| June 27, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1426 |
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Prisoner violence
Bus terminal for Karachi
THANKS to America’s Iran-bashing, a conservative has won the country’s presidential election. One does not know whether Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will succeed in giving a better life to Iran’s poor as he has promised, but there is great anxiety that the next four years may see a halt to, if not a reversal of, the process of reforms set in motion by President Mohammad Khatami. Supreme power, no doubt, will stay with Ayatollah Ali Khamenai, but in Mr Ahmadinejad he will find a right-wing hardliner against whose policies he will have little to complain. Unlike the moderate-liberal tussle that characterized Mr Khatami’s eight years in power, the new era set to begin in August will see the conservatives more firmly entrenched in all branches of Iranian life. The 49-year-old Tehran mayor is closely aligned with the parliament’s Abadgaran faction, which has blocked many reformist legislations. His shock victory, however, was not without reason.
His opponent, Hashmi Rafsanjani, focussed on issues that appealed to the upper and middle classes and tended to ignore the poor. As analysts have pointed out, Mr Rafsanjani’s rhetoric about political and cultural liberalization and improving relations with the US had little appeal for the downtrodden, who were more interested in bread and butter. Coming from a poor background himself, Mr Ahmadinejad concentrated on the plight of society’s underdogs and pledged an improvement in their lives. His campaigning was forceful, and there is no doubt that he was helped by Basij vigilantes, which he himself once was, and support from the ulema, whose sermons in mosques swayed a substantial section of voters in his favour. Often referred to as Iran’s Robin Hood, Mr Ahmadinejad appealed to the urban working class and rural poor as he questioned why the benefits of high oil prices had not been passed on to the people. He said Iran’s poor did not care whether relations with the US improved; what they wanted was a better life for themselves. No wonder, he found a receptive audience among the deprived sections of society when he pledged to fight against unemployment, inflation and corruption, and promised a redistribution of wealth.
The foreign policy implications of Mr Ahmadinejad’s victory are grave. The nuclear issue, which has so far defied a solution, is likely to get worse, because the European Three will be negotiating with a hardliner. He has already declared that the world must recognize the fact that acquiring nuclear technology was “Iran’s inalienable right”. For its part, America has already fired the first salvo by declaring the election “flawed” — a reference to the arbitrary disqualification of a large number of candidates, including 93 women, in the parliamentary polls. Reacting to Mr Ahmadinejad’s victory, the US State Department spokesman said Iran was “out of step” with the trend towards liberty and freedom in the region. He added, however, that the US would judge the new regime by its actions. One hopes this caution will endure. As experience shows, realities of power have a sobering effect. Mr Ahmadinejad may succeed in applying a brake on liberalization, but it is highly unlikely that he can turn the clock back. He will discover that certain reforms effected by Mr Khatami are irreversible. Any attempt at undoing them will be resisted by the people. Any outside meddling will only complicate things and destabilize Iran.
THE number of clashes between prisoners and jail authorities is on the increase all over the country. The latest incident of prison rioting, in which one inmate was killed, occurred on Friday at Sargodha jail which was the scene of a bloody outbreak of violence only last month. The month of May also saw similar rioting at Sukkur jail — twice — when prisoners, fed up with their corrupt, overbearing and harsh jailers, decided to take matters into their own hands by holding security guards hostage for several hours. There have been calls by politicians for revision of the jail manual and inquiries have been initiated into the various incidents of violence. However, it is doubtful whether these perfunctory attempts to address prisoner grievances will have the intended effect of ending jail violence, or of promoting a better, more humane prison administration in the country. There are far too many problems to tackle if reform is really intended. Better amenities, a more honest and disciplined staff, considerate treatment of inmates, speedier trials, and less crowded jail conditions are factors that must be taken into account.
The failure to better jail conditions stems largely from a flawed perception of prisoners being criminal entities, rather than products of an unjust social system. There is not so much emphasis on ‘reform’ as there is on ‘punishment’ — such as the incident relating to the stitching up of a prisoner’s lips reported the other day. This kind of attitude has only served to further harden the offenders, many of whom return to a life of crime on their release. It is not surprising that they do so, mainly because of the damaging psychological effect of a harsh jail system, making them cynical and bitter. This point highlights another factor that needs to be addressed on an urgent basis: the question of accountability of jail staff and regular inspections and assessment of their activities by independent bodies. Jail authorities are largely responsible for converting prisons into dens of vice and chambers of torture, and unless legal action is taken against errant officials, prison reform is not likely to make much headway
GIVEN Karachi’s congested traffic situation, its frustrated residents will be relieved to hear that the city government has begun work on the construction of an inter-city bus terminal off Super Highway near Gulshan-i-Maymar. Anyone familiar with the jam-packed roads of Karachi knows that they can test even the most patient of nerves. City Nazim Naimutallah Khan said recently that the project should be completed in the next eight months. This should be taken with a pinch of salt in view of the fact that a similar claim was made in September last year regarding bus terminals being made operational in three months, which has yet to happen. The two other inter-city bus terminals — one near RCD Highway and the other on the National Highway — have some time to go before they are operational. If, however, this project is completed in the promised time, it will relieve major traffic congestion as it will eliminate hundreds of unauthorized bus stands and will stop buses from entering the main city beyond the bus terminal. Built on an area of 15 acres, the terminal will also have administration offices, a police post and separate waiting areas for commuters — men and women.
Irrespective of the outcome of the local bodies elections, one hopes that this project is not derailed as it is important for reducing the congestion on many roads. By restricting buses from entering the city, it will free space for easier movement of traffic. Of equal importance is the fact that these terminals and their attendant facilities will create employment opportunities — and make the roads somewhat safer.