| June 2, 2003 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1424 |
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DU danger in Iraq
Karachi’s water woes
RUSSIA and China seem to be making a determined bid to come closer to each other. On Friday, Chinese and Russian defence ministers agreed in Moscow to “widen” bilateral relations, including military ties. The Chinese defence minister had stayed behind in the Russian capital after President Hu Jintao wound up his talks with President Vladimir Putin. As Mr Putin said after talks with President Hu, he believed in a new “multipolar” world so as to “respect the interests of all.” Moscow was the first capital President Hu visited after becoming China’s head of state in March. This is in keeping with the steady growth in relations between the two countries and a unanimity of views on a number of major international issues. These include their anti-war stand vis-a-vis Iraq, their opposition to the stationing of American forces in Central Asia, and their common perception of the US-North Korean row over Pyongyang’s weapons programme. The two countries are also members of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and last year they signed a friendship treaty. Both Mr Putin and Mr Hu later attended the SCO’s meeting in Almaty, where the six leaders decided to turn the SCO into a security organization by 2004.
There is, no doubt, the rise in American unilateralism under the Bush administration seems to have shaken the very foundation of the world order in the post-cold war era. It began with America’s denunciation of the Kyoto protocol, followed by the American opposition to the international criminal court, the unilateral abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and culminated in the attack on Iraq. In pursuing these goals, the US annoyed virtually the whole world, including some of America’s transatlantic partners, besides China and Russia. As President Hu said in Moscow, the war in Iraq might be over, but its effects on the international situation “have just begun.” This brings the two Eurasian powers closer to France and Germany, both of which have opposed the attack on Iraq and pleaded for a strengthening of the UN.
However, in spite of their common desire to draw closer to each other, there are limits which neither Russia nor China would wish to cross to annoy America. As diplomatic developments preceding the war on Iraq showed, Beijing never once threatened the use of a veto to kill any American-sponsored resolution in the Security Council. The threat of a veto had come mostly from France and Russia. China is also aware of the fact the US is now its biggest trade partner and the largest market for its products, besides being a source of modern technology. In its present condition of economic and political disarray, Moscow, too, is dependent on American investments and technology for an economic revival. It also shares the American concern about religious extremism in Central Asia. Historically, too, Russia has always tried to Europeanize itself and — in the post-communist era — to emphasize its western roots.
These harsh economic realities for both China and Russia make it unlikely that either of them would like to subordinate or adjust its US policy to the wishes of the other or enter into a defence relationship with a strong anti-American slant. Both know that Washington has much more to offer to Moscow and Beijing than either can to each other. Nevertheless, closer Sino-Russian relations and their cooperation with France and Germany should help inject some sense into a world order threatened by American unilateralism.
A US-BASED group that campaigns against the use of nuclear weapons has reported that the war in Iraq has left the country riddled with 2,000 tons of depleted uranium (DU). The US army sees nothing wrong in using this highly radioactive and toxic material in its anti-tank ammunitions thousands of which were used against Iraqi forces. The danger now is that a significant proportion of the DU is now lying close to thickly populated areas, and has all the makings of a medical and environmental catastrophe. Because of its radioactive nature, depleted uranium is known to cause leukaemia and many other types of cancer. During the Gulf war of 1991, DU shells were a danger not only to the Iraqi population but also caused a rash of mysterious illnesses among American and British troops, which later came to be known as Gulf War Syndrome. As for Iraq, the incidence of leukaemia rose twelvefold among children and sixfold among the adult population after the end of the 1991 war. To make matters worse, the country’s ability to treat such patients was severely restricted, thanks to the UN sanctions that were placed in the war’s aftermath.
Iraqis have enough problems as it is and they certainly do not need something like DU in their midst to make things much worse for them. What makes the DU threat more alarming is that ordinary Iraqis will not see such material as something to stay away from. Much of the spent ammunition is scattered all over the country, and even if its presence is apparent to the naked eye, its devastating effects certainly are not. If the US-led coalition is serious about “rebuilding” the country that it occupies now, it should immediately fund and organize a clean-up drive to rid Iraq of depleted uranium. It should also pay for the medical treatment of those Iraqis affected by DU since the last Gulf War.
KARACHI’s well-entrenched tanker mafia seems to be doing a roaring business providing water to thousands of thirsty households. That this should happen when the city is undergoing a severe water crisis makes one wonder whether the shortage is being engineered to benefit those who operate the tankers. Perhaps one reason for the shortage is that the catchment areas of one of the city’s main sources, Hub dam, has not seen much rain in recent months. However, that surely should not mean that the city’s water and sewerage (W & S) department should sit idly by and wait for a miracle to happen. The question is not about finding new sources to augment supplies but to maximise the availability by streamlining the fault-ridden supply and distribution system and by eliminating the problems of theft and maldistribution.
This relates specifically to the Indus source near Gharo. Government officials have acknowledged that the true potential of the source can be realized only if the existing pipeline network and related infrastructure were upgraded. If that is done, the city could get much more water from the same source. This plan, also known as the K-3 project, is currently in the works and its planning and execution must be expedited. The other issue relates to illegal water connections and seepage in the transmission and distribution network. According to official figures, nearly half the water supplied to Karachi is lost on this account. The W & S department should shut off all illegal water connections and take action against those who are indulging in this practice. It should also embark on a plan to improve the quality of the pipes that distribute water throughout the city. The latter is a long-term measure and will not yield immediate results, but without such a programme the situation will only continue to worsen to a point where water riots may become a strong possibility.