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WISDOM CONSISTENTLY REBUFFED BY PRESIDENT BUSH
US politics, terrorism and Islam-I
Habib Siddiqui
In the last century very few world leaders could be compared with Winston Churchill of Britain for his stand against appeasement. And yet he is famously quoted as saying, "To jaw-jaw is always better than war-war." So what is wrong in talking with Iran? After all, President Nixon and Secretary of State Kissinger did speak with their counterparts in China, Soviet Union and Vietnam at the height of tension with those countries.
But this wisdom has consistently been rebuffed by President Bush. Like a drooling hound-dog fixated on scent of its target while other crucial disasters may happen all around him, Bush's eyes and nose are locked onto Iran. Not surprisingly, in a speech on the floor of Israel's Knesset this month (May '08), Bush criticised those who want to deal with "terrorists". Bush said, "Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before," and then compared this diplomatic track with Sen. William Borah's 1939 comment, "Lord if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided. We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
None of the political analysts had any problem decoding Bush's speech. He meant Senator Obama who had earlier hinted that he would personally negotiate with Iran if its leaders abandoned any pursuit of nuclear weapons and stopped their support of violence, and also said he would meet Cuban and North Korean leaders. There is little doubt that the Bush speech was made to invoke the horrors of the Second World War, and was made deliberately in Israel, to drive a wedge between Obama and American Jewish voters. The New York Times in its Saturday editorial (May 17, 2008) stated, "Bush's penchant for slash-and-burn politics is unseemly" when practised at home; "it is shameful when put on display abroad."
Democrats on May 15 condemned President Bush's insinuation that they would be appeasing terrorist states by holding talks, with Senator Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, going so far as to call his remarks "bulls**t." "This is bulls**t. This is malarkey. This is outrageous. Outrageous for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, sit in the Knesset ... and make this kind of ridiculous statement," said Senator Biden. Even Democratic Party presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton called Bush's original comments "offensive and outrageous, especially in light of his failures in foreign policy."
Senator Obama, the probable Democratic Party candidate, wasted no time to condemn Bush. In a statement released to CNN by his campaign, he said, "It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicisation of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."
John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate, as expected, promptly came in support of Bush and said, "Barack Obama needs to explain why he wants to sit down and talk with a man who is a head of a government who is a state sponsor of terrorism that kills young Americans."
Asked if Obama was an appeaser, McCain said Obama must explain why he wants to talk with leaders like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and added that Obama's position was a serious error. "It shows naivete and inexperience and lack of judgment to say that he wants to sit down across the table from an individual who leads a country that says Israel is a stinking corpse, that is dedicated to the extinction of the state of Israel. My question is: what does he want to talk about?"
On Friday, May 16, Senator Obama fought back stating, "It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what (Presidents) Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power - including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria." He was ready to debate with anyone, anytime, anywhere on foreign policy.
While such hoopla about American foreign policy before this year's presidential election is quite natural and desirable, it nonetheless once again unmasked how hypocritical and short-sighted politicians are. In an op-ed published on May 16 in the Washington Post, James Rubin, a former State Department official from the Clinton administration, said McCain, responding to a question in a television interview two years ago about whether U.S. diplomats should be working with the Hamas government in Gaza, said: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy toward Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practise."
McCain added: "But it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that." [Rubin, who interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News, said McCain was "guilty of hypocrisy" and accused him of "smearing" Obama.]
So what has really changed in the last two years for Senator McCain other than the fact that he is now the Republican candidate for the White House, something that he was not before? Hamas still runs the Gaza Strip, and Dr. Ahmadinejad is still the elected president of Iran!
How White House misled
Well, hypocrisy and lying are nothing new to most American politicians when push comes to shove. They simply get worse in the election year. We have also noticed how the White House misled everyone with claims about Iraq's threat, presence of the WMDs, etc. - all only to be found false.
American people need a serious internal discussion about their foreign policy, especially about the Middle East (and Iran, in particular, in the light of her expressed desire to harness nuclear technology) that supplies oil, America's newly stoked urge for global hegemony (empire building) and her perennial quest for security, not just for herself but also for her 'stalwart' ally - the Zionist state of Israel, with her despicable records of sadistic brutality, racism and inhumanity against the dispossessed Palestinians.
They must also debate whether President Bush's last eight years have been successful in their national quest for security, global leadership, peace and prosperity. Such a discussion needs to weigh in the pros against the cons. It must be done thoroughly, fairly and justly without the influence of any lobby group. If the last eight years were bad, what change must America bring about? As the only superpower in our time, the policies must not only be good for the American people but also for all humanity. Who, of all the candidates, may be the better presidential candidate to bring about that desired state?
[To be continued]
The writer can be reached at: saeva@aol.com
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MALAYSIA'S RICE DIPLOMACY
Off-market deals on commodities
could be unsettling
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
Kuala Lumpur has been hard put these days on account of scarcity in essential commodities, particularly rice. As a result, Asian commodity and currency markets could be plunged into chaos after the Malaysian government threatened to abandon standard trading channels in favour of bartering palm oil for rice.
Annoyed with the alarming situation in the country, Peter Chin, Malaysia's minister for plantation industries and commodities, said that Malaysia would swap palm oil for rice with any nation willing to make the trade, as it struggles to shelter its people from record rice prices as well as expand its diminished "buffer" stockpile. The Malaysian proposal emerged recently, as the price of Thai 100 per cent B grade white rice - used as one of the benchmarks for global prices - surged back to its record high of $1,000 per tonne after Malaysia bought 200,000 tonnes of rice. Commodity traders in Tokyo said that Malaysia's decision to opt for off-market barter was a clear sign that food as an asset class is in crisis.
Recent volatility in food prices, and the emergence of rice as an asset now thought by some to be on a strategic par with crude oil, have shaken many countries' faith in the ability of global markets to properly price food. A commodities analyst said: "What is worrying is that these barter deals, which should only be for truly terrible situations like the Iraq oil-for-food program, are only going to increase in size and number from here. We are now seeing all the hidden mistrust in the markets being expressed through barter." The unusual offer - apparently open to every rice-producing nation on earth - marks a vote of no-confidence in commodity markets by a country that owes more than a quarter of its GDP to crude oil and palm oil exports.
Currently Thailand is Malaysia's main supplier of rice. Kuala Lumpur is now ready to offer palm oil to any exporting country that is ready to give us rice of suitable quality. As the crisis has deepened, and several large rice-producers have curbed exports for the sake of domestic calm, various barter deals are thought to have been struck behind the scenes. But none have been as open as Malaysia's offer, which analysts warn could trigger a spate of copy-cat exchanges. At a bare minimum Malaysia's decision is going to affect the issue of regional rice diplomacy at a sensitive time.
Malaysia is both a major world producer of palm oil and reliant on imports for about a third of its annual rice consumption; palm oil is itself in demand and prices have rocketed amid increased demand from China and India. But commodities experts say it would be highly unsettling to orderly markets if other raw materials like rubber, rare metals or even energy were suddenly moved around in a series of large off-market deals with no formal pricing.
Malaysia grows 65 per cent to 70 per cent of the rice its people consume, while the rest is imported, mainly from Thailand. With the price of Thai rice nearly tripling in the last five months, the government expects consumers to switch to local rice. The surge in rice prices has come amid poor weather in some rice-producing nations and demand that has outstripped supply. Some Asian countries, including India and Vietnam, have contributed to the problem by curbing rice exports to guarantee their own supplies. Widespread discontentment among Malaysians will occur if the government does not make plans to guarantee a supply of food with prices steadily rising over the last year, Abdullah said, adding that the reluctance of some countries to export rice to Malaysia was causing problems. But the government says it is planning to subsidize locally grown rice to keep its price steady.
The Malaysian government, meanwhile, delays nonessential public projects and use the money instead to build up food stockpiles amid a global food crisis. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said if measures are not taken now "it will be difficult later". He said a $1.3 billion plan announced recently to guarantee food supplies can be funded adequately only if money is diverted from non-urgent public projects. "We cannot wait for it (shortages) to happen first. Then there will be chaos."
Malaysia also announced plans recently to boost domestic food security by growing rice on a massive scale in a state on Borneo Island. Abdullah also urged land owners to use it for agriculture. "The land must be utilized. Neglected (rice) paddy land should be planted with fruit trees, vegetables," Abdullah said. The government has also decided to create a buffer stock not only for rice but also other essential goods needed by the people regardless of whether they are poor, rich, from the urban or rural areas.
The measures being undertaken by Malaysian government to face the current rice crisis worth the trouble and are expected resolve the bottleneck and ensure future regular supply of rice and other essential items in the market.
The writer is a researcher in international relations, analyst, columnist and commentator on South Asia.
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Creating a more perfect America
Rashidul Bari
Speaking in Philadelphia, the place where 221 years ago the Constitutional Convention was held, Sen. Barrack Obama discarded racially emotional remarks made by his former Pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Earlier Rev. Wright claimed that "God Dam America" is more appropriate sentiment than "God bless America" and asserted that the September 11 terrorist attack on America represented the "chickens coming home to roost". He also accused America as a racist society that dropped nuclear bombs on Japan and helped to oppress Palestinians and South Americans. Finally he said that America invented AIDS to eliminate blacks from the earth.
Using some 4, 992 words, speaking relatively to small crowds, the Senator of Illinois reiterated his view that some of Wright's comments were "not only wrong but divisive." But in his speech, Obama also offered a context that explained Wright's ravings: "For the men and women of Rev. Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor have the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table."
Obama's speech on race was so influential that it reminds me about Pericles oration of funeral.
In the same way-when Sen. Obama was asked to deliver a speech about Rev. Wright before the nation, he used the occasion to heal the nation. The way the Athenians praised Pericles' funeral oration the same way Obama's speech has been admired by Americans as enshrining the highest ideals of democracy.
When I asked Jerald Posman, the Vice President of York College, to make a comment about Obama's speech on racism, he replied, "The speech Obama made on racism on 18 March, 2008 was the best political speech since John F. Kennedy's speech on Catholicism-in 1961." Many Americans' sentiment is the same as that of Jerald Posman when it is compared in importance with Obama's speech on racism in which he applied his oratory skill to heal the racial divide.
Although Rev. Wright talks about the American nightmare, nevertheless Sen. Obama's speech made people believe in American dream. However, the possible Democratic Party candidate for 2008 presidential election admitted that he had sat in the church and heard while his pastor Wright's made the controversial remarks about 9/11 and AIDS by using a series of interrogative sentences, namely:-
Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policies? Of course.
Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes.
Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely.
Although Sen. Obama is a charismatic leader, and was so persuasive to convince us that he was innocent, nevertheless it has been difficult for the Senator to distance himself completely from the retired minister of the church where he has worshipped for two decades.
However, he attempted to persuade people to reduce the racial gap, "Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will doubtless be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough."
There is no equality in the United Sates. For example, in America 50 per cent of the blacks do not have the high school education. More blacks are in the prison and streets than any other ethnic group in the United States. When I accompanied Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who works to creating a world without poverty, on a book tour to India, in 2006, he said, "We have created a society that does not allow opportunities for those people to take care of themselves because we have denied them those opportunities."
Although Sen. Obama admits this fact yet he thinks that only white people are not to be held responsible for this inequality, "...expressed a profound view of this country-a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America..."
Nobody is perfect, so does Obama, but he has some good intention. He is the symbol of a united America. He is the icon of lasting peace, hope and American dream. Thus we ask Obama to initiate a dialogue to solve the racial issue-only then we can achieve our goal of making a more perfect union.
No single speech will recalibrate America's consideration of racism and politics, but Americans are closer today, thanks to this remarkable address, to face American history and improving the nation. Thanks to Obama, and millions of golden minds, one day there would be no segregation, no discrimination. One day there would be no division between and among Americans. One day there would be no black America, and there would be no white America. Thanks to Obama, Americans are not too far from that day when Americas will sit down together on the table of brotherhood to create a more perfect union-the Union that Dr. Martin Luther King dreamt.
Rashidul Bari, biographer of Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi born writer based in the United States, Hiswebsite is www.rashidulbari.info
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Republicans distance themselves
from President Bush
Barrister Harun ur Rashid
President George Bush has become unpopular in his country for his flawed domestic and foreign policies. The richest man in the world Warren Buffett has said that the US economy is already in recession and it is adversely affecting the US citizens.
His hallmark has been a readiness to break with long-established bipartisan positions in foreign affairs and adopt stunningly new policies, advanced by neo-conservatives such as Donald Rumsfeld and others and by 2008, his focused policies have failed in all three areas in foreign affairs, such as, Iraq war, Arab-Israeli conflict, spread of democracy and freedom in the Middle East. Furthermore, the Bush administration undermined the effectiveness of the UN. He chooses the UN when it suits America but drops it the second the UN stands in the way.
The end of the Iraq war is not in sight and more money is pumped into unproductive war each day. American people are tired with President Bush for his insensitivity to their sentiments and views. Republican Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain of Arizona has already distanced himself from President Bush in his policies except Iraq.
Defeat of Republican
The recent Republican defeat in a special congressional contest in Mississippi sent waves of apprehension across the Republican Party urging congressional candidates to distance themselves from the President to head off what could be catastrophic losses in the autumn congressional election.
The victory of Travis Childers, a conservative Democrat elected in a district once stronghold of the Republicans, was the third defeat of a Republican in a special congressional election this year. In addition to more losses for the party in November, the outcome appeared to undermine the idea that Senator Barack Obama could be a liability in conservative regions.
Obama said that the loss in Mississippi contest to fill a hardcore Republican seat proved that their strategy would not work. He said: "They lost by eight points and that they did everything they could."
McCain's advisers reportedly said the Mississippi defeat underscored the need to distance McCain as much as possible from congressional Republicans. McCain has been openly critical of some of Bush's policies.
Republican leaders see McCain as a model whose independent reputation appears to allow him to rise above the party in a year when the Republican Party seems tarnished.
The level of anxiety among senior Republic leaders is evident by their comments. Robert Duncan, Chairman of the Republican National Committee reportedly said: "This was a real wake-up call for us. We can't let the Democrats take our issues. We can't let them pretend to be conservatives and co-opt the middle and win these elections. We have to get the attention of our incumbents and candidates and make sure they understand this."
Representative Thomas Davis 3rd, Republican of Virginia, a former leader of his party's congressional campaign committee, issued a dire warning that the Republican Party had been severely damaged, in no small part because of its identification with President Bush.
Unless the Republican candidates moved dramatically, they could lose 20 seats in the House of Representatives and 6 in the Senate. He said: "The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than it was in 2006.
On 14th May, at a private post-mortem meeting worried Republicans demanded that their leadership come up with a plan to save potential losses in November election.
Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, suggested that his committee would look for a change in strategy. He said: "When you lose three of these in a row you have to get beyond campaign tactics and take a hard look and ask if there is something wrong with your product."
Ethnic votes
The losing candidate in Louisiana, Woody Jenkins of Republican Party, said that the high African-American turnout in his district was "probably the decision factor" in his loss.
This new dimension will affect the outcome of future elections. This means that the prospect of an unusually heavy turnout among these groups may upset many results in elections. Both parties are wooing these voters. Many candidates speak Spanish language and opened website in Spanish to reach to Hispanics.
The Hispanic population currently makes up about 14 percent of the 300-million-plus U.S. citizens. Boosted by high immigration rates and higher-than-average family size, the Hispanic population is expected to grow to nearly 30 percent of the total U.S. population by 2050.
As of July 1, 2004, the estimated population of Afro-Americans in the United States constituted 13.4 percent of the total U.S. population and 14 million African-Americans voted in 2004 Presidential election.
If there is one thing to note that all Republican potential candidates talk about is changing or abandoning the Bush policies.
The writer is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
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Human rights issue is a wakeup
call for Sri Lankan govt.
Jehan Perera in Colombo
Sri Lanka police imposed curfew on 22 May in the Kaththankudi, predominantly Muslim town in Eastern Sri Lanka after two people were killed following violence triggered by the killing of two TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal) members in Kaththankudi. Unidentified gunmen shot and killed two TMVP members in Kaththankudi.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has censured Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for seeking to undermine the country's international image and its economy by criticising the government for human rights (HR) violations at international forums. Sri Lankan Opposition leader has said that Colombo's noncompliance with international human rights agreements it has signed could make the country lose its eligibility for import duty concessions by the European Union. Sri Lanka's recent unsuccessful bid to maintain its representation on the UN Human Rights Council following a vote by the General Assembly was another event that has highlighted the deteriorating condition of human rights in the country.
Sri Lanka was one of the initial members elected to the Human Rights Council in 2006 and might have reasonably expected to be re-elected. The country's failure to be elected for a second term, despite an aggressive campaign to seek re-election, is an indication of a grave human rights situation that is not being dealt with in a constructive manner. The government immediately blamed the international and national human rights lobbies for this defeat.
While the government cannot be happy with this reversal it can be seen constructively as a wake up call to the government to improve the situation on the ground so that greater costs are not inflicted on the country in the future owing to the inability to maintain internationally acceptable standards of human rights.
There are further threats that lie ahead that could adversely affect the country's international position. Chief amongst these is the possible removal of Sri Lanka from the General System of Preferences (GSP+) that gives the country exemptions from significant tariffs for trade with the European Union, which is Sri Lanka's largest trading partner. Losing these benefits will only worsen an already critical economic situation, which has seen drastic increases in fuel, electricity, and food costs.
On the other hand, the government has put in place a top level team to argue the government's case, including Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and the Permanent Representative in Geneva, Dr Dayan Jayatilleke, who have been performing yeoman service on behalf of the government. The problem for the government, however, is the message emanating from the situation on the ground, which appears to be steadily getting worse, not better. There are reports virtually every day of serious human rights violations and intimidation of an entire society that fears to speak against the government.
Violations
One such case that has been reported is that of the abduction of Weerakutty Chandralingam of Batticaloa who was abducted by men coming in a white van in Colombo, one of whom wore a police uniform. According to a complaint made by Sinnathamby Spiritheyon, Director of the Eastern Self Reliant Community Awakening Organisation he had come along with members of the group from Batticaloa and been their driver. He had been assaulted in their presence and taken away on May 15. He is now missing and all efforts on the part of his colleagues to trace his whereabouts have failed.
Most recently there has been a report of about 20 civilians being killed in a remote-controlled claymore mine explosion in the heart of the LTTE-controlled Wanni region, just five kilometers from the LTTE-administrative capital of Kilinochchi. The LTTE has claimed that the deep penetration unit of the Sri Lankan military was responsible for this attack, which the military has denied arguing that it is very far from the government lines and close to the LTTE's centre. LTTE-controlled areas are not open to people from outside, unlike other parts of the country, and no one can move about freely.
The need for an International Human Rights Monitoring Mechanism which some sectors of national and international society have been calling for stems from this lack of credible authorities to appeal to, and fact finding mechanisms to verify the truth or otherwise of rumours that are spreading throughout society. Due to the lacuna, people tend to rely on rumour and hearsay, and are fearful of the powers-that-be, both in the government and LTTE-controlled parts of the country. This leads to a society that tries above all to keep out of harm's way, and due to fear is made to appear to be callous and unconcerned.
There has been much publicity given to the abduction and torture of senior journalist Keith Noyahr. Ironically, he was abducted outside his home at dead of night the day after Sri Lanka found itself voted out of the UN's Human Rights Council. Fortunately, in his specific case, it appears that a direct appeal for Presidential intervention was effective, and the journalist was released. While it is a relief that in some cases there is someone to appeal to, there is a general sense of helplessness in the face of human rights abuses. The abduction and disappearance of Weerakutty Chandralingam of Batticaloa is a case in point. This is why it is important that institutions are in place and empowered to fulfill the role of protecting human rights of all people. The visiting US Deputy Secretary for Human Rights and Labour, Erica Barks-Ruggles said as much. She said, "Sri Lanka has the necessary institutional framework in place, but it needs to empower its institutions to carry out their work effectively."
Unfortunately, the President's refusal to implement the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which was passed unanimously by Parliament in 2001, has crippled the independence and integrity of the great institutions of state that have evolved over the centuries to provide the necessary checks and balances in any society. If implemented properly, the 17th Amendment would ensure that the Police, Judiciary, Public Service, Elections Commission and Human Rights Commission were led by persons selected jointly by the government and opposition, and in whom the rest of society could have confidence in. At present the President is appointing persons in whom he has confidence to those institutions of state which is not sufficient to restore society's confidence in them.
Keith Noyahr
At this point I would like to pay a tribute to Keith Noyahr, whose bruised and battered face was shown on virtually every news media, except for those of the government. It was to Keith I turned to, when my column for another newspaper was stopped. At that time Keith was an editor at the Daily Mirror newspaper. After a long while I became my only censor, instead of what I wrote being subjected to arbitrary editorial changes by editors who disapproved of my opinion. Yes, I censor myself and have written even this article with much circumspection because of the impunity that has seized control of public life in the country.
I also pay tribute to Keith's journalist colleagues and friends who stayed vigil the long night he was missing, to his editor at the Nation newspaper Lalith Allahakoon who used his position to appeal directly to the President and to others at the highest level of government, and to Sunanda Deshapriya and his colleagues at the Free Media Movement who demonstrated in public and called for accountability in Sri Lanka.
The moral of all great religions, of which most Sri Lankans are passionate adherents, is that even an individual can spark off immense changes, and so must continue their work without being discouraged, even in the face of a democratic system of checks and balances that has broken down.
There is a story from the Buddhist scriptures related by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh that demonstrates the unmeasurable potential of the human individual. "One day when he was thirty eight years old, the Buddha met King Prasenjit of Kosala. The king said, 'Reverend, you are young, yet people call you the 'The Highest Enlightened One.' There are holy men in our country, eighty and ninety years old, venerated by many people, yet none of them claim to be the highest enlightened one. How can a young man like you make such a claim?' The Buddha replied, 'Your majesty, enlightenment is not a matter of age. A tiny spark of fire has the power to burn down a whole city. A small poisonous snake can kill you in an instant. A baby prince has the potentiality of a king. And a young monk has the capacity of becoming enlightened and changing the world."
Individuals of integrity, like Keith Noyahr, who with their contributions give a positive meaning to Sri Lanka's multi ethnic and multi religious society, have an invaluable contribution to make to the future Sri Lanka of peace, human rights and justice.
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ISLAMABAD DIARY
Zardari calls Musharraf a relic of the past
Jonaid Iqbal
Pakistan People's party Chief Asif Zardari has stirred up a hornet's nest with a remark that President Musharraf has become a relic of the past. He said this last week in an interview with an Indian TV channel. This was far too much for Musharraf to take and he shot back, with an angry statement "I am a constitutionally elected President."
Mr. Zardari does not agree. Nor for that matter did any political parties that contested the election last February except for PML-Q, the king's party and the MQM. During the past week Zardari has repeated many times that his party did not recognize him as such, and that he would prefer Musharraf to walk out of the office, rather than bring an impeachment notice in the Parliament.
PML- N chief has a directly opposite view on the subject. He wants the President impeached and then brings him to the court for violating the Constitution.
Impeachment issue: The argument - for and against - the impeachment surfaced last week after Asif Zardari announced a constitution package which has a clause to curtail President's power to use Article 58 2 (b) of the Constitution empowering him to dissolve the National Assembly and send the government packing.
Zardari says he would do it to restore 'the majesty of the Parliament' to reproduce his colourful phrase which he used while announcing the package. There are many people who think that the President might be conspiring to activate 58 2(b) since he has lately been mentioning rising food prices and deteriorating law and order situation, which is construed as preparation for springing a charge on the new administration. Asif Zardari says that the President still has a lot of constitutional power with him to damage the government.
There are many others who question Musharraf's ability to do this since he is now a much reduced man as far as political power is concerned. However, a number of speculative stories appeared in the local press speculating that the Americans are worried about Musharraf's fate.
American Senators: Quite a few American Senators, including Carl Levin and Bob Casey - who have descended on Pakistan last week - are making a last ditch attempt to persuade the political forces to let the old friend of George Bush stay in the presidency, reinforcing an impression that this time Americans have no intention of leaving an old friend in the lurch.
Moreover, there is another line of speculation being spread in some of those reports with subtlety that tend to suggest that they are quietly working out to formulate a compromise formula: get rid of both President Musharraf and the deposed Chief Justic Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
The US deputy secretary of state, John Negroponte, who was in Islamabad last March, is again coming back here this week may also promote the same formula. Of course this is unlikely to get mentioned formally in talks. We also have a statement issued by the Waziristan militant leader Baitullah Mehsud telling newsmen that Pakistani security forces would not be attacked. In the same breath Mehsud also mentioned that he did not trust the UN because it acted as American proxy. Incidentally, the militant leader also said in the same TV interview that he had not killed Ms. Benazir Bhutto.
Coming back to Mr. Zardari's constitutional package, however, it did mention the restoration of the judges. But the controversy is now focused on whether the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would be restored. An impression has been created that the term of the post of the Chief Justice would be restricted to three year's which means even if the CJ is restored he would soon find himself on the way out, after three months.
However, former Finance Minister Ishaque Dar while talking to newsmen claimed that Zardari has agreed to a five year term for the chief justice. Dar had to leave the finance minister's position after the PPP failed to keep the May 12 deadline to restore the judges as promised in the Bhurban declaration.
US Embassy officials have said Negroponte's visit to Pakistan does not appear in his schedule. Meanwhile, visiting US lawmakers say they are in Pakistan not to lobby for President Pervez Musharraf or to try to influence the reinstatement of the deposed judges, but they are with each other on impeachment of President Musharraf.
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SADR CITY CONDITIONS WORSEN
Fighting shuts off essential services
in Shia locality
IWPR Reporter in Baghdad
Living conditions in Sadr city, already one of Baghdad's most impoverished slums, have deteriorated sharply following weeks of fighting between Shia militiamen and United States-backed Iraqi troops that killed hundreds, according to Iraqi lawmakers.
"The situation has deteriorated significantly because most of the services have been stopped," said Aliyah Nassif Jassim, a member of parliament from the Iraqia bloc, who recently visited the district as part of a parliamentary delegation. "Many civilian homes have been destroyed as a result of the air strikes and the military operations."
A fragile four-day ceasefire agreement between radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi government signed on May 12 reduced but not halted fighting in the area, a Shia neighbourhood run by Sadr militiamen. The US military has maintained that Iranian fighters are supporting Sadr loyalists there. Iran has denied having a military presence in Iraq.
Salih al-Agili, an MP loyal to Sadr who lives in Sadr City, said more than 100 houses have been destroyed by the continuous skirmishing and air strikes since the outbreak of hostilities more than a month ago.
The district lacks adequate water supply while medical provision and the sewage system have gone from bad to worse, say lawmakers. Trash has not been collected for weeks and is piling up in the streets and around houses.
Hospitals are short on electricity and small public and private clinics have shut down altogether. Government spokesman Tahssin al-Sheikhli said that six hospitals in Sadr City were temporarily closed during fighting because the militants used them to launch attacks.
He said more than 900 people have died and more than 2,600 have been injured - including civilians - since the fighting began. The government said it would use the ceasefire to allow aid to flow into the area.
While the government and military are claiming success in fighting terrorism and militias - and have gained popular support in their efforts to battle Sadr's Mahdi army - some are critical of the tough stance taken by US and Iraqi forces.
"The air strikes have proven to be useless," said Kurdistan Alliance MP Mahmood Osman, in reference to the US bombing raids on Sadr City. "Civilians are hurt the most. Israel tried it in Gaza, and it didn't work."
The government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has pledged to crack down on all militias. Sadr's movement accuses Iraqi officials of deliberately targeting its members, a charge the latter deny.
"The goal of the operations is to put an end to the Sadrist movement," said Falah Shanshal, an MP loyal to Sadr. "If not, Maliki would have tried using dialogue before resorting to a military solution."
The frequent clashes between the US-backed Iraqi forces and Sadr's militiamen have brought chaos and fear to the neighbourhood. Over the last two years, the area had been relatively calm as sectarian violence exploded in other parts of Baghdad.
But now streets are virtually empty, stores close by mid-day and even mundane tasks have become dangerous.
The 16-year-old nephew of Saad Hanoon, a 38-year-old ministry of trade employee who lives in Sadr City, was killed by a bullet as he tried to turn on the family's generator on their roof.
"We couldn't take him to a hospital because the security situation was terrible and there were no cars in the street to take him," said Hanoon.
"It's like you're deciding to commit suicide if you want to go on top of the roof because you will be at the mercy of American snipers and aimless barrages of bullets from the militants."
"We used to work until around 11 at night, and there were many customers, but now they're all gone," said Abu Ahmed, a 50-year-old grocer in Sadr City who did not give his full name.
Air strikes by US forces have inflicted the most damage in the area, known as a stronghold against the US-led occupation. Yet some in the district are sharply critical of the militias who hold sway here.
"The militants don't care about the lives of people," said one Sadr City resident, a civil servant. "For example, they plant roadside bombs next to people's homes because they can't plant them in the streets for fear that they might be targeted by the American snipers."
Many Baghdad residents and MPs back the government's efforts to fight Sadr's militia because they agree with officials' declaration that only forces of the state should have weapons, said Hashim Hassan, dean of Baghdad University's media department.
Baghdad residents, meanwhile, fear the shaky ceasefire will not hold, and that the weeks-long standoff between US-backed Iraqi forces and Sadr's militias will become an all-out war.
"The government needs to put an end to the miseries of the residents in [Sadr] City either through a military solution or by sitting down with the Sadrist movement," said Hanoon.
"There should be an end to the rule of jungle," said Mohammad Turkey, a 29-year-old finance ministry employee who lives in Adhamiyah, which neighbours Sadr City.
Institute of War and Peace Reporting
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