EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

 

Middle East ferment

Change is in the air

Large swathes of the Middle East remain in ferment. The newest sign of that reality comes from Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad has assured Syrians that the emergency laws in place for nearly half a century will be lifted within a week. The gesture is not spontaneous but is a reaction to the gathering restiveness in the country. In Egypt, the move by the present rulers to detain and question deposed president Hosni Mubarak demonstrates the willingness of the authorities to heed popular demands for substantive progress to democracy. Egypt remains a work in progress.

But what will likely happen in Damascus and is happening in Cairo is quite different from how things have been turning out in Tripoli. A defiant Muammar Gaddafi fights on, despite some recent large profile defections from his camp. The feeling at this point is of a stalemate holding Libya in its grip, though in the end Gaddafi may not be able to withstand the forces, the West as well as the rebels, arrayed against him. In Bahrain, with assistance from the Saudis, the ruling classes have for now put the lid back on the boiling pot. But that may not be a good way of dealing with demands for a democratic opening. The Bahrainis' resort to force to quell popular demands is something the Algerians appear unwilling to emulate. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has just announced sweeping political reforms as a way of staving off a crisis threatening to bring his regime down. Speaking of reforms, Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh's offers of a compromise solution (minus his immediate resignation) have not impressed his detractors. It is a bizarre situation where the president and his people are engaged in a see-saw struggle for power.

Clearly, change is in the Middle Eastern air. The good news is that many of the long-entrenched authoritarian regimes appear to be acknowledging the need for change. It is only men like Gaddafi and Saleh who refuse to see reality for what it is. A pity.

Playing foul with the report?

Stop machinations, act on it

We cannot but express our serious concern about the controversy over the share market scam probe report, whose fate, going by the reports in several newspapers including this one, has become very uncertain. It seems there are very well orchestrated moves afoot to not only divert attention from the report but also to damn the report as well as the head of the probe committee by deliberately discrediting him and questioning the veracity of the findings.

There is every reason to feel concerned about the fate of the enquiry that has dealt with an important public interest matter and which has to do with the hard earned assets of hundreds and thousands of small investors. A concerted effort is afoot to both discredit the report and its principal author. Petty flaws are being exaggerated to look like big mistakes. Twisting a simple remark about how legal system works in democracy and giving it a completely opposite meaning, the chair of the enquiry body is being dragged into a controversy, with the aim of diluting the importance of the report. We strongly condemn these efforts which are being orchestrated by people likely to be exposed if the report is followed by government investigation.

Admittedly, the report names a large many influential persons and corporations against whom the findings have established prima facie evidence, and once the report is published the government would be obliged to investigate further and nail the culprits. One hopes that the government will not modulate its action on this factor. If that is the case the public cannot be faulted for thinking that there is lot at stake for the government in not publishing the report.

Soft pedaling on the matter or indeed putting the wraps on it will only discredit the government. It should publish the report immediately and proceed against the identified culprits as per law.