EDITORIAL : THE DAILY TRIBUNE, THE PHILIPPINES

An empty horizon

Where’s the economic blueprint?
This has been the question raised by many since the start of Noynoy’s administration and the cry is getting stronger since nothing is materializing in the policy horizon.
The National Economic Development Authority (Neda) recently came out with an abstract of Noynoy’s economic program called the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 with the primary goals of a seven to eight percent growth rates per year and meeting the millennium development goals (MDGs). But what is being sought from Noynoy are cohesive and tangible initiatives that should have started now and to which the whole nation can latch on as proof that the current administration knows where it is taking the country. But there is none.
Noynoy started with the battlecry “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” (No corruption, no poverty) along with the “Tuwid na landas” (straight path) concept but both remain mere soundbites as nothing concrete in terms of its application has been achieved.
Expectations on Noynoy started high mainly as a result of his lofty promises about eradicating corruption and his being the son of two democracy icons that is being drummed up no end as if this was part of the solution to the nation’s problems.
Noynoy has two programs that could pass up as tangible initiatives for development: the private-public partnership (PPP) scheme and the cash transfer program or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Both are proving to have been haphazardly planned. Investors are not likely to subscribe to the program unless the government settles overhanging questions about the integrity of contracts with the government.
The dispute over the operation of the completed Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in which Noynoy is holding his ground over the compensation being sought by the consortium that built it after a government expropriation, is a sticking issue among investors in considering the PPP.
Not paying the airport terminal owners the just compensation is certainly not a way to convince investors that this government can be trusted to honor contracts as well as a government that can’t be trusted to pay up, when it expropriates private property.
And Noynoy, for all his talk about investors now having confidence in him and his government, has also shown that he too, refuses to honor contracts, as he unilaterally canceled the Belgian dredging contract even when aready approved by Noynoy’s justice secretary.
None of the 25 or so of the initial projects under the PPP scheme, worth all of P127.8 billion, has started. Lately, the government has been selling the projects to the Chinese that took all of Noynoy’s economic managers to visit the mainland for the sales blitz.
Also faring miserably is the P21 billion worth conditional cash transfer program or the 4Ps that Dinky Soliman is supposedly implementing.
Noynoy appeared foolish when he wondered out loud why the self-rated poverty and hunger levels have gone up in a recent survey despite the costly program --- which only showed his disconnect with his own policy initiatives.
It also gave many a window into the decision-making process within the Aquino administration in which the focus is mainly on building up Noynoy’s image with low regard on how programs are efficiently implemented.
It is similar to the pantawid (stopgap) programs currently in place to address the problem on rising prices.
The Pantawid Pasada has been rated ineffective by its own beneficiaries, who are the drivers of public transportation, because it was introduced too late to have any impact amid the rising fuel prices and it was too little to give relief to those suffering from high prices.
There’s nothing concrete in terms of policies under Noynoy who instead uses band-aid solutions to problems that crop up under his watch.

That would be the case for the rest of the five years more under him.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

 

An eggy conundrum

FOR millennia, humans have been asking this question: "Which came first: the chicken or the egg?" A seemingly pointless question, it has nonetheless occupied countless curious minds during idle hours. Yet, in spite of mankind's supposedly superior intellect, the question did not look likely to ever be answered. Until, possibly, recently. Thanks to that human ingenuity of being able to create artificial things in the laboratory, mankind has perhaps created a convenient way of answering the chicken-egg question -- by taking the chicken out of the equation completely. The question humans must ask from now on: "Is this egg real or fake?"

The very idea of fake eggs is mind-boggling and a real challenge to morality --- of the depths to which some people are willing to exploit their fellow human beings, even to the extent of putting lives at risk from this artificial food. For these fakes are not only completely artificially-constructed but they also have no nutritional value.

In a food market and consumer culture that is already over-saturated with processed foods that many have come to think of as "normal", the humble egg is the simplest source of protein, so consuming fake eggs will rob people of the valuable nutrients they need to survive -- and this will most likely affect the poorest of the poor, who can little afford other sources of protein.

That it can come to this is a sad reflection of how poor a society can become. In China, where the fake egg phenomenon began, it was hardcore poverty coupled with weak integrity and morals that drove people to peddle fake eggs. Such a situation can be replicated anywhere where economic opportunities are slim. Yet, regardless of economic situations, the need to strengthen morality and integrity is great. People who run websites that "helpfully" detail the step-by-step process of making fake eggs are obviously not money-poor, but are deeply destitute in scruples and morals.

But even as experts debate on whether anyone would go through the bother of making and selling fake eggs here in Malaysia, the real issue is: what are we going to do about it if it does exist? Are the laws and enforcement sufficient to detect such crimes?

Enforcement officers in charge of checking the integrity of food items should not assume that traders are honourable. Therefore, market tests and random checks should not rely on self-declaration.

There will always be opportunists who will eschew values, ethics and morals in pursuit of money. Strict enforcement of the law will steeply raise the cost of doing crooked business and reduce the profit margin such that going into the fake egg enterprise is not worth the bother. And that's how you deal with such fakers.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA

Guantánamo, on Trial

In bringing justice to those accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks, it will never be possible to have military trials at Guantánamo that Americans can be fully proud of, or that the world will see as credible.

Still, it seems certain those trials will be held. In a triumph of raw politics over the nation’s security interests, the Obama administration was forced to abandon its effort to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others in federal court, where these cases belong. It announced that they will be tried before a military tribunal at the Guantánamo prison, which President George W. Bush made a symbol of torture and illegal detention.

Attorney General Eric Holder ineptly failed to line up local political support before announcing that the prisoners would be tried in Manhattan. But that did not excuse the hyperventilating and unyielding opposition of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Charles Schumer, Representative Peter King and other pols.

Nor did it begin to justify the law that denied money to move any Guantánamo prisoner to the United States. It was a shocking example of politicians dictating a prosecutorial decision. The result: huge gaps of competency and credibility. Federal courts have a long record of successfully handling complex terrorism cases. These most important of 9/11 trials will take place in a system of questioned legitimacy, operating under untested rules, with no experience in concluding major terrorism trials.

Still, there are things that should be done to avoid an utter legal shambles and administer some justice.

NO TAINTED EVIDENCE Mr. Holder has said repeatedly that there is enough evidence to convict Mr. Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and the others without relying on evidence tainted by torture or coercion or on hearsay evidence likewise inadmissible in federal court. Mr. Mohammed was subject to waterboard torture 183 times — after, his interrogators have said, he gave up all the useful information he had.

Military prosecutors should stick to those parameters, and not try to exploit the somewhat more lenient evidentiary rules in military commissions, or urge a fanciful redefinition of torture to preserve a defendant’s confession or other evidence. That has happened before.

ADEQUATE DEFENSE Experienced military and civilian defense counsel must be made available in adequate number and given sufficient resources and leeway. Last month, the retired vice admiral who serves as the “convening authority” for military commissions, Bruce MacDonald, issued new rules for defense lawyers without first inviting public comment or consulting the military’s chief defense lawyer, Col. Jeffrey Colwell of the Marines.

The rules were put on hold after Colonel Colwell objected that they were “unworkable” and would “unreasonably and unlawfully” interfere with the lawyer-client relationship. One would have required defense lawyers to say what language they would be speaking with their clients and to use the same language during client visits “to the maximum extent possible.” This, Colonel Colwell noted, is an “absurd” rule, unless the government is improperly monitoring the conversations, contrary to its claims.

TRANSPARENCY This is crucial at every level. Beyond allowing 9/11 survivors and families to view the proceedings via a closed-circuit hookup, the Pentagon should arrange for televising the trial worldwide. Federal courts, wrongly, do not permit televising of criminal trials. But military tribunals do not enjoy the same level of public trust, making it even more important to let the public observe them.

In any case, interest in covering the trial is bound to exceed the few dozen journalists that Guantánamo can accommodate. If arguments for televising the trial fail, alternate arrangements must be made so those seeking to cover the trial can conveniently do so.

Wrongful Foreclosures

We were worried recently when we saw an advance draft of legal agreements between federal regulators and the nation’s big banks to address and correct foreclosure abuses. The actual deals were as bad as we feared.

It turns out that the inquiry that preceded the agreements was limited to reviews of “foreclosure-processing functions” — things like paperwork handling and work-force supervision. The reviews found big processing problems — no surprise there — and the agreements call for more staff and better management.

What was not looked for is far more significant. Because so few files were examined, the regulators’ report says, “the reviews could not provide a reliable estimate of the number of foreclosures that should not have proceeded.” So much for the burning question of the extent of wrongful foreclosures. The reviews also did not look at potential abuses outside the foreclosure process, including unreasonable loan fees and misapplied loan payments. Such faulty charges can precipitate default by making it impossible for borrowers to catch up on late payments.

Nor did the reviews focus on faulty loan-modification processes, like instances in which bank employees wrongly told borrowers they needed to be delinquent to qualify for new loan terms. Delinquency subjects borrowers to late fees, damaged credit and an increased risk of falling hopelessly behind. It also harms mortgage investors who are stuck with the loan losses. But it can be profitable for banks that service loans; they can extract late fees from the borrower or upon the foreclosed home’s sale.

To add insult to injury, the agreements leave it largely up to the banks to investigate themselves on those issues. They require banks to choose, hire and pay independent consultants to check a sample of pending foreclosures; banks are then supposed to reimburse wronged borrowers. The regulators pledge to ensure that the reviews are comprehensive and reliable. We’re not holding our breath.

The agreements do not include monetary penalties, though regulators say fines are coming. Regulators appear divided over whether the agreements should preclude efforts by the states to correct and punish foreclosure abuses. The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have stated clearly that the agreements do not stop other enforcement actions. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has not ruled out such interference. Over all, an important opportunity has been missed for real reform, redress and accountability.

Whitman the Scrivener

Kenneth Price is one of many Walt Whitman scholars dedicated to tracking every jot and tittle left by the definitive poet of America. Three years ago, Mr. Price came upon a startling discovery, buried in the National Archives: Whitman’s handwriting and his signature initials on documents he copied during his Washington day job as a government clerk.
“A prodigious amount of material,” said Mr. Price, who is at about 3,000 documents and searching for more. They give the lie to tales of Whitman’s being a slacker of a bureaucrat when he hand-duplicated the letters and memos of government officials.
For some, the material may be frustrating for offering no new tropes and stanzas from Whitman the poet. Still, his clean penmanship, so easily read in the here and now, is something fresh to wonder about — Whitman working to keep food on the table while he wrote his great Civil War poems. In his free time, he wrote letters home for wounded and illiterate Civil War soldiers. Twelve in one day “inhabiting the voice of another,” notes Mr. Price, a literature professor at the University of Nebraska and co-director of the Walt Whitman Archive.

Whitman clearly was no passive observer who could compartmentalize his life, which makes it interesting to see what biographers will make of this emerging clerk’s tale. The papers he copied dealt with the bureaucratic mundane but also issues like the Ku Klux Klan; the trial of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president; and westward railroad expansion. He worked at the Army paymaster’s office, the attorney general’s office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where the poet was famously fired after his boss pronounced “Leaves of Grass” immoral writing.

EDITORIAL : THE PEOPLE'S DAILY, CHINA

 

Boao Forum brings voice of Asia to world

 

The 2011 annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) opened on April 15, and nearly 1,400 political leaders, officials, scholars and businessmen from more than 40 countries and regions convened to discuss the development of Asia.

It is the 10th annual meeting of the Boao Forum. National leaders and former leaders from 26 Asian and Oceanic nations joined together at Boao town in China's Hainan province 10 years ago to mark the establishment of BFA, which belongs to Asian nations and carries specific Asian characteristics as well as a global view. Since then, Boao Forum brought the world into a new era, allowing the globe to hear the voices Asia and to witness Asia's growth.

During the last 10 years, BFA grew with Aisa, developed with China and continued to debate the issues of the day. Now, it has already become a high-level platform for leaders of countries in Asia as well as other continents along with heads of industry, commerce and academic to talk about Asian and global affairs.

Thanks to the rapid emergence of Asian economies and new forces in the last 10 years, the discourse power of Asia around the world is obviously strengthened relative to what it was 10 years ago.

An active Asia has gained much discourse power thanks to the growth of China, India, ASEAN countries as well as other new economies, the development of Asian integration of regional economics during the period and the increase of the proportion of the world economy produced by Asian economies from 27 percent to 35 percent.

Nowadays, nearly the whole world pays attention to Asia's development, and more countries started joining the Boao Forum, which makes the voice of Asia louder and louder.

In 10 years, Asia has already become one of the most active areas in the global economy and also an important driving force for the global economy. Especially when the world suffered badly from global financial crisis in last several years, Asia made great contribution to global economy's recovery by maintaining its strong economic growth.

However, it is a fact that Asia's economic growth is not in balance. Developments of regions and regions in Asian, countries and countries and even within one country are quite different from each other, which resulted an expanding gap of the rich and the poor in Asia and badly restricted the sustainable development and social stability of Asia.

Now, it is the time for Asia to shift its economic growth model from merely purchasing economic growth to inclusive increase, sustainable development and social common prosperity. And that is exactly the theme of this year's Boao Forum: "Inclusive Development: Common Agenda and New Challenges."

The so-called "inclusive increase," also common increase and equal-opportunity increase, is a new conception meant not only to create opportunities for jobs and other development through economic growth but also to equalize these opportunities, promote social equity and inclusiveness by both maintaining the rapid and continuous growth of economy and eliminating inequality; to let all walks of people share the benefits while keeping economic growth.

China's 12th Five-Year Plan has fully embodied the concept of inclusive development due to the fact that the plan is based on the theme of securing and improving people's livelihoods.

Since this year's BFA focuses on inclusive development and makes China a main observation point, China will definitely make some achievements in inclusive development and become an example for all of Asia.

China needs to improve industrial image

 

China has made rapid and remarkable industrial progress in the past 30 years, and products made in China are used around the world. However, what many Chinese manufacturers do is simply copy products invented in the West to produce low value-added products. This has turned the label "Made in China" into a synonym for inexpensiveness and low quality, which is inconsistent with China's national image.

Experts said at the first Academician Forum on China Creation that the country's manufacturing industry needs to master core technologies to enhance the competitiveness of Chinese brands, improve China's national industrial image and lay a solid foundation for Chinese companies to go global.

Improving the reputation of Chinese products

"American products feature innovation, Japanese products reflect the manufactures' pursuit of perfection and German products feature top quality and trustworthiness. These characteristics have become an essential part of their national industrial image. We need to build our own competitive famous brands to improve China's national industrial image," said Zhou Xisheng, deputy chief of the Xinhua News Agency.

So, what is China's national industrial image?

China overtook Germany as the world's largest exporter in 2009. The total value of China's imports and exports reached nearly 3 trillion U.S. dollars in 2010, when the country accounted for over 10 percent of global exports. China has the world's second largest manufacturing industry, but still lacks brands that can represent its national industrial image. More often than not, the label "Made in China" is regarded as a synonym for low price and low quality.

Guo Chuanjie, CPPCC member and former deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that Chinese enterprises have already captured a large global market share in many industries. For instance, Chinese home appliance enterprises dominate up to 50 percent of the global market share, but they still lack innovation capacities and core competitiveness.

An official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that because China is still at the medium stage of urbanization and industrialization, it is foreseeable that the manufacturing sector will remain China's economic pillar over the next 10 to 20 years. Reshaping China's industrial image and accelerating the pace to fulfill the goal of "Created in China" has become a serious issue demanding an urgent solution.

Core technologies affect, sustain country's industrial image

As a key factor in a country's competitiveness, core technologies affect and sustain a country's industrial image to a considerable extent, experts say. In the aftermath of the international financial crisis, developed economies such as the United States, the European Union and Japan have all pushed forward plans to "rebuild the manufacturing sector." This means that China will face strong international competition not only in new, strategic industries but also in traditional industries.

Wu Cheng, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that core technologies will determine whether an enterprise can take a dominant position in the industry, and the destiny of the entire country's industry will rely on whether the country is home to some leading players in the industry.

Lu Zhongyuan, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said that following the international financial crisis, the world has entered into a new round of an industrial restructuring period, which objectively requires China to move to achieve an innovation-driven economic growth and reshape China's industrial image.

"The combination of scientific and technological innovation will undoubtedly rebuild China's industrial image and enable 'Created in China' to win recognition worldwide," said Huo Jianguo, head of the Ministry of Commerce's International Economic and Trade Research Institute.

12th Five-Year Plan becomes critical period to establish image

China will enter the critical period of improving scientific and technological strength and enhancing national image during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. According to the 12th Five-Year plan, the next five years will be the crucial period of establishing an innovation-oriented country, and China's economic growth and structural adjustment will achieve a deeper and broader breakthrough. The Chinese government will increase investments in science and technology with an annual growth rate of no less than 20 percent.

Xu Heping, deputy director of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that the sustained high input in technology and the research and development breakthroughs in core technologies will directly change the global competitive situation of China's national pillar industries and create a new national industrial image. Research resources of society as a whole should be integrated in the future to mobilize forces in various aspects, such as production, education and research, so that breakthroughs can be made in a batch of major core technologies to enhance creativity and to realize independent control. This is very important for enhancing the innovative capability of the national industry and the national industrial image.

Dong Mingzhu, chairman of the Gree Group board, said that during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, Chinese enterprises should transfer people's strength and wisdom from simple commercial exchanges to the innovation field in order to allow more Chinese products to become world famous brands through continuously making breakthroughs in core technologies and enhancing the global influence of Chinese industries.

 

                                                                                                                   Dated-15/04/2011

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY YOMIURI, JAPAN

       

Get local govts on board to help debris removal

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Efforts to remove the colossal piles of destroyed houses and debris left by the Great East Japan Earthquake are making little headway.

Normally, debris would be collected and taken to a storage depot, where it would be separated into different kinds of waste. Any refuse that cannot be recycled is incinerated and buried. But after the devastation wrought by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, many stricken areas do not even have sites that could be used as temporary storage depots.

Waste disposal is, in principle, done by city, town and village governments. But the sheer quantity of debris left behind by last month's disaster is simply too large for individual municipalities to handle.

We think the government should not leave debris removal up to disaster-hit regions, but instead formulate a framework of extensive collaboration among local authorities so the debris removal can be completed as quickly as possible.

Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures are lying under an estimated 25 million tons of debris. This is 1.7 times as much rubble as had to be removed after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, a job that took three years to complete.

This estimate only includes the debris of houses and other buildings wrecked in the catastrophe. Including the thousands of vehicles and boats left stranded onshore by the tsunami would push this staggering figure even higher.

The government has committed itself to paying the entire cost of debris disposal. But this alone will not be enough.

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Govt must fund entire costs

First, the government should secure places to temporarily store debris. Debris in disaster-hit areas is often being stored at the same sites as temporary shelters, resulting in a severe shortage of debris storage space. Even public areas such as parks are already full and cannot hold any more debris.

Personnel shifting and removing debris have been painstakingly sifting through the mountains of debris to find photo albums and other items with deep sentimental value to disaster victims. They face the tricky task of deciding whether these items are valuable and should be kept and returned to their owners, or thrown back on the heap.

Removing houses, boats and motor vehicles requires, in principle, approval from their owners. Consequently, local authorities are accelerating procedures to get debris owners to agree to have these possessions removed.

In many instances, however, the authorities are struggling to locate these owners. And even when they are identified, some want the debris preserved, which slows the removal process down even further.

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Clearer guidelines needed

The government has issued guidelines that empower local authorities to remove destroyed homes, boats and vehicles without their owners' permission. However, the final decision on whether to seek permission from the owners is left up to the local governments. Under the circumstances, many local authorities are caught in two minds about how to proceed.

We think the government should consider providing local authorities with subsidies so they can hire property assessors.

Many coastal areas suffered ground subsidence during last month's violent earthquake. One way to revive these areas would be to use concrete and other chunks of debris as landfill, and to plant forests and windbreaks to help strengthen the ground.

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the Hyogo prefectural government used much of the wreckage for land reclamation in coastal areas of Kobe and other cities, and entrusted part of debris removal to other local governments.

However, the Sanriku region, the hardest hit in last month's disaster, has few shallow shorelines, which all but rules out the option of reclaiming land there with debris.

Some badly affected areas will have to ship some debris to Hokkaido, Kanto and other regions for final disposal. The government should do everything it can to get local authorities across the country to join the effort to clean up debris left by the disaster.

Govt must provide info on expanded evacuation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

While no prospects are in sight that the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant might be brought under control, the government is set to order people living in newly designated areas to evacuate due to radioactive contamination.

The decision came because contamination with high levels of radioactive materials was detected in some areas outside the evacuation and stay-indoors zones the government previously had set.

It is said the level of exposure to radiation would exceed 20 millisieverts a year--the limit of international safety standards--if people stayed in the newly designated areas for a long time.

The areas include Iitatemura, Fukushima Prefecture, which is northwest of the nuclear power plant. Some of these areas are more than 30 kilometers from the plant, but the wind likely has carried radioactive materials leaked from damaged reactors at the plant over a considerable period of time.

The government has said residents in the targeted areas should evacuate within a month or so. This measure is in line with an advisory issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency. We hope it will be implemented smoothly.

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What are the radiation risks?

What risks to people's health will radioactive contamination cause? Where should people evacuate and how can they lead their daily lives after evacuation? How long will people remain unable to return home?

Given these concerns shared by local residents, the government should thoroughly and carefully explain what it can predict. For example, depending on the level of contamination, it may be possible for people to live safely in those areas after taking such measures as removing contaminated soil.

The government previously ordered people living within a 20-kilometer radius of the nuclear plant to evacuate and advised those in areas between the 20-kilometer zone and a 30-kilometer radius to stay indoors. These measures were taken against a possible leak of a huge amount of radioactive materials if reactors at the plant melted down.

The expansion of the evacuation areas indicates the amount of radioactive materials released since the outbreak of the accidents at the nuclear plant already is considerable. The plant must urgently be brought under control to prevent the contamination from worsening to more serious levels.

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No grasp of situation

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the nuclear plant, do not even have an accurate grasp on who has evacuated to where under evacuation orders. Support for their daily necessities has been almost entirely left in the hands of local governments.

Combined with people targeted for the latest evacuation, the number of people who have left or will have to leave their homes is expected to total more than 100,000. They must be provided with sufficient support for their daily needs. And TEPCO should promptly pay provisional compensation to people affected by the accident.

Some evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture have reportedly been refused accommodation at inns and subjected to discriminatory verbal abuse. These kinds of things are unforgivable.

In the case of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in the former Soviet Union 25 years ago, IAEA and others said that disrupted daily lives and social anxiety negatively affected the health of residents living near the nuclear plant.

The authorities also said it is vital for a government concerned to gain public trust through adequate information disclosure and dialogue with affected residents.

We should draw a lesson from this.

EDITORIAL : THE INDIAN EXPRESS, INDIA

 

Enough’s enough

Given the impassioned case Congress veterans had made for the Public Accounts Committee as the appropriate site for an inquiry into telecom policy, the party’s current exertions are more than just a bit disingenuous. Indeed, the UPA government was content to sacrifice the entire winter session of Parliament to resist the opposition’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee after the CAG’s findings on irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum. What’s the point, they asked, when Parliament has a ready mechanism in the form of the PAC? And to blunt further the opposition’s case, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to appear before the PAC, should that be required. Perhaps this shrill argument by the Congress to establish the PAC’s immense scope and powers in itself raised the profile of the committee more than its current chairperson, M.M. Joshi, would have otherwise managed. But this backdrop also casts in sharp relief the disingenuity of its current campaign against the PAC.

Ever since P.C. Chacko, of the Congress, took charge as chairperson of the JPC that the government eventually conceded, his attention has been focussed on the rush of 2G-related activity in the PAC. Stick to the CAG report, he messaged the PAC, and leave matters of telecom policy. Withdraw from the investigation suo motu, he carried on, before taking his case to the Lok Sabha speaker — who sagely counselled cooperation between the two committees. Joshi’s PAC meanwhile remained unruffled and continued to summon enough senior bureaucrats and business leaders to further raise the profile of its proceedings. And on Friday, the Congress’s battle to limit the PAC’s turf was finally taken within. Before the committee could take up its appointment with the CBI director and the Union law secretary, Congress and DMK members on the PAC questioned the need to examine the 2G issue as it was now being looked into by the JPC. Later in the day the Congress spokesperson referred to a “clash of jurisdiction” between the two committees.

                                                                                                         Dated-16/04/2011

EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Unfortunate action

A REPORT in this newspaper yesterday disclosed a new twist in the saga of how India has managed to earn carbon credits from a UN agency for two hydropower projects in Indian-held Kashmir without Pakistan raising an official objection despite having reservations on the projects. The twist: intelligence agencies raided the offices of at least two federal ministries, water and power, and environment, and seized documents in connection with the power projects. Unhappily, it appears that political paralysis and bureaucratic machinations have yet again provided the security establishment with an excuse to insert itself into the workings of the government. Several questions arise here. What legal authority do the security agencies have to seize documents from federal ministries? Or was it simply done under the carte blanche that the ‘national interest’ provides? The already woeful civil-military imbalance seems to have manifested itself once again in unfortunate and unnecessary circumstances.
In the real world, where actors will seize whatever space is offered to them, perhaps the most pointed questions have to be reserved for the political government in the present instance. The issue of the Indian hydropower project is not new, dating back to the mid-2000s. It definitely appeared on the radar of the present government last July when the prime minister ordered an inquiry into how India was able to secure the UN carbon credits after a private citizen wrote to the prime minister to inform him of the issue. Then in late February this newspaper again reported that after months of procrastination three ministries — water and power, environment and foreign affairs — had begun inquiries, though it appeared to largely involve passing the blame from one ministry to the next. So by the time the intelligence agencies swung into action on Friday, the political government had nine months to ascertain the facts and affix responsibility for lapses
or wrongdoing where necessary.

Quite simply, the civil-military imbalance will never be redressed unless the civilians improve their performance. Water is critical to the security of the country. Some experts believe that if the Chutak and Nimoo-Bazgoo projects by India are allowed to go unchallenged, it may affect Pakistan’s case on the much larger Kishanganga project. There may be many reasons why the two Indian projects slipped through the cracks of the Pakistani state, but at the very least the political government should have by now found answers to why exactly that happened. The intelligence agencies’ actions were distasteful and perhaps even exceeded their jurisdiction; but it’s pre-emptive and corrective measures that the country needs, not criticism that will be shrugged off by certain quarters.

Circular debt

THE government has formulated a strategy comprising a raft of measures to dissolve what has come to be known as the inter-corporate circular debt in the power sector. The strategy is primarily based on raising Rs130bn by floating term finance certificates before the current financial year ends and making a series of adjustments in the government’s receivables from the public-sector oil and gas companies. By implementing these measures, it hopes to reduce the circular debt to a ‘negligible level’. Experience, however, tells us the new plan is highly unlikely to settle the issue. The problem is bound to rear its head again — notwithstanding stopgap moves such as the release of Rs15bn to the smaller IPPs — unless the government effectively addresses the sources of a crisis which has created a lasting liquidity crunch in the energy sector at the expense of economic growth and fresh investment in power generation.

Circular debt is mainly caused by the government’s failure to pay tariff subsidies that are mounting on the back of rising global fuel prices. Pepco’s inability to curb vast power theft, reduce distribution losses and generation inefficiencies and recover overdue electricity bills from consumers, including government departments, has also contributed significantly to it. While it is important for the government to pay off the piled-up circular debt, it must also put in place measures to prevent its accumulation in future. A resolution to the problem is critical for stimulating economic growth and attracting fresh investment in the power sector. The debt is estimated to be running into hundreds of billions of rupees now. If left unresolved the build-up could pull down the economy. The increase in electricity prices is essential to narrow down tariff differential. But while it is a painful measure it is not a comprehensive enough answer given the complexity of the question. The government must encourage initiatives for reducing the cost of electricity generation. The expert advice has been voiced often enough: dependence on expensive furnace oil should be cut to minimum, the use of coal for generation should be encouraged and new hydropower projects launched. The need is to energise, out-of-the-circle, alternative thinking.

UN report on Palestine

THE UN special coordinator’s report seems to have hit the nail on the head when it points to the hurdles Israel’s occupation of the West Bank has placed in the way of Palestine’s march towards statehood. Released on Tuesday, the report credits the Palestinian Authority with building institutions and services required of a sovereign state. It specifically refers to the progress the PA has made in developing governance, rule of law, infrastructure and health and social services to a level expected of a state. That the PA has achieved this remarkable progress in spite of the limitations built into the situation because of Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank shows the Palestinian people’s resolve to live in peace and freedom on their soil in spite of the odds they have been facing since the carving of the state of Israel out of their land by the UN in 1948.
The UN report will have no impact on the Arab-Israeli conflict because the world body has displayed no resolve to implement two of its key resolutions (242 and 338) which categorically call for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories. The UN failed to act even when it was operating in a bipolar world. Now, with the world body under American pressure, it matters little what its special coordinator says about the PA’s good work shortly before the donors meet. The UN has censured Israel several times for trying to alter the West Bank’s Arab-Islamic character, and America, which is sympathetic to Israel’s interest, has publicly committed itself to a two-state solution. But Israel has brazenly defied all American pressure and has continued its settlement activity in and around Jerusalem after having annexed the holy city in violation of the two UN resolutions. With the US Congress often labelled occupied territory, Israel has little to worry about.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

               

Pahela Baishakh this year

A positively revealing observance

The spontaneity with which the nation observed Pahela Baishakh on Thursday has revealed certain significant aspects about society in Bangladesh today. One is of course the remarkable growth in the numbers of people for whom the advent of the Bengali New Year is not only cause for a day's celebration and holiday but also a rededication to the traditions which for have ages nurtured Bengali culture in Bangladesh as well as beyond its frontiers. One notes that Pahela Baishakh is today much more than a Dhaka- or urban-based affair, for as this year's spirited observance of the day has so amply demonstrated, its celebrations have greatly diversified and are now as much a matter of rural exuberance as they are of the urban.
The economic aspects of Pahela Baishakh cannot be ignored. It is comforting to know that while the origins of Baishakh, rooted in early Mughal times, revolved around a closing of old accounts and an opening of new ones, in today's circumstances it is again economics which underpins the coming of Baishakh. The brisk trading which went on in the days and weeks preceding Pahela Baishakh is a testimony to the near religious fervour, not unlike that associated with Eid, with which people approached the New Year. On a wider scale, Pahela Baishakh this year was a resounding reassertion of the secular ethos of this nation. All Bengalis, among whom come followers of all faiths in the country, made it a point to remind themselves of the cultural stock they spring from. In addition, celebrations of the New Year by indigenous people, Bangladesh's original inhabitants, only added substance to the secular spirit.
Pahela Baishakh this year can, in that particular way, be regarded as a coming of age for the people of Bangladesh. And for the majority of Bengalis who also happen to be followers of the Islamic faith, a celebration of national culture has nothing contradictory with their adherence to faith (despite the attempts of the fanatical right to mislead people on this point). That Bangladesh's people are justifiably proud of their cultural heritage and aware of their religious values has never been in doubt. On Thursday, we as a people firmly renewed our faith in ourselves.

No let-up in land grabbing

Impunity feeds this crime on

Allegations of land grabbing continue to pour in from all over the country. In addition to foreshores, water bodies and arable lands the malady is now spreading into graveyards and cremation grounds.
In Chittagong, a housing company is said to have grabbed nearly one acre cremation ground and a large portion of a temple over the last two years. The company is also forcibly purchasing arable lands for its housing project without approval from the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA). The CDA conveyed its disapproval to the company saying that the lands were arable. In spite of that the company continues to sell plots on such farm lands.
Land grabbing and the haughty denial of the grabbers of any wrongdoing continue unabated. Interestingly, grabbers continue poaching spaces and the authorities concerned issue orders to stop the crime. Then there is no follow-up. And when the authority intervenes it comes too late in the day by which time companies establish some sort of claim over the lands.
It is evident that the government is helpless in the face of their incorrigible defiance of law and let them get away with whatever they do. In most cases they are in collusion with officials in committing such crimes.
In recent past, there were reports of clearing parts of hills in Chittagong for housing projects, which led to heavy mudslide and loss of lives in the region.
We call upon the authorities, not only in Chittagong and Dhaka, but all over the country, to show zero tolerance and take stern measures against the realtors to stop this land piracy. They not only cause huge ecological imbalance and loss of valuable lands but also deprive thousands of people who are the legal owners of the land.