Challenges before OIC
THE case for the industrialization of the Muslim countries as a step towards prosperity and progress, presented by President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday at a business forum in Malaysia, is a convincing one. In his speech prior to the start of the Organization of Islamic Conference Summit in Malaysia, President Musharraf argued that following the events of September 11, there was a growing sense of anger as well as a feeling of deprivation in Muslim societies which were fuelling extremism and militancy and in turn obstructing economic development. He said these problems could be solved by adopting policies that were investment and market-friendly. He also proposed a joint public-private commission to be set up to promote intra-OIC trade. These proposals were endorsed by the host, Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad, who commented in his opening speech to the summit that Muslim countries must be stable and well-administered, economically and financially strong, industrially competent and technologically advanced.
Both Gen Musharraf and Dr Mahatir Muhammad have advocated a case for economic and industrial development as a strategy that would improve the lot of the fraternity. To illustrate the point of Muslim backwardness, the Malaysian leader said that the GDP of the entire Muslim ummah was about $1.4 trillion while that of Japan alone was $4.5 trillion. The OIC countries attract hardly $15 billion worth of foreign investment annually compared to $50 billion by China alone.
About three decades ago, Algerian leader Houari Boumedienne had presented a radical vision for the future at the 1974 Islamic summit in Lahore. In his key note address, he had outlined principal areas of collective strivings in which research, studies, coordination and pooling of talent and resources by the Muslim countries could open up enormous possibilities of progress and betterment. Unfortunately little has been done since then by the OIC member countries as these and other plans continue to gather dust, while large parts of the Muslim world sink deeper into poverty and backwardness. Happily, the 10th OIC summit in Putrajaya reflects some glimpses of the Lahore summit. More than 30 leaders have arrived to attend the meeting, making it the largest ever gathering of Muslim leaders in the movement’s history. The show of unity augurs well for Malaysia, which is leading the call for a revitalization of the OIC by a new commitment to progress and modernization.
However, while economic progress and industrial development would play a vital part in bettering the lot of the Muslim world, attention has also to be paid to the social indicators of member countries. The figures for education, health care, access to water and power in most Muslim countries are dismal. Take the example of education. Japan has 1,000 universities while the Muslim countries put together have only 430. Similarly, the Muslim countries produce only 500 science PhDs annually, while Britain alone awards 3,000 such doctorates every year. Muslim countries also have to pay more attention to social development. This is an area in which experiences and expertize can be shared. But this can materialize only if there is a will on the part of the Muslim governments to do something practical. One of the most positive things about the present summit is that the final paper, to be called the Putrajaya Declaration, will contain only “workable and practical measures” to ensure the credibility of the OIC. One hopes these are then followed through.
A Chinese in space
WITH the safe return of its first astronaut after 21 hours in space, China becomes the third nation in the world — besides the United States and Russia — and the first in Afro-Asia to achieve this technological feat. The Chinese nation rightly celebrated the event as the Long March-II-F rocket blasted Shenzhou V into space and made Lt.-Col. Yang Liwei the first Chinese to orbit the earth. The fact that the manned launch came more than four decades after Russia and America had put their astronauts into space shows the Chinese leadership’s correct priorities. Its first priority after the Communist revolution was to carry out basic economic reforms, spread education, wipe out the legacy of colonial exploitation, and turn China into a strong, self-reliant and proud nation. With the country’s “opening up” in 1978-79, China began its “four-modernization programme”. This included the acquisition of the latest technology and its adaption to Chinese conditions. Since then China has made amazing progress and emerged as a major economic power on the world scene. The manned space launch is just another milestone in China’s progress in science and technology.
China’s space programme began on a modest scale when it launched its first satellite, Mao I, in 1970. Since then, there has been a steady development in this field, with China launching several satellites for civilian and military purposes. By 2000, Beijing had launched 47 Chinese-made and 27 foreign satellites. China has also collaborated with several friendly countries, including Pakistan, in space exploration. Pakistan’s first satellite, Badr I, was launched by China on July 16, 2000. In 2001, China put a satellite carrying a monkey, a dog, a rabbit and snails into space. They returned safely and enabled Chinese scientists to study the effects of space flight on organisms. Beijing also has plans to land a man on the moon, while western experts think that China could beat Russia and America in landing a man on Mars. As China’s friend, Pakistan should learn from its neighbour how a Third World nation can successfully fight poverty and backwardness while pushing ahead in science and technology.
Africa’s AIDS plight
THE US had pledged three billion dollars to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa during President George Bush’s tour of the impoverished continent last July. When put through Congress, the figure was cut down to two billion dollars. But even that sum could not be released because one of the charities running the AIDS programme in Africa also supports China’s population planning programme, which the neocons in Washington equate with supporting abortion, and American law forbids funding an organization believed to be helping in such programmes. These controversies arose after powerful pharmaceutical companies manufacturing expensive drugs used in the treatment of AIDS refused to back the purchase of inexpensive generic medicines to treat Africa’s 30 million patients. The question is: where does that leave Africa where over 25 per cent of the population has been diagnosed to carry the HIV virus?
A cursory glance at UN figures shows the extent of the threat Africa now faces from the rapid spread of AIDS. What is more disturbing is that African women are three to four times more likely to contract AIDS than men. This is because of gender inequality in the matter of AIDS awareness, which risks condemning at least 50 per cent of all children born of HIV-infected mothers to a short, AIDS-infected, life. The prices of patented drugs used in the treatment of HIV are so high that only one per cent of the infected African women can afford them. Appeals by international charities and UN agencies to allow unhindered supply of affordable generic drugs to Africa have gone unheeded in Washington and in most western countries which, like the US, are also keen on protecting the interests of the pharmaceutical multinationals. It is time the world woke up to the tragic plight of Africa and asserted itself against the capitalist greed to make money which, in this case, can lead to the death of millions of people by denying them access to life-saving drugs.