sought to make fighting corruption a landmark of his tenure at the helm of one of the world's most powerful financial institutions. The nepotism charges were added to a long list of complaints about his management style that have triggered an open revolt from bank staff.
Calls from across the world, including from foreign officials, have been pouring down on the World Bank, asking for his ouster. Wolfowitz admitted making a mistake but has so far resisted quitting.
But the call from those at the forefront of the World Bank's fight against corruption is likely to particularly embarrass Wolfowitz, who has received backing during the scandal from some advocates who approved of his anti-corruption campaign.
The situation also shows how difficult it is to get back to business as usual at the institution, which employs more than 10,000 people.
The signatories say the corruption strategy cannot be implemented under current circumstances.
"The present crisis is a critical test of the bank's own commitment to the principles of sound corporate governance," they said.
The department reiterated the difficulty of preaching transparency and good governance when the bank itself was embroiled in the same malaise.
Last month, the World Bank's board adopted Wolfowitz's new anti-corruption strategy to scale up loans to improve governance in borrowing countries. The strategy was unanimously endorsed by the Board members.
The bank, which lent more than 23 billion dollars last year, has already produced a number of "Country Assistance Strategies" - an agreement that forces borrowing nations to follow certain policies in return for loans - that have focused on governance and anti-corruption issues. Those include deals with Albania, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Such an approach was expected to be applied in more CAS agreements with borrowing nations later this year.
Under Wolfowitz and in 2006 alone, almost half of the new lending operations included support for strengthening governance, amounting to a total support of 4.5 billion dollars, or 19.2 per cent of the bank's new lending for the year.
But the now the anti-corruption staff say all this work could be at risk because of the Wolfowitz-Riza scandal.
"There are reports from the field offices of concrete cases where the bank's policy dialogue and operational work on governance and anticorruption are being undermined," said the letter.
"The credibility of our front-line staff is eroding in the face of legitimate questions from our clients about the bank's ability to 'practice what it preaches' on governance. In these circumstances, we cannot credibly implement the GAC strategy."
The Board has selected an ad hoc group to look into a way out of the current crisis. A decision is expected this week.
In their letter, the staff members said they want the Board, which is probing the corruption accusations against Wolfowitz, to uphold the highest standards. They didn't call for Wolfowitz's resignation however.
"Our own governance standards must be upheld and enforced impartially and without exception by both the bank's senior management and the Board of Executive Directors, even when they touch the highest levels of this institution," the letter said.
"We call upon the Board of Executive Directors and the President to take clear and decisive actions to resolve this crisis quickly in a way that demonstrates to all our stakeholders the bank's commitment to the highest standards of integrity in leadership and accountability."
Earlier last week, a group of 42 former senior World Bank executives wrote a letter to the Financial Times asserting that Wolfowitz "has lost the trust and respect of bank staff at all levels."
Even the bank's own watchdog unit, the Independent Evaluation Group, joined a long line of voices warning that trust is eroding in the bank.
- Inter Press Service
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ISLAMABAD DIARY
Jonaid Iqbal
A newspaper headline reports President General Musharraf as saying that he would start crying on the day when lies and deception triumph over truth and reality. In a hard hitting speech the President again accused the Opposition leaders of conspiring against him. He was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of a new city that he is trying to build over the old destroyed town of Balakot, raised to ground in the devastating Oct. 8 earthquake, two and half years ago.
Could it be inferred from his speech that he was feeling threatened with the Opposition after he had sent a reference against the Chief Justice? By the way, the uproar since March 9 has become routine and demonstrations and protests are getting more every passing day instead of subsiding.
Generally, in the view of the lawyers' and that of the Opposition, the reference was issued to cow down the Judiciary and the General President should now take it back. In addition, the civil society in Islamabad is lining up every evening in front of the Supreme Court building, holding banners and placards, in favour of the Chief Justice, and against the reference.
Some of the confusion that has arisen could be attributed to President's own words: he may be seen to be carried away with ideas and utters something that gives rise to more controversies.
For instance, in a TV interview with Talat Husain a few days ago, he used such words as he "might use extra-constitutional methods to improve his standing". This is being increasingly questioned by quite a few editorial writers and TV commentators. A former General thought, it could be a covert threat to the Judiciary.
The CJ episode itself has now been translated as an equation spelled out in such ideas as, for example, the General or the Judiciary, to quote a headline from a story used on the Urdu web site of the BBC.
However, that should not mean that every thing is hanky dory with the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, announced the shaping of a grand Opposition alliance a few weeks ago in the Parliament cafeteria. That has not come true, even in the case of political parties represented in the two houses of the Parliament, who joined in protest walkouts, paralysing the working of the two legislative Houses.
The picture outside is different. Former premier, Nawaz Sharif (NS), who lives in London, last week announced a plan for convening an All-Party Conference (APC). The plan became stillborn. Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto (BB) objected, saying she wouldn't attend the conference, because NS had not consulted her in advance before announcing the idea.
According to newspaper reports, the MMA acted alone in filing a Private Members' Bill calling for annulling the 17th amendement which gives powers to General Pervez Musharrf to continue wearing the General's uniform while at the same time reigning as the President of the country.
And now, BB suggests that General Musharraf convene an APC. She has been gracious to include NS, that he be a part of the proposed APC .
When the proposal became public, Information Minister Mahmud Ali Durrani got in the mood of accepting the idea provided the Opposition agreed to legitimacy of General Musharraf's rule and that of the Parliament.
Tuesday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has formally offered talks with the Opposition. Would the Opposition accept the offer?
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