| 18 April 2004 | Sunday | 27 Safar 1425 |
Well played India
ANC's landslide victory
What they should have done earlier, they are trying to do now: President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair have pledged to give the UN "a central role" in Iraq. The pledge came from Washington on Friday in the form of the two leaders' support to the efforts UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is making as June 30 approaches. What precisely Mr Brahimi is going to do to change the Iraqi people's opinion in favour of America's power transfer plan is not clear.
According to the revised plan announced in March, the Interim Governing Council (IGC) will cease to exist on June 30 and a new provisional government will run Iraq. The same day, Mr Paul Bremer, America's proconsul, will cease to be Iraq's supreme ruler. The irony of the power transfer plan is that governance will pass on from one group of America's handpicked men to another group of men doing Washington's bidding. As far as the people of Iraq are concerned, there will be no difference to the situation. As it is, the IGC is in limbo.
Following the bloody battles earlier this month, two IGC ministers, including the interior minister, have resigned - too ashamed perhaps to associate themselves with occupation forces that have killed 300 people in one city, Fallujah. If to this is added those killed in battles with Moqtada al-Sadr's supporters in the south, the number of civilian dead rises to over 500. No Iraqi, even a moderate one, would like to be associated with this kind of occupation regime.
The truth is that the issue is no longer transfer of power; the real issue is ending the anarchy in Iraq. Both Mr Bush and Mr Blair referred to "violence" in Iraq. Actually, what happened in the Shia south and the Sunni triangle this month was not violence but full-fledged battles between resurgent Iraqis and the coalition forces.
More disturbing from the point of view of the US, there is no split on sectarian lines, and the Shias and Sunnis seem to be getting united in resisting occupation. In fact, both have discovered their common Muslim and Iraqi identity. If at all there is anything that can stop violence, then it should be a realistic plan for the transfer of power to a genuinely representative Iraqi set-up that inspires confidence among the Iraqi people.
The amended plan visualizes direct elections to a transitional national assembly in December this year or next January. This assembly will draw up a constitution that will be put to the vote in October 2005. All this is too far away a prospect for the restive Iraqis. If they are to be mollified, then the UN must be associated with the power transfer plan in a big way, and this must follow genuine consultation with all Iraqi political and religious groups to ensure that a UN presence in acceptable.
Elections should be held under the supervision of the world body. Above all, America should give a specific date for the withdrawal of occupation troops. Regrettably, all that President Bush has said is that the American troops will stay on until "Iraq is free and peaceful." This is vague and makes one believe that the occupation is open-ended. One must now wait for the Security Council resolution which Mr Blair said would "embody the political and security way forward".
Well played India
India have just concluded their most successful cricket tour of this country by winning the one-day and the Test series 3-2 and 2-1, respectively. The pundits had given the visitors a clear edge even before the tour had started and that is how it turned out to be. Pakistan's facile win in the Lahore Test was too good to be true.
It was due to a slight miscalculation on India's part who misread the wicket at the Qadhafi Stadium and decided to bat first instead of asking Pakistan to do so. But for this error of judgment, it could have been a whitewash as Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain, had predicted.
These have been momentous days for world cricket. First, Australia made a clean sweep of a three-Test series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. Then we had Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, becoming the first batsman ever to make 400 runs in Antigua against England. And now history has come full circle in cricketing ties between India and Pakistan.
It will be recalled that India had won their first ever Test match against Pakistan by an innings and 70 runs in Delhi way back in 1952-53. In Rawalpindi on Friday, India did one better by beating Pakistan by an innings and 131 runs to take the Golden Jubilee game against their arch rivals.
There is no doubt that the present Indian side is the strongest ever. They have an awesome batting line-up. In bowling, young and relatively inexperienced Irfan Pathan and Balaji proved to be more than a match for Pakistan with their medium pace. And in fielding, India, more often than not, reached the very highest international standards. Taken everything together, India were a far better side than their hosts and deserved to win. This indeed was their finest hour.
More than the cricket itself, the tour has created an unprecedented amount of goodwill between the two countries, the full implications of which may be seen in the days ahead. The bad mouthing local gurus must stop putting the blame for the defeat on players and managers alike - or at least wait till the dust settles down. The vanquished must have the courage to acclaim the victors who won fair and square. Well played, India!
ANC's landslide victory
With 90 per cent of the ballots counted in South Africa, it is plain that the African National Congress is heading for a landslide victory. Given the popularity of the party which led the country to freedom ten years ago and the virtual absence of any challenge from a strong opposition, the ANC's win was quite expected.
This time it has gathered about 70 per cent of the votes cast, which is a tremendous jump from the 63 per cent it won in 1994 when Mr Nelson Mandela was at the helm. The ANC has also improved its standing in the two provinces (of the total of nine) which it does not rule.
It is now an established fact that the ANC is not banking only on its historical role of a liberation movement. Apartheid in South Africa fell more than ten years ago. Had the ANC not managed the post-liberation South Africa so judiciously, its popularity would have been on the wane. Not only has the ANC government averted a civil war in the country, it has brought stability and economic progress while giving the blacks a sense of dignity.
Another feather in its cap has been the constitutional and political stability the party has brought. The economy has also experienced a turnaround with the black South Africans faring much better than they had under apartheid.
Yet the ANC faces serious challenges ahead. The problems of unemployment, AIDS, poverty and crime, which are in some ways interlinked, affect a wide section of South Africans. If not addressed promptly, they could lead to much disenchantment. It is also important that the ANC is not intoxicated with the power it has won.
It now has the two-thirds majority in parliament to amend the constitution. It should not use its parliamentary strength to enhance the powers of the government which will undermine South African democracy.