| December 28, 2003 | Sunday | Ziqa’ad 4, 1424 |
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Iranian tragedy
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AFGHANISTAN’s landmark Constitutional Loya Jirga is drawing to a close. Indications are that the 502-member body would put its stamp of approval on a draft constitution, which would be the ninth constitution in a country ravaged by war and bloodshed for much of the last three decades. But before the jirga does so, its delegates have to work their way through some of the most contentious issues at hand. So far the main focus of debate has been on whether Afghanistan should have a presidential system or whether it should adopt a parliamentary form of government. President Hamid Karzai has made it clear he would not be a candidate in the proposed June 2004 elections if the jirga does not endorse the presidential form; his argument and that of his supporters, mainly Pukhtoons, is that a battered Afghanistan needs a strong central government. His opponents, led by the non-Pukhtoon Northern Alliance, fearful of concentrating too much authority in one individual, have called for diluting presidential powers in favour of a strong parliament and broad power-sharing.
The quality of debate was reported to have been exceptionally high keeping in view decades of conflict and political and ethnic polarization that has plagued the country — barring of course the row caused by a woman delegate from Farah, who had protested at the presence of what she called war criminals in the Loya Jirga. Sadly, however, the debate that has dragged on for the last two weeks has also brought to the fore the country’s deep ethnic divisions. Bickering over official languages, over whether the national anthem should be in Pushto or Darri or both, and the use of the term ‘Afghan’ or ‘Afghanistani’ to denote a citizen of Afghanistan are some of the issues over which there has been hot debate amongst the delegates. Then there is a strong group, comprising former mujahideen leaders, who are unhappy over the definition of Shariat and demand a more explicit role in the 162-article draft constitution and future statutory law. Women rights activists are also lobbying hard to seek more equitable rights in the draft constitution and have taken keen interest in the debate.
President Karzai has so far refused to compromise over the demand for shedding some of his presidential powers. He told reporters at the presidential palace on Wednesday that dilution of powers was unacceptable. However, reports indicate that the two sides are nearing a compromise to keep everyone happy. Mr Karzai would let parliament approve the cabinet he nominates and Islamists would be all too content with more explicit mention of the Shariat in the draft constitution. There appears to be some compromise shaping up on the remaining contentious issues as well. Under the rules, Mr Karzai and his supporters need a simple majority to adopt the draft constitution and going by the election of the Karzai-backed candidate for the office of jirga chairman, the interim president will probably get what he wants. However, he would do well to take all groups on board and achieve a broad consensus. The country is well on course for its first-ever democratic election after having seen monarchy, communism, so-called Islamic rule under the mujahideen and the extreme version of Islamic governance under the Taliban. Deadlock or conflict over the constitution at this critical juncture could add to Afghanistan’s instability and make rehabilitation and reconstruction more difficult. The country will have a high price to pay for any failure in its first attempt at democratic governance.
THE death toll in Friday’s horrifying earthquake in Iran is said to be in excess of 20,000. The number of injured is even higher. The jolt struck in the early hours of the morning when the vast majority of people in the ancient city of Bam were fast asleep. Measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, it caused widespread damage to buildings, historical monuments and the city’s infrastructure. Seventy per cent of the city of Bam, which had a population of 200,000, has reportedly been reduced to rubble. Rescuers are having a tough time looking for survivors underneath the fallen debris which covers a large area spread over six square kilometres. The declaration of emergency by the Iranian government has prompted international rescue and aid workers to rush to the city, and for once, the US has also joined a host of developed countries in their offer to help Iran deal with the aftermath of this disaster. This is the deadliest earthquake to have stricken Iran since 1990, when another disastrous tremor in the west of the country had claimed 35,000 lives.
In the destruction of the 2,000-year-old city of Bam, the world has lost one of its unique historical structures, which was on Unesco’s World Heritage List. The old citadel of Bam, now completely levelled to the ground, was the world’s largest mud-brick settlement. An oasis in the vast Iranian desert, the old city lay on the ancient Silk Route between the Far and the Near East. Abandoned in 1932 as an army garrison town, Bam was resettled in the early ‘50s when the then Iranian government decided to develop it as a tourist attraction. A few hundred kilometres north-west of the border city of Zahidan, modern-day Bam lies on the main RCD Highway, which connects Pakistan and Iran with Turkey and on to Europe. It had recently emerged as a reasonably well-equipped transit point — with hotels, restaurants and even a university — between Zahidan and Yazd. Pakistan joins Iran in its moment of grief over the tragic loss of life and the loss of a city dear to all those share and value Iran’s cultural heritage.
THE arrival of two significantly cheaper models should be welcome news for car buyers in the country, especially given the exorbitant prices and long delivery periods they have had to endure in recent months. A Chinese import and a locally manufactured car, both with small engine capacities but able to seat four people, will be available in the market in the next few months and should provide much-needed competition to the auto giants currently ruling the roost. Though both the new models will not be directly competing with the standard cars, they should give the smaller passenger cars a run for their money. More, they will help to meet some of the demand for affordable transport by the low-income groups and provide a more comfortable and safer alternative to two-wheelers.
It would be instructive to recall also the inability, or should one say unwillingness, of the government to take any measures to reduce the problems faced by car buyers. The entrance of cheaper models does not absolve the government of blame in doing nothing to help automobile consumers. Premiums, sometimes well over Rs100,000, are still being paid to get earlier deliveries while those paying the listed price — in full and in advance — have to wait, on average, for half a year. This could be checked if the government impressed upon the manufacturers to take action to stamp out the practice of advance bookings by middle men and unscrupulous car dealers. This state of affairs was recently raised in the Senate and the commerce minister (whose is not even the ministry concerned) responded that a task force had been set up by the prime minister to study the problem and that its report would “soon” be taken up by the federal cabinet. The fact of the matter is that this task force was established in early September and its report was ready five weeks later. This pettifogging over a matter of urgent concern should end. The government should not wait any longer to act to safeguard the interests of car buyers.