| July 30, 2002 | Tuesday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19,1423 |
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Peace prospects in Sudan
Gaping manholes
COLIN Powell’s statement that the US intends to remain engaged with the problem of peace and normalization in South Asia “for months and years ahead” is significant. Seen in the context of what the US secretary of state said in New Delhi, his statement gives an indication of America’s long-term policy on South Asia. The immediate purpose of Mr Powell’s visit was to work for a de-escalation along the border. While he acknowledged that there had been some lowering of tensions, he said both Islamabad and New Delhi recognized the need for talks. What, however, must have disappointed India was some blunt truths he spoke during his press conference in New Delhi. First, contrary to India’s insistence that Kashmir is a bilateral problem, Mr Powell said that the issue was “on the international agenda” and that his country would remain engaged in “extending a helping hand to all sides” for a solution. He also called upon India “to take de-escalatory steps” as Pakistan “makes good on its pledges to permanently cease support for infiltration.” Not only that, Mr Powell asked India to free Kashmiri political prisoners and allow international observers to monitor the forthcoming elections in occupied Kashmir.
Strange as it may seem, the Indian foreign office spokesperson would have the world believe that Mr Powell did not raise the issue of political prisoners and international observers in his talks with Indian officials. This was contradicted by Mr Powell when, during his Islamabad press conference, he said that he was able to secure an assurance from India that it would allow foreign observers to monitor the election in Kashmir. As for the importance that Washington attaches to the coming election in the context of a solution in Kashmir, he clarified that that alone would not resolve the Kashmir issue but it could constitute the first step towards a solution, and for that reason, the US hoped the forthcoming polls would be “free and fair”.
That America is now very much in the picture insofar as the subcontinental situation is concerned is plain to see. Also, in stressing the need for a dialogue between India and Pakistan, Secretary Powell invariably spoke of all issues, including Kashmir, waiting to be settled through talks and negotiations. This is in tune with Pakistan’s position in that this country has been consistently stressing the need for resuming the long abandoned dialogue between India and Pakistan for resolving all outstanding disputes between them, including Kashmir. However, knowing the inscrutabilities and complexities of South Asian politics and state relations, there is little room for optimism about the prospects of “a broader process” of conflict resolution that Mr Powell spoke about. In fact, in describing America’s role in that context, he carefully avoided calling it “mediation” and said that America would “facilitate” the resumption of a dialogue. In principle, he made it known, the two sides had agreed to a dialogue and his country could only “create bridges of communication.”
The point to emphasize in this context is that, if the past is any pointer, bilateral efforts to settle differences and disputes between India and Pakistan have been a dismal failure — mainly because of India’s obduracy, arrogance and unilateralism. The latest example is the failure to make New Delhi agree to bring an end to the military standoff on the border even after Pakistan has taken firm steps to check infiltration across the Line of Control in Kashmir. The only hope for breaking the wider stalemate and for promoting some sort of movement towards defusion of tension and talks for a resolution of the problems and differences thus lies in major international powers, especially the US, remaining actively engaged and doing the necessary prodding and shoving in the right direction, as Secretary Powell has promised.
AFTER nearly two decades of a bloody civil war, there are signs that peace could soon return to war-ravaged Sudan. Hopes for it were raised following talks between President Omar el-Beshir and rebel leader John Gorang, who represent the two warring sides in this bitter and long-running conflict. The first meeting between the two men took place recently in Uganda, and ended in a warm handshake. The war-weary Sudanese are hoping that this meeting will pave the way for further dialogue and ultimately a political settlement. Gorang’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has been engaged in a war with government forces since 1983 in the south, during which some 1.5 million people have lost their lives either as a direct result of the conflict or because of the famine it led to. Four million people are believed to have been displaced in a conflict that has devastated large parts of the country.
The SPLA represents the largely Christian people in the south of the country who felt alienated from the mainly Muslim north. Prior to the meeting between the two leaders, there had been five weeks of dialogue in Kenya aimed at bringing an end to the war. A protocol was agreed upon offering a real opportunity to both sides to come to a settlement. The protocol calls for administrative autonomy to southern Sudan for six years and the exclusion of the area from the application of the strict Islamic laws in force in the north. After a period of six years, the south will be asked to vote to decide whether it wants to secede or remain a part of Sudan. Most observers believe that this blueprint offers the best way of ending this conflict once and for all. Given the terrible suffering the country has endured in recent years, one can only hope that the two leaders will put the bitterness of the past behind and move forward to embrace a lasting peace.
THE tragic death of a three-year-old child after he fell and drowned in an open manhole in Karachi is yet again a good example of how inefficiency on the part of civic and municipal agencies results in people losing their lives. Every year, dozens of young children, and in many cases even adults, unwarily trip into open drains, sewers and manholes to suffer injuries, even death. Karachi, with its hundreds of open manholes, mostly in congested neighbourhoods, is especially prone to such accidents. Covering these death traps could not possibly be all that expensive, and requires only planning on the part of the city government. Considering this, the fact that people continue to fall into them and get injured or die speaks of criminal negligence on the part of our civic agencies.
This is probably one situation where it is never too late for the city government to act. Doing so in a timely and systematic manner could possibly save many lives, especially children who seem to be particularly vulnerable. One problem in the past has been that manhole covers were made of steel and were easily stolen by thieves looking for a quick buck. These were then replaced with covers made of concrete but that made it impossible for the gutters to be cleaned in case of an emergency. The result was that eventually the municipal agencies lost interest in carrying out this very basic, routine task. Now that the monsoon season is around the corner, it is imperative that the city government, in conjunction with the cantonment boards, makes a concerted move to have all open manholes, drains and sewers in the city covered and make sure that the covers remain in place.