EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

Japan's nuclear tragedy

We are deeply shocked

Japan is now fighting its worst ever crisis after the Second World War. On top of human tragedy caused by the earthquake and tsunami, the danger that is yet unfolding is coming from the badly damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in north-eastern Japan.

We have already expressed our deep sympathy for the quake-and-tsunami-stricken people of Japan. We now join the international community in voicing concern for Japan's nuclear accident-induced predicament.

The earthquake and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plan is now at the centre of global concern. The seriously affected buildings that contain nuclear reactors and pools of spent fuel rods are emitting radiation. It is being feared that cores of four out of six reactors have been damaged by earthquake. Two of the reactors appear to be the cause of greatest concern. Efforts are on to cool down the heated up reactor cores and fuel rods by spraying water from helicopters and water canons. The operator of the nuclear facility, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), is trying to repair and restart the backup power generators of the affected units. It is being strongly believed that power dislocation at the quake-hit plant is the cause of damage to reactor core's cooling system.

However, the temperature and radiation levels in the nuclear plant's immediate vicinity are still not very alarming. The latest estimate by the Japanese authorities indicates that the accident level at the nuclear plant is two points below the highest at seven fixed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Experts are of the view that if the attempts at cooling down the damaged reactor cores and spent fuel pools do not succeed within the next 48 hours, things may spin out of control.

Japan has sought international assistance in effectively fighting the present crisis. The US, France, the IAEA and others with adequate know-how to handle such type of nuclear disaster have responded eagerly. We urge all-out international assistance for Japan to tide over the crisis.

It is hoped that the Japan nuclear disaster should be a warning for all. Bangladesh, now seeking nuclear option for power, needs also to be on guard.

EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Insult to injury

IT was like rubbing salt on an open wound. Barely had Raymond Davis been released and flown out of the country when a drone strike on Thursday killed at least 40 men at a jirga in North Waziristan. The insensitivity of this attack is shocking on multiple levels. First, the timing could not have been worse. Whatever one might think about the US claim of immunity for Mr Davis or the blood money settlement, the fact remains that an American shot dead two Pakistanis in broad daylight and a large section of Pakistani society was intensely angered by the incident. To launch any drone attack barely 24 hours after he had been whisked away would have been insulting enough. But this wasn’t an ordinary attack; it was a poorly targeted one that took 40 lives. This area of North Waziristan is home to some militant groups but it is highly unlikely that all, or even most, of those attending the jirga to discuss local mining rights were militants. In a rare move, the army chief has publicly condemned the loss of civilian lives. Thursday’s incident belies claims that America makes a serious effort to avoid human casualties when launching drone strikes. It shows that such attacks are carried out with poor knowledge of local sensibilities and with complete disregard for human life in areas the US considers its war zones.

It is also hard to imagine what good can come of the attack for either Pakistan or the US or their relationship. The blood money solution may have been imperfect, but it provided a way out that both administrations could have lived with. Reportedly, it was also the first step of a broader resolve to improve cooperation between the CIA and the ISI. A senior Pakistani military official had recently told journalists that he thought drone strikes were effective, a sign that the Pakistani state was perhaps willing to become more transparent about its stand on these attacks. Thursday’s strike threatens to detract from this progress.

Then there is the even trickier issue of public diplomacy. For almost two months, Pakistan has been gripped by the Davis saga which had whipped up anti-Americanism to perhaps unprecedented levels. Anger at the drone strikes now threatens to make partnering with the US even more challenging for the Pakistan government in political terms. Any retaliation could make life more difficult for Pakistani security forces or hamper America’s efforts to prevent militant attacks against itself. A TTP spokesperson has already vowed revenge, and undoubtedly this strike will win the Taliban some more support for their cause.

Census delay

A NATIONAL census is long overdue. Though the exercise was supposed to be carried out in 2008, it has been delayed several times. In this context, a section of Sindhi nationalists have criticised calls by other nationalists to delay the census due to the displacement of people caused by last year’s floods. Speaking at a conference on the subject in Hyderabad on Thursday, one leader rightly said that the census is a matter of “resources as well as representation”. The prime minister, earlier in the year, affirmed the government’s intention to carry out the census on time; hence the state should stay committed to this resolve. The exercise is due to be carried out in two phases: a house-listing operation is scheduled for April while the population and housing census will start in August. In the past, politics and the fragile law and order situation have been used as excuses to delay the census. While it is true that the nation has suffered from political instability and insecurity, the fact remains that the census cannot be put off indefinitely.

Credible population data is essential for framing public policies and future planning. At the moment, we are working with estimates based on figures that are over a decade old as the last census took place in 1998. The nation’s demographics have changed and are changing, among other reasons, due to internal urban migration. Hence some political groups fear that changed constituencies may affect their vote banks, as the census records geographical and migration characteristics. Yet the process cannot be held hostage to this fear. As for security concerns, as per the website of the Population Census Organisation, the government body tasked with carrying out the enumeration exercise, the army can provide security to field staff. It is correct to say that everything is linked to the census, from the distribution of resources to allocations for health, education and other sectors. Hence it is essential that the exercise is carried out this year on schedule. As voters’ lists will be prepared on the basis of the census, the process should ideally be completed before the next election.

Shoaib bids farewell

LOVE him or dislike him, Shoaib Akhtar will be remembered decades down the line. Shoaib, who announced on Thursday that he will retire from all forms of cricket after the ongoing World Cup, is possibly the most colourful character to ever don the Pakistan cap. Fearsomely fast in his heyday, Shoaib could rip apart any batting side when on song. He once touched the 100mph mark and, on the whole, was remarkably accurate for a man of such awesome pace. But sadly for both Shoaib and Pakistan cricket, the highs have been interspersed with far too many lows. In terms of years Shoaib’s has been a lengthy career. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ couldn’t always pull out of the station, however, and the number of matches Shoaib managed to play is not commensurate with his talent. He has often failed to make the team, for a variety of reasons. Injuries or poor fitness, physical and verbal spats with team members, run-ins with the cricket board, ball tampering, doping and numerous fines for indiscipline have all featured in the saga that is Shoaib Akhtar.

Flamboyant till the end, Shoaib’s lifestyle hasn’t always meshed with the regimen expected of a professional cricketer. But for some that is part of the charm. He is as much a sportsman as a mega-hit celebrity, the rock star of Pakistan cricket. He lives life on his own terms and revels both on and off the field. As a senior cricket writer put it the other day, Shoaib is “a man who has travelled the world and taken it in, not kept it out as so many of Pakistan’s players have”. He may rub a few people the wrong way but is admired by millions around the world and that is what counts in the end. Thank you, Shoaib, for both the entertainment and the wickets.

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE TIMES OF INDIA, INDIA

The cricket audience is here

It's in the fitness of things that cricket championships in what is the most exciting format today - the Twenty20 version of the game - will be staged in the subcontinent for the next five years. Sri Lanka will host the next scheduled championship in 2012, followed by Bangladesh in 2014 and India in 2016. It is natural for matches to be scheduled where most of its fans are. The International Cricket Council (ICC) decision only reinforces the fact that cricket generates the most interest, draws the biggest crowds and in turn generates the largest revenues and profits in South Asia.

Hosting a T20 cricket championship is an expensive proposition. It can't be done if it isn't commercially viable. It makes strategic sense to locate it where most of its fans are. If T20 matches have the greatest potential to generate viewer interest, they could be converted into an entertainment bonanza which draws in large revenues. These in turn could be used to subsidise other formats of the game - such as 50-over World Cups and Tests - which could then be hosted elsewhere. That, in fact, is the game plan the ICC appears to be working on. Future 50-over World Cups are being planned for Australia, New Zealand and England, while England has been shortlisted for hosting the best-of-four Test playing nations' playoffs. That ought to meet the criticism that by locating cricket events in South Asia, the ICC is not doing enough to promote it in other nations.

Cricket, in order to prosper, needs a viable economic base. That base can at present be provided by South Asia, which has the live and television audiences needed to keep the game going. Fans will benefit from seeing the world's best players in action. The game will benefit with the profits from the tournaments being ploughed back into the game, creating a virtuous cycle. A strengthened game can then be the launching pad for cricket seeking new territories.

 

EDITORIAL : THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA

Mission to Mercury

Late on St. Patrick’s Day, Eastern time, a spacecraft called Messenger, weighing a little more than a thousand pounds, slipped into an elliptical orbit around the planet Mercury, becoming the only manmade object to orbit the planet closest to the Sun.

Through the coming days, scientists from NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory will check Messenger’s systems and begin turning on its instruments. On April 4, observations begin.

Messenger spent nearly seven years in transit and traveled about five billion miles. It will spend one Earth-year studying the mineralogy of Mercury, mapping its surface and magnetic and gravitational fields, and trying to identify the substance covering the planet’s north pole. All the while, a ceramic-fabric sunshade will be protecting Messenger from the ferocious heat of the nearby Sun and the solar reflection from Mercury. The craft will eventually plummet into the planet.

It really doesn’t matter how many space missions you’ve followed or how many Hubble photographs you’ve marveled over. There is still a sense of raw excitement about reaching a critical stage in an expedition like this, an excitement that will only grow as data begins to stream toward Earth.

Part of the thrill is knowing that this is the pure pursuit of knowledge, the scientific impulse — a human impulse — carried to a remarkable conclusion. It’s hard to know just what we will learn about Mercury. Like all scientific missions and experiments, this is a journey to a more refined sense of what we don’t yet know.

The Broken Machinery of Death

The Drug Enforcement Administration seized Georgia’s sodium thiopental supply this week, after a complaint that the sedative used in the three-drug protocol for execution by lethal injection was imported illegally. The American producer of sodium thiopental stopped making it and the complaint says the purchase of it from an unlicensed British supplier calls into question “the legality and integrity” of how Georgia administers injections.

Texas’s supply is running out and it has now announced that it will switch to a one-drug protocol, following the lead first of Oklahoma, then of Ohio, in using another sedative, pentobarbital, for executions. In none of these states have scientific studies been done ensuring that this drug will meet the Supreme Court’s requirement that executions not cause severe pain.

The death penalty is capricious, discriminatory and barbaric. The shortage of sodium thiopental has stripped what Justice Harry Blackmun called “the machinery of death” of even a cloak of scientifically based reliability.

We were unpersuaded when the court, by a highly fractured 7-to-2 vote in Baze v. Rees in 2008, upheld the death penalty and the three-drug protocol used by almost all states. It said that the manner in which the State of Kentucky administered it did not pose an unconstitutional risk that someone being put to death would suffer pain that was severe yet undetectable.

Chief Justice John Roberts argued then that the court could make that finding because of an extensive trial record about the use of sodium thiopental. There is far less of a record for the one-drug protocol, which should raise serious doubts about its constitutionality, even with this court.

When Illinois joined New Jersey and New Mexico this month as the third state to abolish the death penalty in the last four years, it made the choice compelled by a long record of judicial abuses, false convictions and other fundamental problems. That should be enough for all states to abandon the penalty once and for all.

A New Internet Privacy Law?

Considering how much information we entrust to the Internet every day, it is hard to believe there is no general law to protect people’s privacy online. Companies harvest data about people as they surf the Net, assemble it into detailed profiles and sell it to advertisers or others without ever asking permission.

So it is good to see a groundswell of support emerging for minimum standards of privacy, online and off. This week, the Obama administration called for legislation to protect consumers’ privacy. In the Senate, John Kerry is trying to draft a privacy bill of rights with the across-the-aisle support of John McCain.

Microsoft, which runs one of the biggest Internet advertising networks, said it supports a broad-based privacy law. It has just introduced a version of its Explorer browser that allows surfers to block some tools advertisers use to track consumers’ activities online.

It is crucial that lawmakers get this right. There is strong pressure from the advertising industry to water down rules aimed at limiting the data companies can collect and what they can do with it.

Most oppose a sensible proposal by the Federal Trade Commission for a do-not-track option — likely embedded in Web browsers. They have proposed self-regulation instead, and we applaud their desire to do that, but the zeal to self-regulate tends to wane when it is not backed by government rules and enforcement.

Senator Kerry has not yet proposed specific legislation, but he has laid out sound principles. Companies that track people’s activities online must obtain people’s consent first. They must specify what data they are collecting and how they will use it. They need consumers’ go-ahead to use data for any new purpose. They are responsible for the data’s integrity. And consumers should have the right to sever their relationship with data collectors and ask for their file to be deleted.

But there are potential areas of concern. Senator Kerry so far has not called for a do-not-track option. He would allow companies to write their own privacy plans and submit them to the F.T.C. for approval.

That would give companies flexibility to adapt their solutions as technology evolved, but it lacks the simplicity and universality of a do-not-track feature. It could yield a dizzying array of solutions that would confuse consumers about their rights and options and make it more difficult to enforce clear standards. Moreover, it would make it tougher for consumers to keep track of how their information is used and to whom it is sold.

Advertising firms still argue that privacy protections could undermine the free Internet, depriving it of ad revenue by reducing advertisers’ ability to target consumers. This is overstated. Advertisers will still need to advertise. If many people opt out of behavioral targeting, the firms will find other ways to do it.

Privacy protections are long overdue. We hope the swell of support will lead to significant legislation.

Settling Foreclosure Abuses

State attorneys general are the traditional defenders of consumers. So when all 50 of them announced an investigation last fall into foreclosure practices at the nation’s big banks, there was hope for an unsparing inquiry and a meaningful settlement. Most of all, we hoped that banks would be compelled, at long last, to aggressively modify millions of additional loans.

Unfortunately, a draft settlement recently presented to the nation’s biggest banks is unclear on how to achieve that goal. And even before the terms have been clarified, House and Senate Republicans are attacking the proposal. They are arguing, in effect, that banks should not be held accountable for their misdeeds.

The proposal would impose sound reforms, like requiring banks to halt a foreclosure while a loan modification is pending and to streamline the modification process. But there is no mention of how much money banks would have to put toward reworking bad loans or a target number of new loan modifications. It is also impossible to know the extent to which banks would be shielded from future lawsuits in exchange for settling. Without those details, it is all too easy to envision a settlement in which homeowners receive little and banks win broad release from legal liability for unspecified abuses.

Our doubts about the outcome are worsened by the dissension among government officials about what a settlement should achieve. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — the banks’ staunchest defenders — have argued for minimal fines. State officials, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau want the broader redress that would come with more loan modifications. Since the aim is for state and federal agencies to join in one global settlement with the banks, differences among people who should be on the same side do not bode well.

Into that mix, The Times’s Gretchen Morgenson reported this week that before the release of the draft settlement, the attorneys general did not conduct a full inquiry with subpoenaed documents and sworn depositions. A spokesman for Tom Miller, the Iowa attorney general, who leads the group, defended the investigation. He said the state attorneys, long steeped in foreclosure issues, had extensive knowledge of the problems and needed solutions.

Of course, knowledge is good, but in settlement talks, leverage is better. Banks are vulnerable to prosecution because of robo-signing, as the practice, exposed last year, of filing false court documents in an effort to speed foreclosures is known. But will their feet be held to the fire over other damaging practices? A brief sampling of violations — aired in court cases, Congressional testimony and academic research — include excessive fees, improper denial of loan modifications, irregularities in the packaging of mortgages and conflicts of interest that lead banks to favor foreclosures over modifications.

Unless an inquiry uncovers the extent of those and other violations, it will be impossible to gauge if a settlement is fair. Even the seemingly large settlement sum of $20 billion that has been floated would be a small price for banks to pay if the quid pro quo is to sweep potentially widespread abuses under the rug.

For too long, bank misbehavior has been indulged by lawmakers, regulators, Obama officials and Bush officials before them. As a result, foreclosures have proliferated and loan workouts have lagged, devastating homeowners and the housing market, and Americans’ trust in political and financial institutions.

A powerful settlement could begin to repair all that. If it is not forthcoming, state attorneys general should keep open their options to pursue the banks in courts across the land.

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY NEWS EGYPT, EGYPT

The referendum: One step forward

CAIRO: Regardless of how over 40 million Egyptians will vote in today’s referendum on constitutional amendments, and whichever way the results take us, this referendum marks a decisive moment in Egypt’s transition to democracy.

True that the Supreme Military Council has imposed a publishing ban today and yesterday on any attempts to sway the public’s vote in either direction, but while on the outset, the ban may seem like a throwback to a past and hated era, in fact, it may well prove to have been the only feasible measure to ensure that the results of the vote were a true reflection of a democratic process.
Despite fears that there isn’t enough police to secure the voters, I have endless faith that Egyptian citizens themselves will exercise the vigilance and responsibility necessary to guarantee that our previous experiences with referenda and elections will have no place in the new Egypt and that any attempts to abort the gains of the January 25 Revolution will not be tolerated.
The manifestations of this new Egypt have already started appearing through small details. The media for instance has completely open access to polling stations. Journalists carrying press syndicate credentials or foreign press cards do not require further permits and reporters who lack these credentials simply need to present an official request form their institution to the Supreme Judicial Commission along with a valid identification card and the permit is made available within minutes. At least this was the experience we had at Daily News Egypt, as opposed to the case in the past when permits were never available on time, if available at all after the notorious state security checks.
An almost identical procedure is required by both local and international civil society organizations. I was heartened to read that the Norway-based Arab-European Center for Human Rights and International Law for instance, was reportedly given official permission to monitor the referendum.
This unprecedented act of transparency surely betrays a genuine will to see Egypt through the path to democracy and should allay fears of an imminent set-back.
Other manifestations of palpable positive change include how groups of people and individuals are becoming pro-active in starting initiatives to spread political awareness on the importance of this referendum. While some have chosen to consolidate their positions through a “soap-box” attitude — which they are perfectly free to do — others have taken the matter a step further, choosing to present all points of view to help their listeners decide for themselves.
Other initiatives were previously unheard of, such as a public call offering a crash course on monitoring polling stations held at the American University in Cairo in coordination with the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, which is taking place as I write this column.
Not only is it now possible to vote simply with your national ID card or a new passport — which carries your ID number — but you can also vote at any polling station anywhere in the country even if it’s not affiliated to your place of residence on your ID. The next step will be to allow the millions of Egyptians who live abroad and whose remittances represent 5.8 percent of Egypt’s GDP to vote from wherever they are.
We have come a long way from that black referendum on Black Tuesday in 2005 when the ruling regime tailored article 76 regulating presidential elections and candidacy criteria to Egypt’s heir apparent, and those who protested were beaten and some even detained.
We have also come a long way from the coup over the constitutional in 2007 when 34 amendments were manipulated by a rigged People’s Assembly and approved on March 19 then put forth to a public referendum less than 10 days later. And of course the amendments passed. The very idea of the emergence of a “no” vote was little more than a flight of fancy.
But today, both camps have genuine concerns about the outcome of the referendum because people believe that the results will be a true reflection of the dominant opinion on the street. And the beauty of it all is that people are now actively seeking information, listening to the other side, participating in debates and learning — sometimes the hard way — to agree to disagree.
Since democracy is what we all want and freedom is what over 600 Egyptians died for and for which over 5,000 were injured, then we should all be prepared to accept the outcome, whether or not it is to our liking.
For now, armed with our national IDs and a strong dose of positive thinking and tolerance of the other, we must all hit the polling stations, douse our thumbs in phosphoric ink and make our voices heard.

EDITORIAL: THE GUARDIAN, UK

Libya: The perils of intervention

Barely had a new door to international action been opened by the UN resolution than it seemed to slam shut

Barely had a new door to international action been opened by the UN resolution authorising military action and a no-fly zone in Libya than it seemed to slam shut, when Libya's foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, announced that Libya would abide by it and called for an immediate ceasefire. The shelling of Zintan and Misratah continued, however, and Britain, France and America all had a ready response. It was the actions of Colonel Gaddafi's forces, not the words of his henchmen, that mattered, they said. Assume for a moment that a ceasefire does not start – or if it does, that it does not hold – and the planning for air strikes by British, French, Canadian and possibly Arab jets co-ordinated from the Nato airbase at Sigonella in Sicily goes ahead.
The first thing to say is that David Cameron has achieved a firmer legal framework for military action than anything Tony Blair could concoct for the invasion of Iraq. Mr Cameron laid out three tests that warrant interference in a state's internal affairs: the demonstrable need to prevent a bloodbath in Benghazi, a city of one million inhabitants; regional support both in terms of a strong statement from the Arab league and the Arab countries who are expected to join the coalition being assembled in Paris today by President Nicolas Sarkozy; and the legal authority of the UN security council.
Legitimacy of the vote
The use of force in Libya, authorised under a Chapter VII referral, has international legal backing. Countries like China or Russia, which might have been expected to veto, abstained. Three members of the African Union, including South Africa, voted in favour. The legitimacy the vote conferred on a no-fly zone befits a crisis where the revulsion caused by Gaddafi's actions is widespread, especially among Egyptians and Tunisians who braved live fire from their own security forces. Libyans who rose up against 42 years of tyranny did not choose the weapons they are now using for this fight. They were chosen for them. Within five hours of them gathering, Gaddafi's troops opened fire. From that moment on, there was only going to be one outcome. It was either him or them.
Starting a fight is a different matter from pursuing one, let alone ending one. Is this intervention going to be seen through the prism of Sierra Leone and Kosovo, or Iraq and Afghanistan, where regime change was swift but where civil war then ensued? Mr Cameron, still being branded a brave failure in his determination to intervene in the lead-up to a vote everyone expected he would not achieve, may be tempted to regard the UN resolution as success in itself. But Gaddafi's forces were still 160km away from Benghazi. The city was not about to fall and no lives have yet been saved. Push past the justification, and on to the question of what the objective of this intervention is, and the consensus starts to crumble.
Paving the way for partition
Doubts were inherent in the reaction in Benghazi yesterday to the announcement that Gaddafi's forces would cease fire and comply with the UN resolution. It was a stalling tactic, said some. We should fight on, said others. They are right to be alarmed at the possibility that Gaddafi would comply with the resolution, or with subsequent demands from Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, that the regime's forces should pull back "a significant distance" from the east. Both imply that Gaddafi could live to fight another day. This falls far short of what this revolution is all about.
The National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi might under these circumstances get the heavy weapons its fighters have been asking for. But that would still leave it fighting for recognition as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. It would not have sovereignty and it would cease to be national. This intervention could merely be paving the way for partition, the worst of both worlds: the tyrant and his sons would still exist and the revolution, half finished, could halt on tribal lines. The Libyans, Egyptians and Tunisians who revolted against their dictators did so in the name of their nation. They eschewed sectarian or religious symbols, choosing national flags instead. The Libyan revolution will only succeed if Gaddafi is toppled and the NTC forms a national government. But there again, how would that be formed ? If Gaddafi goes, what constitutional order or transitional mechanism is there to replace him? And what is to stop a victory degenerating into tribal splits and civil war? Letting the Libyans choose their own leader would by then look a tired formula.
Nor is Libya the only consideration. The Arab spring is still blooming in Yemen, whose pro-western dictatorship will probably be the next to fall. Last night the tourism minister resigned after a shooting attack that killed dozens of protesters and injured over 300 others. Barack Obama condemned the carnage, as he has done the repression meted out in Bahrain, another ally and home to his fifth fleet. But there will be no foreign intervention here. There are tremors just below the surface in Saudi Arabia, which sent in troops to support the Sunni monarchy in its Bahrain backyard.
So what new international order has been created by this resolution? Is it one in which the US discards some of its former allies but keeps others for its own strategic interests? Which of the many states in the region are regarded as too strategically important to keep – too big, like the banks, to fail? And where do human rights, international law and a values-based foreign policy fit into all of this? Far from supporting a democratic revolution across the Arab world, a foreign intervention in Libya may indeed be imperilling it. One of the main strengths of the revolution was that it was universal and generational. It did not require outside help and it generated its own dynamic in each country. Its ability to cross national borders was not only a function of the similarities in the military regimes and the grievances they generated. It created a possibility of an Arab commonwealth of nations, a region without visas where people could travel freely. Wild aspirations, maybe, but this is now looking less likely with an intervention which will inevitably entail its own political consequences.
Arab fig leaf
The resolution rules out a foreign occupation and western leaders repeatedly vowed that the objective was to let Libyans choose their own leaders in freely held elections. But where and when, in the whole sorry history of western intervention in the Middle East, has this happened? Were Jeffersonian shells fired from US tanks invading Iraq, planting the seeds of democracy in the craters they left? Or does the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, now behave increasingly like another regional strongman ruling over a country bearing the permanent sectarian scars of a civil war?
Today in Paris, much will be made of the fact that this intervention will be unlike any other since the first Iraq war, in that it will have active support from the Arab League. After the league endorsed the no-fly zone last week, five member states seemed likely to participate. This has since been whittled down to two small Gulf states, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and possibly Jordan. This cover is looking more like a fig leaf than active regional support. As British Tornados, French Dassaults and Canadian F-18s prepare to patrol the skies over Tripoli, it will be business as usual – an intervention which looks much like all the others. Let us hope it has a different outcome.

Unthinkable? Reality TV gets more grotesque

Rumours of a new reality show seeped out this week involving eight performers living naked for 30 days

Back in the 1980s, the leftwing Labour MP Eric Heffer, denouncing Mrs Thatcher's apparent desire to privatise almost everything, forecast fresh air might be next. At which point a colleague chided: "Don't give' em ideas, Eric!" It's a pity the same advice was not proffered to the novelist Sebastian Faulks, whose savage account of the way we live now, A Week in December, features a TV series called It's Madness – designed, its producers claim, "to make people think differently, to challenge their preconceptions". Each week, contestants suffering from different kinds of mental disorder are paraded before a team of celebrity judges and a chuckling studio audience. The culminating edition brings them together in a secret location known as the Barking Bungalow, with an even more spectacular result than might have been planned. Faulks no doubt aimed to take reality television one step further than any programme-maker would dare. But that, as he should have realised, is exactly how these things operate. This week, rumours of a new show seeped out that, it was claimed, would make even later Big Brother series look tame. Based on a US show, The Nak'd Truth, it requires eight performers to live naked for 30 days. "Clothing," says the producer, "is such an integral part of who we are and we don't understand how it affects us until we no longer have it on." Maybe there's already a producer out there looking at Faulks' satire as a potential winner. Hideous, maybe. But unthinkable? Don't be so sure.

EDITORIAL : THE SUN, UK

Show him we’re serious

IF the world had listened to David Cameron and The Sun, the head of Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi could have been on a spike by now.

But they didn't. President Obama dithered and dallied. The Germans hid under their feather duvets.

Only the French and the Arab League joined our PM in demanding a no-fly zone to stop the regime murdering its opponents.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi kept emptying the gold from the bank vaults to pay gangsters to kill his people.

The fact that Mr Cameron finally persuaded Mr Obama and the rest of the world to stop dragging their feet is a great victory.

And when the President spelled out what was expected of Tripoli, it became clear Gaddafi is finished.

If Mr Obama was not just spouting words, that is.

Of course, Gaddafi has promised a ceasefire.

But his view of agreements is the same as the Soviet tyrant Joseph Stalin, who said they are like crusts of bread - made to be broken.

So we must insist the mass killer of Lockerbie does precisely what has been laid down by the UN.

ALL attacks on civilians must be stopped.

TROOPS and other Gaddafi forces must be pulled back from cities and towns they have brutally seized - and vital services restored.

Humanitarian AID must be let through. Mr Obama, finally sounding tough, warned that these conditions will be enforced BY MILITARY ACTION if Gaddafi doesn't obey.

Mr Cameron is clear there will be no Iraq-style occupation of Libya. The Libyans don't want it. We don't want it. And as the PM said: "It is not going to happen."

But there is plenty we can - and WILL - do. First, Britain is providing RAF jets to help turn Libya into a no-fly zone.

Then we can and must turn off Gaddafi's life-support. Starve him of the cash that pays for his killers. Impose sanctions to turn even his strongest supporters against him.

It is crucial though that this is not seen as an anti-Islam operation by the West. Which is why the support of Arab states and the African Union is so vital.

And we must NOT hang around. Gaddafi is an expert at buying time and playing the role of a desert fox. He has cheated and lied before and will do so again.

As he skulks in his luxurious tent, the dictator must be convinced that we mean business and want him - dead or alive.

 

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY MAIL, UK

This time, do we know what we are doing?

As David Cameron rightly observes, we must judge Colonel Gaddafi by his actions, not his words.
But whether or not he's playing cat and mouse, it's welcome that this brutal dictator has been forced to declare a ceasefire in his suppression of the rebels.
For the moment at least, the British Prime Minister can take some satisfaction in the role he's played in securing international support for a no-fly zone.
True, the Coalition made a woefully uncertain start in its handling of the Middle East turmoil - from Nick Clegg's crass assertion that he found it 'incredibly exciting' to the delays over evacuating British citizens and the farce of the botched SAS mission.
But Mr Cameron himself appears to have played a crucial part in recruiting the Arab League, which in turn was surely decisive in persuading the Security Council to authorise action.
Despite this diplomatic success, however, the Mail finds it impossible not to feel queasy about Britain's ever-deeper involvement in the Libyan debacle.
The unanswered questions come thick and fast.
What, precisely, are the aims of our intervention - regime change, or merely a stand-off between the factions? And exactly how much force does the UN resolution allow?
How long will our overstretched forces be committed (and at what cost) and will we have to use troops on the ground?
Why did the world's five most booming nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and Germany - refuse to back the intervention, leaving us again to shoulder more than our share of the burden?
And as Andrew Green asks on Page 9, isn't there a danger Gaddafi will respond by attacking western targets or turning again to weapons of mass destruction?
Or that his henchmen, who risk savage reprisals if he goes, will fight to the last? It is not even clear who, among the rag-bag of rebels in this tribally-divided country, we are meant to be supporting.

Can we really be sure the Libya that emerges from this crisis will be more humane than Gaddafi's, and friendlier to the oil-dependent West?
We pray the UN's 11th-hour intervention will bring the peace and justice everyone yearns for.
But if Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything, our aims and our exit strategy must be crystal clear from the start.

EDITORIAL : THE ASHARQ ALAWSAT, published in LONDON

The most popular Daily in the Middle East

To prevent another Karbala

By Tariq Alhomayed

The entry of Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] Peninsula Shield Forces into Bahrain is not another [battle of] Karbala [a battle which took place in 680 AD between Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husain Ibn Ali and his army and the military forces of Umayyad Caliph Yazid I], as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited last week. Rather this deployment is in order to prevent another battle of Karbala, which would see the children of the same country fighting against one another. The people of Bahrain are not all Shiites, for there are Sunnis there as well as Shiites, and the foundation of any country is based upon citizenship, rather than sectarian affiliation.
Erdogan's statement about the deployment of the Peninsula Shield Force threatening "a new [battle of] Karbala inciting division between Muslims" is an over-simplification and can be easily disproved. This is because it was the King of Bahrain who initiated reforms and empowered the Shiites in his country. However it is also the King of Bahrain's duty not just to strengthen Bahrain's Shiite community, but also to protect the country's Sunni community, and not allow Bahrain to be subject to sectarian extortion. Instead of issuing this statement, the Turkish Prime Minister should warn the President of Iran of the consequences of interfering in the internal affairs of a peaceful Gulf State like Bahrain, as well as the consequences of Tehran ignoring the rights of Iran's Sunni community. This is what will ensure that there is not another battle of Karbala, with this battle not potentially occurring in the Gulf, but rather on Iranian soil. The people of the Gulf are not known for transgressing the limits with regards to one social component intimidating another, and the Arab Gulf enjoys a strong history that attests and supports this.
Those who believe that Erdogan is acting in this regard according to Turkey's commercial interests are wrong. Erdogan is defending Gaddafi despite all the crimes that the Libyan leader has committed against his own people, whilst he was previously one of the first world leaders to criticize the Hosni Mubarak regime during the 25 January revolution in Egypt, however he did not take either of these positions for commercial reasons.
Erdogan has responded in a different manner to the events in Libya and Egypt because he is searching for leadership [for his country], namely neo-Ottoman leadership. In Egypt, Erdogan is aware that it would be easy for him to ally with the Muslim Brotherhood, therefore he viewed the Egyptian revolution as an opportunity to support change and thereby strengthen Turkey's role in Egypt. However in Libya, Erdogan seems to be certain that Gaddafi will crush his people and emerge victorious, and therefore he is seeking to help to resolve the Libyan impasse in order to strengthen the Turkish role, especially in light of the almost complete break in Arab – Libyan relations, with the exception of only two or three Arab states. These are the goals of Erdogan's Turkey, namely [to strengthen] neo-Ottoman leadership, rather than to protect Istanbul's commercial interests. If the Turkish Prime Minister was so concerned with his country's commercial interests he would have supported the US against Saddam Hussein, and indeed against Iran with regards to Tehran's nuclear file. If Erdogan is truly concerned with his country's commercial interests he would not increased the tensions in Istanbul's relations with Tel Aviv, as good relations with Israel would have guaranteed Turkey decades of strong trade, in addition to support for Istanbul's attempts to join the European Union [EU]. If this was just about commercial interests, it would have been in Turkey's interests to support the Arab Gulf states, rather than criticizing the entry of the GCC Peninsula Shield Force into Bahrain.
Therefore, all that Erdogan wants to do is strengthen Turkey's role, searching for a neo-Ottoman role [in the region], and this is something that can be described as political opportunism. Indeed, it seems that what is happening in the Gulf has confused both friends and foes alike, whether Arab or Islamic, like Turkey and Iran, or western, like the US. The consensus and joint-action taken by the Gulf States is the last thing that Iran or Turkey wants to see, and this is the truth. Therefore the entire issue is one of leadership, and searching for a role, for if Turkey was so concerned about democracy, why has it allied with Syria, and if it is so concerned about minorities, why has it allied with Iran?

EDITORIAL : THE GLOBAL TIMES, CHINA

Drowning out irrational voices

Salt has sold out in many Chinese cities. Experts have pointed out that iodized salt will not help prevent radiation and that an overdose is actually harmful to one's health. But science is often no match for popular beliefs at such moments.

Some people think the exaggeration about the spread of Japan's nuclear contamination resulted from the live show of Japan's nuclear crisis and that people have over-reacted because of it. This is nonsense. Rumors always exist in society. The authorities do not have to panic at every rumor, but they must avoid irrational movements going out of control.

Salt, garlic and green beans were all snapped up in China in recent years for various reasons while this time, salt has gone even faster than the speed of the Internet. In fact, online opinions rarely encourage people to snap up salt, but somehow, salt in supermarkets was "sold out" overnight.

C u r r e n t l y , our government should focus on being a trusted and rational voice for society. Emotional knee-jerk reactions are easily amplified on different information platforms. Once they confront the rational opinion, a situation can become troublesome.

Many Chinese officials are used to "indoctrination-style" information release, but it no longer works.

The rational voice that is not strong enough in the society is often drowned out by gossip.

With the continuation of Japan's nuclear crisis, many rumors will create confusion in China.

The government can have a "general response" to all rumors, which can not only defeat rumors and ensure China's market stability, but also build up official credibility and re-establish the dominant position of scientific and rational voices in Chinese society.

The first thing for the government to do is to open up about information and let the public get involved.

The government does not have to worry too much about the salt craze because it has the ability to prevent the spread of the situation. In a country as populous as China, it is impossible to prevent certain incidents. The most important factor is whether the government can see off irrational beliefs.

People who have the right to speak in Chinese society should establish rational arguments. They should tell the truth, not only refuse to follow the official opinion, but also daring to fight against the web "opinions." However, the current situation shows that they speak when they disagree with the government but keep silent against he so-called "public opinion."

Japan's nuclear crisis must not become China's crisis. It is normal to have anxiety in the society. To what extent we can overcome such anxiety may be an evaluation of China's social progress in the future.

 

EDITORIAL : THE PEOPLE'S DAILY, CHINA

The People's Daily

Chinese people understand hardships Japan experiences now

Japan's massive earthquake on March 11 and ensuing tsunami that slammed into its northeast coast as well as the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, a commercial and industrial port city in Kyushu have triggered alarms bells in China; media reports coming in swarms have filled people in the country with gnawing anxiety and worries.

At this tragic moment, all people in China, which is separated from Japan only with a narrow strip of water, from President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to ordinary citizens at the grassroots level, have pledged to an emergency aid to their close neighbour. No words could express what in the innermost feelings at our hearts except for a vivid, heartfelt expression the Chinese premier told a press conference at the Great Hall of the people in Beijing on Monday.

President Hu Jintao on Monday offered condolences to Japanese Emperor Akihito over the massive quake that hit Northeast Japan on March 11 and pledged further help.

In a message, President Hu mourned the dead and extended condolences to Emperor Akihito. The Chinese government and people stand ready to offer necessary help, he said.

Meanwhile, at a press conference after the closing meeting of the 4th Session of the 11th Nation People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People on the same day, Premier Wen Jiabao again expressed condolences to the quake-jolt Japan and said China is willing to offer more help to Japan if needed.

"I would like to offer my deep condolences to the Japanese people.... China is also an earthquake-prone country, so we understand the hardship that Japan experiences now," Wen told the press conference.

China's rescued and relief supplies arrived in Japan on Sunday, Chinese rescuers are busy exerting their utmost to rescue quake survivors. and China is also ready to offer more help in case of need, Wen said.

We are heartbroken and our mood is extremely painful, and "we understand the hardships that Japan is now experiencing or undergoing." According to the latest statistics up to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 17 released by the Japanese Police Hall, the deaths of 5,457 people was now confirmed from the 9.0 magnitude quake and those missing reached 9,508, and both figures have added to 14,965. Looking at these statistics on rise daily, we expressed our most profound condolences to all quake victims and extend our sincere, heartfelt sympathy to all Japanese nationals.

Since the devastating quake took place on March 11, the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant has found itself in a constant dangerous situation. To date, explosion has taken place in four of the six generating units at the power plants and the containment shell of the N0.3 reactor has been broken, and the nuclear pollution is filling into the air.

Can the Fukushima Island been turned into the version of Chernobyl today? The nuclear crisis at Fukushima has pulled strings on the global nerve. At this critical juncture, however, we are pleased to see the last group of 50 Japanese workers are replenishing water into the cooling pool of the Unit 3 reactor, and white smog or steam could be seen rising over the quake-hit site. So, we salute to all those Japanese nationals who defy death at "their own risk" in an endeavor to avert Japan from a nuclear catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the people in China will never forget that it is precisely the Japanese government and people who provided to victims in China's disaster area when the Wenchuan quake occurred in Sichuan and adjacent regions in May 2008. Today, it is the turn of the Chinese government and people to lend a helping hand without any hesitation to Japan's disaster-ridden area: A 15-member rescue team is now hard at work after its arrival in Japan on Sunday, and large quantities of relief supplies were shipped to Japan, including 20,000 tons of gasoline and diesel oil.

Premier Wen said the Chinese people will continue to provide the essential help in accordance with Japan's needs. In view of China's rescue operation this time, we come to see what is China's genuine national spirit and broadmindedness.

As a matter of fact, the Chinese nation has always confided in the belief that "charity to the distressed is absolute the rite or etiquette, and one carries such noble ideals will have the luck or happiness," noted the Annals of Zuo, or the chronicle of Zuo, which is the earliest Chinese work of narrative history and covers the period 722 BC -468 BC.

At the time of tragedy in Japan, Chinese scholars and professors appeal for aid assistance to Japan: The Chinese and Japanese nations have forged the profound, traditional ties of amity for more than 2,000 years and only wars of colonialism of the modern times left immense pains on both nations. Related issues left in history have created frictions between the two great nations, and in order to overcome the "fatalistic difficulties" or problems in the course of expanding national wisdom, we need to carry forward our benevolence, kindheartedness, "intuitive knowledge and innate ability". Both countries have got their grassroots citizens, intellectuals and statesmen alike working very hard to this lofty goal.

Chinese people have a true "heart of gold", and ordinary citizens in China adore most the thousand-hand goddess of Mercy. When others are in trouble, they often say, we will reach out our hands one thousand times to come to their aid and, when we ourselves are in emergency need, we will, too, have one thousand hands in our favor.

We should respect life in the name of life, just as a young Taiwan singer, Lin Youjia's ensuing vivid lines depict: ".... If that's me, I could have the feeling of being more forsaken or abandoned. So, I very much want to say, every one is similar or identical on earth. Humans in fresh and blood should be treated as equals before the pain and joy. The pulse of the world resembles yours and mine, and let's touch our heartbeats attentively, and it's you and me."

By People's Daily Online and its author is Ye Xiaowen, a People's Daily guest commentator, member of the Chinese side of the China-Japan friendship committee for the 21st Century and the first vice-president of the Central Institute of Socialism in Beijing 

EDITORIAL : THE JAPAN TIMES, JAPAN

The Dalai Lama pushes reform

On Sunday, legislators in Tibet's Parliament in exile will cast a historic vote. They have been asked by the Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan spiritual community — and for many Tibetans, the rightful leader of their nation — to formalize the separation of spiritual and political authority.

The Dalai Lama says this move only ratifies a division of labor that already exists and lays the foundation for the creation of true democracy among his followers. Yet for many Tibetans, the move risks splitting their community and undermining its legitimacy. Even the Chinese government, a hostile and implacable foe of the Dalai Lama, is opposed to the plan, fearing that it will make it even more difficult to quiet the nationalist ambitions of many Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama has headed the Tibetan government in exile since he fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising. After settling in the Indian town of Dharamsala, he has become a global figure, the face of Tibetan Buddhism and that society's struggle for self-determination in the face of Chinese efforts to fully assimilate a sometimes hostile population. While millions of people consider the Dalai Lama to be their rightful leader, the government in Beijing sees him as "a splittist," a supporter of a feudal order and a threat to China's core interests.

At 75, the Dalai Lama is well aware that his life may be drawing to an end and he is trying to put the Tibetan community's affairs in order. His proposed reforms would make the prime minister, elected by the Tibetan parliament in exile, the head of state and administrative leader; the Dalai Lama would continue to be the spiritual leader of 6 million Tibetans who worship him as a reincarnated leader.

The new system would provide more legitimacy to the exiles' leader and the parliament, preparing them for the day when the Dalai Lama will pass on. The Dalai Lama explained that "It is necessary that we establish a sound system of governance while I remain able and healthy in order that the exile Tibetan administration can become more self-reliant rather than dependent on the Dalai Lama."

Failure to plan for that inevitability would mean that the Tibetan would risk confusion and disorder on his passing as the Chinese government's designated Dalai Lama would compete for legitimacy with that selected by the Tibetan exile group. Such a division is not unprecedented: In 1995, the Chinese government selected its reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most holy lama for Tibetan Buddhists. Meanwhile, a boy chosen by the Dalai Lama as Panchen Lama was detained by Chinese authorities and has not been seen since.

Many believe that Beijing is drawing out discussions with the Dalai Lama's representatives over Tibet's future as a way of stalling and waiting for his passing. There is speculation that the Dalai Lama may identify his successor before he dies to give that person a boost in the competition.

Beijing has called the move to step down "a trick" and has added it to the long list of charges against the Dalai Lama. The irony is that the Chinese government, which is atheist and argues that it seeks to modernize Tibet and rid it of its feudal tendencies, insists that the next Dalai Lama must be reincarnated and that it gets to confirm that reincarnation.

Beijing has other concerns as well. For all the vilification heaped upon the Dalai Lama, China's leaders know that he is a voice of moderation among Tibetan exiles. There is a fear that the next generation of leaders will be more radical and perhaps even more violent in their opposition to Chinese rule of Tibet. Thus China faces the prospect of a leadership that is not only more democratic but also even more radical in its challenge to Beijing.

There is no guarantee that the Dalai Lama's plan will be approved. Many Tibetans, in particular those still in Tibet, support only him; they do not know other proposed leaders. The three candidates for prime minister are not lamas; Beijing has said that it will not recognize their authority and will only negotiate with the Dalai Lama. There is the danger then that splitting his political and religious authority can weaken rather than strengthen the government in exile. It is likely that Beijing, eager to seize an opportunity, will inform Tibetans that they have been "abandoned" by their leader in an attempt to further weaken the exile community's influence.

In fact, the Dalai Lama has been trying to prepare his followers for this moment for over four decades. Shortly after fleeing to India, he called for the transition to a system more like a constitutional monarchy. In 2001, he endorsed democratic elections for the prime minister. The latest reforms will complete the democratization process.

If the measure passes, the Dalai Lama will not retire after the vote. He will continue to serve as the head of the Tibetan Buddhist religion, and will, most likely, continue with some ceremonial roles. But he will have taken critical steps to ensure that the exile community has real leadership after he passes. It is a far-sighted move, one befitting a real leader.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY YOMIURI, JAPAN

Do whatever it takes to cool N-reactors

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Herculean efforts are being made at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to prevent leaks of radioactive material from spreading.
Self-Defense Forces helicopters on Thursday dumped seawater on one reactor at the plant, while water cannon trucks also blasted water at the reactor's spent fuel rod pool to cool it down. Efforts to restore power at the plant are continuing.
We hope the SDF officials, police officers and power plant workers involved in the highly dangerous task of cooling the damaged nuclear reactors and spent fuel rods will safely accomplish their mission.
The plant has six nuclear reactors. The nuclear cores at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 reactors are not being cooled sufficiently. Meanwhile, cooling functions at the storage pools for spent fuel rods at reactors Nos. 3 and 4 have failed, raising fears that this fuel might overheat.
In the worst-case scenario, the nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel would break down, possibly causing leakage of radioactive materials. The situation remains critical.
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Daunting task
Using helicopters to dump seawater on the reactor was a desperate attempt to cool the storage pool.
The helicopters can only carry a limited amount of water; they would have to make more than 100 flyovers to fill the 12-meter-deep storage pool. The helicopter crews also risk being exposed to high levels of radiation when they fly over the reactors.
The water cannon trucks of the Metropolitan Police Department and the SDF will only have a limited effect. But by using various means at their disposal, the authorities are trying to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
Despite the incredible efforts being made, they do not appear to be turning the situation around.
The government has sought advice from nuclear power experts in dealing with the worsening problem. However, we think it might have to tap the expertise of specialists in other fields and the industrial sector to help bring the situation under control.
For instance, mobile water-spraying equipment used to fight fires at industrial complexes could be utilized to shoot water at the storage pool. These devices can spray large volumes of seawater higher and farther than the methods deployed so far.
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Evacuees need more help
As the serious situation drags on, criticism of the government's response is rising.
Residents living within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant were ordered to evacuate, while people living between 20 kilometers and 30 kilometers away were urged to stay indoors. Many Fukushima residents have fled the prefecture in the past few days, and finding places that can accommodate these evacuees has become a pressing task.
Food and heating fuel are piling up but not reaching people directly affected by the quake.
Some patients who were evacuated from hospitals near the nuclear plant have died due to a lack of medicine, and other causes, at facilities where they were taking shelter.
The prefecture is running out of daily necessities because some truck drivers are hesitant to transport goods to the stricken region.
Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato has called on the government, which issued the evacuation orders, to come up with measures to care for people who have left and those who are afraid to venture out their homes. Everything must be done to prevent these people from falling victim to secondary disasters.