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What democracy demands
from our politicians
Muhammad Ali Bukhari
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has recently ruled that the suspension of the country's chief justice by President General Pervez Musharraf was illegal - a decision that pro-democracy lawyers in the country see as a challenge to the very authority of Musharraf.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry's suspension on March 9 triggered continuous protests by lawyers and opposition parties that eventually transformed into a powerful pro-democracy movement.
In its verdict on a constitutional petition moved by a panel of senior lawyers led Barrister Aitezaz Ahsan challenging Chaudhry's suspension, a 13-member bench of the apex court on July 20 also quashed a reference filed by the President against Chaudhry for alleged misconduct. "He [Chaudhry] has been restored, which is a victory for the entire nation," Aitezaz Ahsan told reporters after the landmark judgement.
A similar trend of democratic aspirations and endeavours is reflected in the writings of Bangladeshi intelligentsia. If one examines the differences between the military regimes in Pakistan and the governments of Bangladesh, one will find that the creation of Bangladesh through a long struggle and at the cost of great sacrifices made by its people has drawn a sharp contrast between the two South Asian countries in areas of governance. This as well the apprehension or alarm revealed by Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hosein's leads one to the question - then why are we now at a crossroads with at least one of the paths leading to martial law, 36 years into the country's independence? A human rights activist in Canada, Dr. Mozammel H. Khan, in a write-up titled "If this government fails" run by the Daily Star on August 6, pin-pointed this state, saying, "God forbid, if its [interim government's] mission plunges in disarray, as has been apprehended by the law adviser, it is the leaders of the armed forces who will have to bear the brunt." It actually can be more than mere brunt-bearing. We need to question our politicians about creating the excuses for army interventions. Do our politicians really know what democracy is all about? How much dedication and sacrifices are required to shape and ensure a democratic environment or a state of democracy? After all, one needs not to be a doctor of political science to understand the prerequisites for democracy.
Democracy is one of the most contested terms in the political lexicon. Its malleability is a part of its appeal. Yet almost all commentators accept that democracy has a "formal" and a "substantive" element. The most heated debate occurs over the importance and weight given to the balance between the two elements. While some people emphasis the processes by which people can participate in governance and hold the government accountable, others consider the substantive condition in which people live as of paramount importance. On both counts, there is "trouble in paradise." To many, democracy is all about elections. For them, it is axiomatic that citizens receive a regular opportunity to select their representatives through fair and open elections. Although there are other important features, such as responsible governance, entrenched rights of citizens, separation and decentralisation of power, etc., "universal suffrage" is the legitimating bedrock of our sub-continental democracy. In this regard, too, Bangladesh's democratic process has a number of trouble spots - the actual turnout rate of voters, percentage of votes, proportion of minority voters, women's share of elected offices, age group of voters, distribution of wealth, poverty rate, and so on. Do our politicians know how to eradiate these hindrances to democratic development and have the commitment to translate that knowledge into practice?
People in general are definitely against any military intervention in deciding the country's political course. They dislike the idea of armed forces as playing the role of masters shaping or crippling the democracy. To avoid that, our politicians must have ideological and moral integrity, commitments and dedication to democracy, and must live up to them in the same way as writers, about whom Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk said in his Nobel speech, "To become a writer, patience and toil are not enough: we must first feel compelled to escape crowds, company, the stuff of ordinary, everyday life, and shut ourselves up in a room. We wish for patience and hope so that we can create a deep world in our writing."
Muhammad Ali Bukhari is a Bangladeshi journalist based in Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at e-mail: muhammadbukhari@hotmail.com
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Diarrhoea breaks out in wake of flood
Abdur Rahman Khan
Health authorities and aid workers in Bangladesh are struggling hard to contain outbreaks of water-borne diseases as floodwater started receding in the affected areas.
The initial assessments of the flood damage identified food, drinking water, and sanitation as the main priorities. At least 18,300 people suffering from diarrhoea because of scarcity of clean drinking water have been admitted to hospitals across the country in the past eight days. There have also been outbreaks of respiratory, skin, and eye diseases in the past week.
The government said it had mobilised thousands of doctors and health officials and distributed millions of water purification tablets to the people affected by the floods.
However, the flooding eased further with two main Himalayan rivers - the Brahmaputra and the Ganges - showing a significant fall in their water levels, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said. The flood caused by monsoon rains and onrush of waters from the upper riparian areas had submerged 40 per cent of the country in 38 of the 64 districts in the north, centre and east, marooning or displacing 9.5 million people, according to the government estimates.
At least 28 more people died on Wednesday, a government spokesman, Shahjahan Sirajee, said. This raised the death toll in the past two weeks to 202.
Food and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury said the government was working with the United Nations and other donors to distribute food and relief materials in 15 districts. "Overall flood situation is improving across the country. We have stepped up relief operations in all the flood-affected areas. The businessmen, foreign donors and more than 100 non-governmental organisations have joined in the relief efforts," he said.
The council of advisers in its meeting on Wednesday asked the ministries concerned to assess and report on the damage in the flooding and to propose agriculture and infrastructure rehabilitation programmes.
An initial assessment shows about 2 million families in around 240 upazilas have been affected and crops, mainly the rain-fed Aus and vegetables, on 1.5 million hectares of land damaged due to the flood. About 60,000-kilometre stretches of flood protection embankments and 2,800km of roads have been washed away.
The flood is going to leave a serious adverse impact on the economy. The country's vegetable export has already gone down by almost 60 per cent from 200 tonne to 80 tonne a day while the donors fear the GDP may be retarded by the flooding.
The farmers fear a poor rice harvest this season as inundation of seedbeds has given rise to a shortage of saplings for transplanted Aman cultivation. The Department of Agricultural Extension and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation have taken measures to grow and mobilise saplings from non-flooded areas to help rice cultivation return to normalcy during the post-flood period.
The government-owned Radio and Television outlets have launched a campaign to disseminate healthcare messages and promote the post-flood rehabilitation programmes.
Meanwhile, international aid organisation Oxfam on Wednesday launched an appeal for £1 million ($2 million) to help nearly 200,000 flood victims in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Oxfam said it supplied essential water equipment and temporary shelters for those people who had lost their homes to flooding.
The world's third largest aid agency, CARE International, is launching a £2.5 million appeal to provide relief in South Asia, where the worst flooding in more than a decade has devastated the lives of almost 35 million people.
"Many of these people were already poor and now they have lost their homes, crops, and possessions. It is going to take a long-term support to get them back on their feet," says Jon Mitchell, CARE International's emergency response director.
The partners in Bangladesh of Christian Aid have planned an initial distribution of food rations to 35,000 people in the low-lying areas that were hit the worst by the flooding. The rainy season is only just beginning and the floods can get even worse. But, even when the water levels subside, communities will need help for months in order to rebuild their lives, the aid agency observed.
Christian Aid partner organisations have already started distribution of emergency food rations, cooking utensils, water purification tablets, and clothing for people marooned by the floods in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh with an initial target to reach 50,000 people.
Report from neighbouring India shows that more than 100,000 people are still marooned - many perched on rooftops - in eastern India's Bihar, a state that is a byword for poverty at the best of times.
Anger is rising at what is seen as the lackadaisical response of the Bihar state government. To add insult to injury, officials have been accused of stealing or hoarding food, while a 17-year-old boy was killed when the police opened fire on an angry crowd. The United Nations says state governments, especially in Bihar, simply do not have the capacity to deal with a crisis of almost unprecedented proportions.
Many in Bihar had never seen as much rain in their lifetime, around 900mm, close to a year's quota in just two weeks of incessant deluge. Many now believe climate change has led to a dramatic increase in the scale and frequency of natural disasters, and demands a completely new response.
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Global aid pours in for flood victims
M. Shahidul Islam in Toronto
The humanity is not blind to the sufferings of the people of Bangladesh. The devastating flooding has struck a sympathetic chord among people all over the world and aid has begun to pour in following an appeal on August 5 to the global community by the Chief Adviser (CA) to the interim government Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed.
Of the responses received so far, Canadian and the British charities are leading the pack in this altruistic mission to rescue millions of flood-ravaged Bangladeshis. A relief team from Ontario, Canada, has headed to Bangladesh soon after the CA's televised appeal. The team will supply safe drinking water and treat water-borne diseases.
The government of Canada will soon declare its own package of contribution for the flood-ravaged Bangladeshi people, it was learnt. But, much more is happening at the private level where the news has spread like wildfire and various charitable organisations and community leaders have sprung into action to help the victims.
The GlobalMedic team of Canada, part of a charitable foundation, has reportedly carried an inflatable field hospital and enough purification equipment to supply 100,000 people with four litres of water per day, said paramedic Rahul Singh, who accompanied the team.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi communities of Canadian, US and UK cities have launched their own fundraising campaigns. Community leaders are busy in collecting funds for the victims.
The Canadian Red Cross has sent $75,000 to assist the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in providing emergency relief. The World Vision Canada, another charity, has begun distribution of clean water and aid to the flood victims. The organisation is accepting donations for the victims of the disaster and seeking help via internet and other media outlets.
Plan Canada, formerly known as Foster Parents Plan, is also accepting donations to assist children and their families in flood-impacted areas of South Asia, including Bangladesh.
On August 5, the World Food Programme (WFP) launched its own campaign and urged the international community to help the flood victims of Bangladesh. WFP and Unicef have initiated distribution of 127 tonnes of biscuits worth $120,000 to the worst-hit areas of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, and Manikganj districts.
Among the governments, the UK government has given $2.5 million of immediate aid for the victims. The money will be spent to provide food, clean water, shelter, and medicines for 50,000 people in the 10 worst-affected districts. India has earlier pledged contributions of emergency food aid for the Bangladeshi victims. Other governments are mulling the appropriateness of response to be made and watching developments with respect to the gravity of the situation as it unfolds.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has already ordered distribution of $1.5 million through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Besides, the DFID has authorised its own programme to offer further flood relief in five districts in the northern region, including Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Bogra, Gaibandha, and Kurigram. Up to $1 million will be spent for these worst-hit regions.
Save the Children (UK) has also launched an urgent appeal for the worst-afflicted children of South Asia. The agency says at least 10 million children across Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are at risk.
In the region, more than 23 million people are currently considered vulnerable. Of them 6.9 million are in Bangladesh, 13.7 million in India and 2.5 million in Pakistan, according to the charity. So far, the agency workers have rescued over 5,000 families in Bangladesh who had been left adrift by the ferocity of the torrents and the concomitant deluge.
The Red Crescent authorities have also rushed relief aid to the flood victims in Bangladesh and China. The relief programmes are being carried out in coordination with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the local authorities in the affected countries, according to Red Crescent Acting Secretary General Dr. Saleh Moosa Al Thae.
On August 7, the Irish Government sent €500,000 in aid for flood victims in the monsoon-hit areas of Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan. The funds will be allocated by the International Federation of Red Cross, which has a strong presence in the three affected countries.
Meanwhile, the UN said on August 7 that up to 20 million people needed shelter and access to fresh water, food, emergency medical supplies, and basic household items across South Asia. Following the UN appeal, the message is spreading faster and more aid could be forthcoming soon, say observers.
While the marooned people await rescue and rehabilitation, success of the mission to save lives by intervening in time depend much on how fast the government can facilitate dispatch of domestic and foreign aid and rescue teams to the areas considered as the worst-hit by the deluge.
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Food basket was fairly secure before
Iraqi children much worse
off since US invasion
Doug Lorimer
Iraqi children are worse off today than they were before the US-led March 2003 invasion, Dan Toole, director of emergency programmes for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), told reporters in Geneva on July 16.
"Children today are much worse off than they were a year ago, and they certainly are worse off than they were three years ago", Toole said. "Nutritional indicators, health access indicators are all changing for the worse."
Toole said that this was in large part due to Iraqis no longer having access to a government-funded basket of foodstuffs that was established under the regime of President Saddam Hussein in 1991. The system was designed to meet the basic needs of Iraqi citizens in the face of crippling international economic sanctions.
Apart from shortages of items such as milk and baby milk formula, "the basic Iraqi food basket was fairly secure under the [Baathist] regime because there was food coming in and the government provided the food basket to its citizens", Toole said.
Food ration cut
As part of meeting Washington's objective of replacing the ousted regime's heavily public-sector dominated economy with a "free market" economy dominated by US and other foreign corporations, the US-backed Iraqi government began cutting the food ration budget in 2006.
As a direct result of the 1990-2003 economic sanctions, Iraq's under-five child mortality rate doubled in the 1990s. In 1999, UNICEF estimated that "if the substantial reduction in child mortality throughout Iraq during the 1980s had continued through the 1990s, there would have been half a million fewer deaths of children under-five in the country as a whole during the eight year period 1991 to 1998".
The sanctions regime ended in May 2003, but most of Iraq's 26 million people remained dependent upon the government food rationing system. In May 2006, the last time the UN World Food Program - which took over administration of the Iraqi food rationing system after the US-led invasion - compiled statistics on the system, it reported that almost one-third of Iraqis would be at risk of hunger if they didn't receive daily food rations.
"Local agricultural production is almost nil", Majid al Dulaymi from the Iraq agriculture ministry told the Inter-Press Service (IPS) news agency earlier this year. This has been the outcome of the decision by the US-led occupation authority to slash tariffs on imports of foreign goods, making it impossible for Iraqi farmers to compete with food imports, driving many of them bankrupt.
"The limited loans given by the ministry to farmers and planters", Dulaymi added, "are misused simply because it is not possible to maintain the agriculture production for reasons well known to everybody here. Now the private sector is importing everything, and the prices are too high to afford."
As well as cutting the food ration, Washington's puppet Iraqi government has also removed subsidies on a range of basic food items, leading dramatic rises in the prices Iraqis have to pay for them.
IPS reported on February 27 that a trade ministry official said that only sugar, rice, flour and cooking oil remained from the original 12 foodstuffs provided by the food ration under the Baathist government. Most of the other items were removed from the list in May 2006 as a result of budget cuts.
"What food ration are you talking about", 35-year-old Um Jamila, a mother of five complained to IPS. "The whole country has been stolen from us. If this goes on another six months, we will be just like any starving country."
-Third World Network Features
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Fear of failure shadows govt
Mohammed Ali Sattar
Since the changeover of January 11, the country has been under emergency rule. The beginning was, as usual, predictable and there has been a religious drive against corrupt persons of all sections of the society, the primary target being the politicians comprising the immediate past ministers and lawmakers and members of other parties as well. This massive drive against the dubious characters was tacitly greeted by the majority of people.
Seven months on, things do not stand on the same plain. It beats one's imagination how things have started to back roll. Soon after its formation, the army-backed caretaker government received a new name - interim government - coined by some think-tanks.
The early days have witnessed arrests of political and business top brass. Later, government servants made their way on the list of corrupt suspects. Still later, smaller fries were being booked that sent a clear message that no one with a jot of erroneous record would be spared.
The much talked-about election commission was 'reformed' and tasked with drawing a roadmap for the next national polls and bringing radical changes in the EC and electoral rules.
Though politics of any form was banned under the emergency, senior politicians of Awami League showed some guts by being vocal against various moves of the government and the EC. They demanded a definite timeframe for the elections and came down pretty hard on the EC, terming the body 'unfair'. They also crossed the limits by attacking government moves when their party colleagues were remanded in police or jail custody. The outcome was obvious.
We saw more internments.
Gradually came the 'minus-two' theory and then emerged the reformists. This had gone on for many weeks. A section of leaders, from both the AL and BNP, became hyper-active to take on the mantle of party leadership. The press and the people were mystified. When asked about the minus-two plan, the law adviser said it actually had come from leaders of the two major parties themselves. He however declined to divulge the names.
The essence of the plan was that the two leaders, Khaleda and Hasina, should be discarded from politics for good to bring about a change in the party leadership to provide better service to the people and the country and help establish a true democratic society. At the outset, this was an idea perhaps whole-heartedly accepted by most leaders of both the parties, but not so eagerly by the masses. It drew a mixed reaction from home and abroad.
Then the biggest catch so far, Sheikh Hasina, was interned. Ever since, things have really been uncomfortable for the government. Even while in detention, Hasina challenges the government on every move it takes against her.
The judiciary started telling the government about its limits. The court has already declared a few government moves against Hasina illegal and granted bail to her in a couple of cases.
The mood swing of the people at large shows a turnaround of sorts. The general opinion had been against the 'corrupt' leaders of political parties. But the way the government and its associate bodies have been handling various issues has given the 'opportunist politicians' opportunities to raise their voices on the slightest pretext.
The government should bear in mind that its every false step would make its opponents strong, and eventually it might find itself in a thick soup.
The concern is the 'sympathy and support' which this government had received from all walks of life during its inception have been increasingly evaporating. Even if this government is faltering in some areas, one should not overlook the fact that it came to the office at very critical historical junction and saved the country from sliding into a chaos.
The law adviser has expressed his anxiety about breakdown of the government. He said the incumbent government might even fail and, if it did, the consequences would be hazardous. He also clearly spelt out that the nation would have to share the responsibility should this government really failed to deliver.
This is a very realistic statement and most timely. It is for the people that this administration has been trying to work, and if the people at large do not lend a hand to the incumbent government in hauling the country up from the rot, we will really turn into a failed state and a forsaken nation.
We will be an unfortunate lot once again, if we have to choose the unholy groups as our leaders once more.
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Post-flood recovery of agriculture
Farm loan target must be met
Asjadul Kibria
With the flood situation deteriorating day by day and indicating a prolonged stay, the rural economy, especially the agricultural sector, requires intense attention in the post-flood rehabilitation agenda. Higher inflow of fund in the form of farm credit through the banking channels is an integral part of the strategy to revive agriculture.
Acknowledging the reality, the central bank has set a target of Tk 7,697.50 crore to be disbursed in the current fiscal year (FY08) as farm loans. The target is around 21.5 per cent higher than the annual target of Tk 6,351 crore in the FY07.
Of the total target, six state-owned commercial and specialised banks will disburse some Tk 6,619.5 crore while the private-sector banks will bankroll another Tk 1,078 crore.
The higher target is a timely move and involving the private-sector banks in the programme is also encouraging. In fact, over the years, private-sector banks have expressed their interest in farm lending as they find it rewarding. Some banks have initiated pilot programmes in rural areas of the country to trial the pitch. After a successful soil testing, they now have come forward to join in the programme.
Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nazrul Huda, who sat with top executives of the banks last week to finalise the credit target, expressed his optimism about the success of the programme.
'The target is ambitious, but we are hopeful that the banks can achieve the target, if they start loan distribution from the beginning of the fiscal year,' he told the media after the meeting. Huda also said that the central bank would monitor the loan disbursement activities so that farmers can get loans without any hassle. These words are also encouraging. But there are some valid questions regarding the anticipated success.
A careful analysis of the trend of agricultural credit disbursement reveals that the actual disbursement usually never reaches the target level. Only in two years, when the performance was the best, credit disbursement could near the target. Those were FY99 when the total disbursement was Tk 3,234.36 crore against the target of Tk 3,270 crore and FY06 when the disbursement stood at Tk 5,496.2 crore against the target of Tk 5,542 crore.
The latest scenario is very dismal. In FY07, the gap between target and disbursement of farm credit reached a record high of more than Tk 1,000. The Bangladesh Bank statistics show that during the 11 months from July 2006 to May 2007, some Tk 4,691.5 crore has been disbursed in farm loans against the annual target of Tk 6,351 crore. Provisional estimation also show that the total farm credit disbursement in FY07 stood at Tk 5,291 crore, denoting a decline of around 4 per cent from that in FY06. And that too came after five years, when farm credit posted a negative growth. Earlier, in FY02, the total agriculture loan disbursement was to the tune of Tk 2,954.9 crore or 2 per cent lower than the loan disbursed in FY01.
There is an apprehension that a slowdown in rural economic activities has lowered the demand for farm credit. The overall growth of the agricultural sector in FY07 dropped to 3.2 per cent from 4.59 per cent in FY06. Coupled with natural causes, like inadequate rainfall, and administrative failures, like disruption in supply of inputs, adversely affected the agricultural production. Short supply of fertilisers and insecticides, inadequate supply of electricity for irrigation pumps, higher prices of diesel and kerosene all turned the supply-side shocks awful that virtually dampened the demand to some extent.
The administrative drive to evacuate traditional markets (hat-bazaar) in rural and semi-urban areas in the name of recovering the state land has seriously hurt the livelihood of poor rural people. This also contributed to lowering the demand during the last half of FY07.
The higher recovery of agricultural credit, on the other hand, has invigorated the net outflow of funds from rural areas to urban areas. In FY07, recovery of farm loans posted a double-digit growth against the negative growth of credit disbursement.
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Glimpses of the Great
M. A. Jinnah
K Z Islam
Jinnah's public conflict with Willingdon, Governor of Bombay in 1918 was reflected in their acerbic social relationship. The Jinnahs had been invited to dinner at Bombay's Government House soon after returning from their honeymoon. Ruttie wore one of her lowest-cut Paris evening gowns, and Lady Willingdon was quick to order her servant to bring a wrap to cover up Mrs. Jinnah in case she felt cold. Jinnah did not wait for the servant's return, jumping up from table to inform his hostess, "When Mrs. Jinnah feels cold, she will say so, and ask for a wrap herself." He escorted his wife from the room. They did not set foot inside the Government House again till the Willingdons had moved out. Subsequently when Willingdon became the Viceroy of India, it was one of the reasons why Jinnah had to quit India and spend a few years in England.
In September 1923, Jinnah stood for elections for the Legislative Assembly for the Muslim reserved seat. M. Currim Chagla, Jinnah's junior relates an interesting incident in his Roses in December. "During the electioneering Mrs. Jinnah drove up to the Town Hall in Jinnah's luxurious limousine, stepped out with a Tiffin basket, and coming up the steps . . . said . . . "J"! - that is how she called him - "guess what I have brought for you for lunch." Jinnah answered: "How should I know?" and she replied: "I have brought you some lovely ham sandwiches." Jinnah, startled exclaimed: "My God! What have you done? Do you want me to lose my election? Do you realise I am standing from a Muslim separate electorate seat, and if my voters were to learn that I am going to eat ham sandwiches for lunch, do you think I have a ghost of a chance of being elected?" At this, Mrs. Jinnah's face fell. She quickly took back the Tiffin basket, ran down the steps, and drove away . . . We decided to go to Cornaglia's, which was a very well-known restaurant in Bombay . . . Jinnah ordered two cups of coffee, a plate of pastry and a plate of pork sausages . . . As we were drinking our coffee and enjoying our sausages, in came an old, bearded Muslim with a young boy of about ten years of age, probably his grandson. They came and sat down near Jinnah. It was obvious that they had been directed from the Town Hall . . . I then saw the boy's hand reaching out slowly but irresistibly towards the plate of pork sausages. After some hesitation, he picked up one, put it in his mouth, munched it and seemed to enjoy it tremendously. I watched this uneasily... After some time they left and Jinnah turned to me, and said angrily: "Chagla, you should be ashamed of yourself." I said: "What did I do?" Jinnah asked: "How dare you allow the young boy to eat pork sausages?" I said: "Look, Jinnah, I had to use all my mental faculties at top speed to come to a quick decision. The question was: should I let Jinnah lose his election or should I let the boy go to eternal damnation? And I decided in your favour."
Jinnah never permitted religious taboos to alter to tastes in food or drink. Just imagine how the current Pakistan has turned to Islamic fundamentalism. Secular Jinnah must be turning in his grave in his magnificent mausoleum in Karachi.
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NEWS NOTES FROM NEW YORK
Floods due to global warming
The fears expressed in this column that the severe flooding in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh and prior to that in China was the first signs of the devastating impacts of the global warming has been confirmed by the United Nations. A UN official was quoted by the New York Times (NYT) as saying that 'the vagaries of climate change could destroy vast swath of farmlands ultimately affecting food production'. This warning was aimed at India but the contiguous nations will be as badly affected. The director general of the FAO said increase in temperature could lower crop yield in the southern region of the world. The current deluge has affected an estimated 20 million in India, 8 million in Bangladesh, and 300,000 in Nepal, according to Unicef.
Expanded UN role in Iraq
The United States and Britain have moved a resolution seeking to extend the mandate of the UN assistance mission for 12 more months in a bid to foster political dialogue and national reconciliation. The US invaded Iraq without UN approval. Iraq's factional feuds are showing no sign of abatement. Five Sunni ministers have threatened to quit. More than 190,000 weapons including 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles shipped to Iraq for use by its security personnel are missing. The US defence department is also not sure whether 135,000 pieces of body armour and 115,000 helmets have been received by the Iraqi security forces or not. There is hardly any tremor anywhere despite the disclosure by Afghan President Karzai that the security situation in his country has deteriorated over the last two years. About catching bin Laden, he said, 'We are not closer; we are not further away from it. We are where we were a few years ago.'
US defence budget
The US Congress has approved a defence budget of $459.6 billion for the fiscal year starting October 1. The outlay is for buying more ships, enlisting more soldiers, and a 3.5 per cent pay-hike for the military personnel. The Congress however did not approve an additional fund of $147 billion the White House had sought for Iraq.
America can spend more than $1 billion a day. US defence budget is five times more than the combined defence budget of the rest of the nuclear power countries.
US legalises eavesdropping
President Bush signed into law a bill, broadening the government's authority to eavesdrop on international telephone calls and e-mails of American denizens without warrants. Previously, the government needed court approval for eavesdropping. The new law has provoked sharp public reaction. The Congress has vested in the President monarchical powers that the constitution had withheld. In their latest display of spinelessness, the Congressional democrats approved another unjustified, and probably unconstitutional, expansion of the presidential power to snoop into private communications. One example of the angry public reactions is this demand - give the voting public the same rights to keep their elected executive branch under surveillance.
China's HR record criticised
America is the votary of Human Rights. It is all right if America eavesdrop on its citizens. But it is slur if anything similar is done by any other country. The Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and journalism advocacy organisations blamed China of failing to improve its record on civil liberties and of harassing lawyers, dissidents, and journalists, despite its pledge to make human rights a centrepiece of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Chinese scholars, journalists, and lawyers have urged President Hu Jianto to release the political détentes. China's Olympic Games slogan, 'One World, One Dream', should instead be 'One World, One Dream and Universal Human Rights', the Chinese Human Rights activists said. Chinese officials gave an upbeat progress report on the coming Olympics despite warnings by the critics that China may fall short on environment, press freedom, and human rights.
Opposition put in US jail
The US Justice Department has singled out people for criminal prosecution to help Republicans win elections. The House Judiciary Committee is investigating the allegations, the NYT in an editorial said. Putting political opponents in jail is what happens in third world dictatorships. The Justice Department under the present administration improperly hired lawyers on party lines and many others were fired for political reasons because they refused to draw charges against Democratic candidates to help the Republicans. Republicans have lost control of both houses of the Congress after 10 years.
Taiwan's UN membership bid fails
United Nations rejected out of hand Taiwan's bid to become a UN member. The UN rejected the request saying it infringed the organisation's one-China policy.
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