Fighting terror jointly

PAKISTAN’S willingness to share intelligence with New Delhi on the terrorist attacks on two hotels in Mumbai is a major development in the unfolding drama in South Asia. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s thinly veiled reference to Pakistani involvement in the attacks is quite worrying and the announcement that the ISI’s chief will visit New Delhi to discuss the issue should assuage anxiety on this count. The prime minister, a skilful, suave diplomat, is not considered an especially hawkish figure on Pakistan, so the fact that he chose to lash out against Islamabad is a sign of the troubled road ahead in Pakistan-India relations. Spurred by the prime minister’s comments, segments of the Indian media have indulged in a round of Pakistan-bashing, mixing facts with theories to present ‘evidence’ of Pakistani malice and perfidy. There are, however, some undeniable facts before us already. The attacks were coordinated, methodical and executed with terrifying precision. The targets selected, symbols of modern India, indicate an intention to inflict the maximum damage on the Indian psyche. The attackers were numerous and some have been caught alive, making it easier to unearth the full extent of the terrorist plot. The Mumbai attacks, while new and horrifying in their method, come on the heels of a string of attacks across India this year. Those implicated in the previous attacks are home-grown Muslim militants. In addition, Hindu militants have been linked to attacks targeting Muslims and Christians in India. What this all clearly adds up to is that India has a massive problem of domestic terrorism which it appears ill-equipped to respond to.

If India believes that Pakistan is compounding that problem in its neighbour’s territory, then it is in the interest of every Pakistani to know what is going on. The Indian prime minister or any other official should come forward with names, identities, phone records, bank statements or any other proof that shows a Pakistani connection. After all it is in our interest to unearth and destroy sponsors of yet more terrorism in our midst. But without a sensible approach from the Indian side, Pakistan is bound to bristle and react defensively, sparking a new round of blame and counter-blame. Following the attacks on the Indian parliament in December 2001, the cycle nearly ended up in a catastrophic war between the two countries. The only winners in the event of an escalation in hostility between India and Pakistan will be the terrorists in both countries. But Pakistan cannot afford to be smug as India suffers. We have a grave problem of militancy and the attacks in Mumbai are a grim reminder of the endless possibilities of terror.

US pull-out from Iraq

EIGHT years after they invaded Iraq, US forces are to be withdrawn from a country that is in a mess. To be ratified in a referendum next year, the new security pact between Baghdad and Washington lets the American forces stay on in Iraq till Dec 31, 2011. That Iraq is still a single entity after all that has happened to it since the invasion in March 2003 is a miracle. No Arab country has suffered so much in modern times. The back of the insurgency has been broken, but not before resistance to American occupation and sectarian clashes had claimed civilian casualties whose numbers can only be guessed — between 200,000 and 300,000. Economically, Iraq has been ruined and its infrastructure destroyed with over two million people displaced. Oil-rich Iraq is now producing only 2.4 million barrels per day, and power generation meets only half the country’s requirement. Egged on by the neocons, the Bush administration invaded Iraq even though the Hans Blix commission’s findings let the world know that Ba’athist Iraq had no WMDs. What Washington wanted was a regime change because Israel considered Saddam Hussein the biggest threat to its security. In the process, over 4,200 American soldiers have died and more than 50,000 have been wounded or traumatised, but Israel feels happy that the job has been adequately done.

Yet, in spite of the autonomy that Kurdistan enjoys, the people of Iraq have demonstrated that they stand for the country’s unity. Earlier this month thousands of people across the country — both Shias and Sunnis — demonstrated in favour of national unity and denounced Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, who had criticised Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for trying to check fissiparous tendencies in Kurdistan. Despite the opposition to the treaty by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the new security pact with the US shows a national consensus on the issue, and the Sunni bloc apparently won a victory when it insisted that the pact be put to popular vote. More significantly, the pact ensures that the 150,000 American troops will not undertake any military operations without Iraqi permission and that Iraqi territory will not be used against any of its neighbours. This should serve to reassure Syria and Iran in respect of their reservations against the new agreement. One hopes the US has learnt its lessons in Iraq. This needs to be averred, because America now intends to reinforce its forces in Afghanistan at a time when the Europeans and Afghans are getting war-weary.

Valuation of ecosystems

IT is a certain type of person, usually of liberal bent, who cares wholeheartedly for the environment. There are more people who downplay the significance of environmental issues. They say that in a country with so much human misery, the welfare of animals and plants is a secondary concern. Such thinking is completely flawed. It has now been established beyond doubt that human welfare is inextricably linked to the state of the environment. Livelihoods are at stake, the health of the nation is at risk. Here it is encouraging to note that organisations involved in conservation are increasingly addressing a broader audience, not just the converted. Even an industrialist is likely to listen if the economic cost of environmental degradation enters the equation. In this age of rampant consumerism, putting a price tag on the destruction of ecosystems is perhaps a practical way of getting the message across.

Take mangroves, for example. As a speaker at a seminar hosted by IUCN Pakistan and the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics pointed out on Thursday, our mangrove cover had shrunk to 86,000 hectares by 2005. In 1932 it stood at a robust 600,000 hectares. The price of mangroves is not limited to the value of their wood or the land in which they are rooted. Mangroves serve as natural hatcheries and the seafood business will suffer immensely if their destruction is not halted. The impoverished lives of fisherfolk will become even more dire and population displacement could accelerate. Besides being a crucial link in the marine food chain, mangroves also provide a barrier against tidal surges and lessen the havoc — in both human and monetary terms — that cyclones can wreak in coastal areas. According to a recent report by the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Indus delta mangrove ecosystem is ‘close to death’ due to reduced water flows downstream of Kotri. As a result, the sea is also intruding at a rapid pace in parts of Sindh, submerging arable land and displacing people. All this comes at a terrible cost. Valuation of natural resources is not an easy task but a beginning must be made. Environmental fiscal reform is clearly the way ahead, for economic growth is not sustainable without healthy ecosystems.

OTHER VOICES - Sri Lankan Press

Another grim warning

Daily Mirror

THE appalling tragedy in Mumbai is yet another rude reminder about the inhuman nature of terrorism. The shocking reverberations of this simultaneous attack on a number of places in the hub of financial activity targeting luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded railway station, killing about 100 persons and injuring over 250 is felt throughout the world raising the wrath of all peace-loving people against terrorism….

However, the elimination of the causes of terrorism is easier advocated than accomplished. This indeed is the challenge that India as well as Sri Lanka faces today.

Whatever the mistakes India committed in the past particularly in its approach to the Tamil issue and terrorism in this country, the policy being pursued today shows a positive trend. Having realised the irrationality and brutality of terrorism particularly after the assassination of its late leader Rajiv Gandhi, India not only banned the LTTE in the country but adopted a policy of extreme contempt to acts of terrorism. The present leadership has been courageous enough to thwart attempts by some Tamil Nadu politicians to check the progress of the country’s campaign against terrorism.

At this hour of Indian grief, Sri Lanka has to lend whatever support it is capable of to the Indian leaders to deal with the situation. It is also necessary for our leaders to exercise greater vigilance to effectively deal with attempts by any group of extremists to create tension among different communities in the country. The moderate Muslim leaders who have lived in the Colombo city with Sinhala and Tamil communities for generations in perfect peace and harmony acted quickly to remove the misunderstandings.

The present Indian tragedy should also be taken as a warning to all and sundry about the threat posed by terrorists around the country. The LTTE may attempt to cover up their humiliation by carrying out attacks in places where security arrangements are not properly maintained. The cooperation of all concerned therefore is necessary to avert such potential danger. The authorities correctly tightened security in and around Colombo in view of possible attacks on the LTTE Maveera Day. It is often security lapses that pave the way for terrorists’ crimes. — (Nov 28)

China-EU row on Lama visit

RELATIONS between the EU and China have hit rock bottom, with Beijing cancelling participation in an EU-China summit on Dec 1 because of outrage at plans for Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit Europe.

China’s unprecedented move is a blow to EU governments which were hoping to use the summit to forge a new partnership under which China — with its vast $2tr foreign reserves — would extend a helping hand to Europe’s battered economies.

The 27-nation bloc has expressed regret at Beijing’s decision but pledged to continue to promote a strategic partnership “at a time when the global economic and financial situation calls for very close cooperation between Europe and China”.

France has confirmed that President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet the Dalai Lama at a Dec 6 ceremony in Poland to mark the 25th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize to former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa. “Nicolas Sarkozy ... is free to decide his agenda,” government spokesman Luc Chatel told reporters. He added, however, that Sarkozy “has always said he’ll meet the Dalai Lama not as a head of state, but as spiritual leader”.

Earlier this month, the Chinese foreign ministry warned Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, that the EU risked losing hard-won gains in ties with Beijing if he met the Dalai Lama.

While adamant that European leaders will not be dictated to, EU policymakers are struggling to comprehend the fallout from — and implications of — the Chinese move.

Clearly, China’s decision is an illustration of the country’s growing assertiveness and self-confidence, sentiments reinforced by Beijing’s successful hosting of the Olympics this summer.

Second, the move confirms that as it gains more economic and financial clout, China will demand not only a stronger voice in the management of global financial affairs — more votes in the International Monetary Fund for instance — but also more international respect for its political stance on issues like Tibet, Taiwan and human rights.

For Europeans, dealing with a more demanding China will require a serious rethink of past policies. That is easier said than done, however.

For one, divergences over the Dalai Lama have long haunted relations between Europe and China. China calls the Tibetan spiritual leader, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in the mountainous region, occupied by Chinese troops from 1950, a “secessionist” for advocating self-determination for his homeland. China claims he actually seeks full independence but this is denied by the Dalai Lama.

For many in Europe, the Dalai Lama remains a figure who commands great respect and popularity. He has often visited the European Parliament and is expected to do so again next month, a move that China has also denounced. Second, the 27 EU governments are notoriously divided in their dealings with China. And this inability to speak with one voice on key issues seriously erodes Europe’s credibility and standing in Beijing.

Confusion in Europe over how to deal with Beijing was spotlighted this spring when EU leaders disagreed publicly on whether or not to attend the inauguration ceremonies of the Olympics in protest at Chinese action against Tibetan dissidents.

Sarkozy initially said his attendance at the opening ceremony was conditional on progress in talks between Beijing and Dalai Lama envoys on the future of Tibet. In the end, however, the French leader did attend the inauguration as did many other EU leaders. But by then, China and ordinary Chinese were angered by protests against the passage of the Olympic flame in several cities, including Paris.

In addition, the mood at a meeting of European and Asian leaders in Beijing last month was strained by a decision a day earlier by the European Parliament to award its annual human rights prize to Hu Jia, a Chinese dissident jailed for subversion after testifying to the assembly last year.

EU-China trade relations are similarly fraught. Trade disputes between Brussels and Beijing have been on the rise as the EU’s trade deficit with China has ballooned, hitting 160 billion euros ($207.4bn) last year.

This month Brussels imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made candles and non-alloy steel products and added tariffs to imports of some citrus fruit products. China routinely denies it breaks trade rules and says Europe resorts to protectionism against its low-cost advantage.

Many in Brussels and other EU capitals fear that unlike past disagreements, the latest EU-China tiff is likely to last, as China becomes more determined to link its financial clout with political demands.

As such, EU policymakers are pondering the need for a comprehensive revamp of Europe’s relations with key Asian powers, including China, Japan, India and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

True, the EU has signed so-called ‘strategic partnerships’ with China, Japan and India, and is negotiating ambitious free trade agreements with ASEAN, India and South Korea. ASEM (the process of Asia-Europe Meetings launched in 1995) also provides a forum for region-to-region discussions between the two sides.But signing agreements is not enough. Injecting new momentum into EU-Asia relations will require both sides to focus less on the process — the organisation of meetings and frequent high-level visits, and issuing communiqués — and more on exploring ways to enhance and reinforce the substance and content of their ties.

This requires a long-overdue internal EU discussion on how best to deal with countries like China and India which — depending on the issue at stake — can, at the same time, be partners, competitors or even adversaries. It also demands a more united EU stance when dealing with Asia. At a time when US president-elect Barack Obama is engaged in a major review of US policy towards Asia, EU governments also need to craft a new strategy to redefine their political, economic and security relationship with the region.

This could cover the EU’s wider strategic goals in Asia, the impact on Europe of the seismic changes taking place in the region, and how the two sides can better engage with each other to tackle common global challenges — including the financial crisis, climate change, fuel costs and rising food prices as well as efforts to defuse political and military conflicts. Such a fresh strategic analysis could also have the additional benefit of helping to boost the EU’s profile in Asia.

While such efforts are important, a great deal will ultimately depend on Europe’s ability to speak with one voice to China — and other rising powers, including Russia and India.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Brussels.

Ugly side of beauty trade

A SCANDAL of second-rate care in parts of the beauty industry has been revealed by UK health and safety officials, who have even highlighted cases of women suffering with paralysis of the face, burnt scalps and lost fingernails.

In the worst examples, poorly trained staff and cost-cutting managers are exposing clients to the risk of infection because waxings, anti-ageing treatments and body piercings are not carried out properly. The warning comes from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

Its members, environmental health officers working for local muncipal and borough councils, have uncovered a range of dubious practices in nail bars, beauty salons, hairdressers and sunbed parlours that could harm health.

While the number of people who complain after having a bad experience is small, environmental health officers believe the true figure may be much higher because many incidents go unreported. The institute’s findings and concerns were echoed by the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services, which represents officials who carry out enforcement duties for local councils.

Nail bars are a particular cause for concern, said Karen Ashdown, the organisation’s health and safety licensing officer. Some are using acrylic nail products containing methyl methacrylate (MMA), a chemical that has been blamed for causing lung, kidney and liver problems, asthma, and allergic reactions. It is far cheaper than the much safer alternative, EMA. More than 30 states in America have banned MMA.

‘The trouble is that it is a permanent bonding agent, so women can’t easily remove their false nails,’ said Ashdown. ‘They can still prise them off, but it will often pull off their real nail too. Real harm does happen sometimes.’

Some women have ripped open the top of their finger after getting their false nail caught in clothing because it was glued on so tightly.

—The Guardian, London