~Guns "n" poses Will Europe arm China?

~Guns "n" poses Will Europe arm China?

Chinese armed forces do not lack funds for their
modernization: China is booming, and the government is on a
military spending spree. What they lack is access to Western
weaponry, cut off under sanctions imposed after the 1989
Tiananmen massacres. They are dependent almost wholly on Russia
for armaments, which limits their modernization program. French
president Jacques Chirac, however, has argued that the ban on
Chinese sales is "obsolete", and the EU is gearing up to end the
ban.

Decisions on arms sales are often a balancing act between
profit and strategic interests. Following American unilateralism,
apparent in its pursuit of goals, Europeans may conclude that
their strategic interests need not follow America's, hence the
swing towards European arms companies tapping the Chinese market.
This is strengthened by the prime movers in lifting the ban:
France and Germany. It will have implications for India as well,
since our military planning keeps China in mind.

But two developments have given pause to advocates for
lifting. There is a furious backlash in the US Congress, which
threatens not to approve transfers of advanced military
technology to Europe. President Clinton proposed arms sales to
the Chinese during the 1990s, but Congress had shot it down
fearing a change in the balance of power between China and
Taiwan, which the US is committed to defend.

Also, the Chinese National People's Congress has approved
legislation which declares any formal move of independence by
Taiwan will trigger a Chinese invasion. The timing provides
ammunition to those opposing the lifting. The international
community has an obligation to keep the two countries off each
others' throats, and some European countries have developed cold
feet.

Since any lifting must be unanimously approved by all 25 EU
member-states, that puts significant obstacles in its way. The EU
presidency is passing to Britain, which holds it till December,
and Prime Minister Blair is President Bush's best friend. Which
means the People's Liberation Army may have to wait for an
infusion of posh European weapons, at least till next year.
-- The Statesman, Calcutta

Proposals for reforming the UN

More than ever before, internal deadlock is keeping the United
Nations from fulfilling its prime mandate -- preventing deadly
conflict. Secretary General Kofi Annan knows this. His report on
proposed fixes, released this week, sets the stage for urgently
needed debate. High on the list must be attempts to forge broad
international agreement on terrorism and the use of pre-emptive
force -- areas where lack of accord has eroded the UN's
authority. The challenge of Security Council reform, however,
cannot be underestimated. The two formulas now on the table add
varying numbers of permanent and nonpermanent members. Neither
proposal tackles the main reason the grouping is so
dysfunctional: Five of its members wield veto power over all
resolutions, ensuring that the body has become a tool of power
politics, not a weapon of peace.
-- South China Morning Post, Hong Kong

Reforming the UN

The reforms proposed by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, are
of great significance, though they are bound to be controversial.
Since the end of the cold war in the early nineties, the need for
reform of the UN has been generally recognized.

No measures were taken then to revamp the world body because
no pressure was felt to address such a sensitive issue. The
American invasion of Iraq in blatant disregard of the UN created
that sense of urgency in 2003. Hence this recommendation by
Annan.

The secretary general has appealed to the member states to
consider it and adopt the recommendations by September when a
world summit will be held in New York to observe the 60th
anniversary of the United Nations. The dissent being voiced
notwithstanding, one hopes the reforms will be accepted to make
the UN a more effective body than it is at present.

The proposed reforms touch a number of vital issues. Some of
them such as strengthening human rights, boosting development and
a thorough overhaul of the UN bureaucracy are not contentious.

The need has long been felt to streamline the UN bureaucracy,
make governments fulfill their earlier commitment of providing
0.7 per cent of their GNP for development aid and change the
composition of the human rights body. But the two issues that are
already being hotly debated are the composition of the Security
Council and the rules to determine when states can go to war to
protect the people's freedom to live in dignity.

The idea of expanding the Security Council is universally
recognized. With the UN members having grown from 51 to 191 in
the wake of the era of decolonization, it is logical that its
executive arm should also expand. But the moot question is, how?
Previously, the number of non-permanent rotating members was
expanded from six to ten. This time one option calls for a an
increase of nine rotating members with eight of them being
assigned a semi-permanent status, while the other provides for
six new permanent members - although without a veto - and three
new rotating members.

This, it is felt, will create new centers of privilege which,
understandably, those denied a share in it would resent. Another
issue that will be questioned is the rule that when a state is
unable or unwilling to protect its citizens against genocide or
crimes against humanity, collective action can be taken against
it under the UN Charter. It is the mechanism to determine the
need for UN action that is likely to prove contentious.

It now depends on the collective wisdom of the UN members that
they work for a consensus on the proposed reforms. The fact is
that the basis of the UN was the tacit recognition of the post-
war power realities in 1945.

Rationally this concept should keep pace with the changes in
the international power equilibrium today. Though this may not be
fully reflected in the reformed UN, it would at least be a move
in the right direction.
-- The Dawn, Karachi

Bogus UN Human Rights Commission

The six-week charade known as the UN Human Rights Commission's
annual session has begun. So, too, has the wheeling and dealing
by the world's worst human rights offenders to avoid any rebuke.
Notorious violators like Cuba, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Nepal,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Zimbabwe sit on the commission
this year. This virtual hall of fame of abusers bands together to
fend off any complaints. In the process, they have destroyed the
UN commission's moral authority to render any judgment on human
rights. Last year, the panel welcomed Sudan as a member even
after Secretary General Kofi Annan had likened government-
sponsored atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region to "ethnic
cleansing." The UN Human Rights Commission must be cleansed of
violators, and a strong human rights record should be a
requirement for membership.
-- Miami Herald, Miami

Qatar attack spotlights threat to Gulf

Until now the smaller Gulf states -- Qatar, Bahrain and the
United Arab Emirates -- have been able to isolate themselves from
the insurgency in Iraq and the terrorist campaign in Saudi
Arabia. The smaller Gulf states have a vital dependence on the
West -- for their defense, for their oil exports and,
increasingly, for the tourist and real estate markets that are
becoming as crucial as oil to local economies. Qatar has been
moving rapidly down a reform path. The ruling family is toying
with political pluralism, Al Jazeera has been given the freedom
to pioneer uncensored satellite broadcasting and Western
investment is encouraged: All anathema to al-Qaeda and Islamist
obscurantists. The West's offers of discreet help against
terrorism should be readily accepted, and steps should be taken
to reassure a nervous foreign community before any disastrous
exodus begins.
-- The Times, London
.

Palestinian factions' peace talk

That the leaders of Palestinian factions are so actively
engaged in negotiating a truce with Israel is both a positive
step in the peace process and a sign of political maturity on the
part of militants. At this juncture, the factions seem to
recognize that there are alternative ways to confront the
conflict with Israel. In today's international climate of the
"war on terror," acts of violence directed at civilians are
increasingly viewed as intolerable. The only way for the
Palestinians to gain friends now that the United States has
opened its door to the Abbas government, is to demonstrate that
they are among the parties willing to participate in dialogue.
The Palestinian factions are wise to join President Mahmoud
Abbas's efforts to forge a truce. In essence, they are calling
President George W. Bush's bluff. Time will tell whether Bush and
Israel are also committed to peace.
- Daily Star, Beirut

Wolfowitz candidacy for World Bank

European governments badly wanted the World Bank to be led by a
dovish figure like Colin Powell, the former secretary of state;
that would have been welcomed as evidence of the more
multilateralist approach his successor, Condoleezza Rice, has
promised. Nongovernment organizations fear that Paul Wolfowitz's
free market outlook, combined with existing U.S. interest in
downsizing the bank, could run counter to development policy-
making trends under the admired departing president, James
Wolfensohn. Some worry that Wolfowitz's strong emphasis on human
rights may complicate relations with China. What is crucial is to
continue the focus on poverty reduction that -- in a hopeful sign
-- was begun by Robert McNamara, the former U.S. secretary of
defense who was also a hate figure before he took over in 1968.
- The Guardian, London

A treaty against tobacco use

Campaigns for nonsmokers' rights and against smoking have had
much success in the United States and in parts of Europe. But
elsewhere, they still have a long way to go. U.S. tobacco
companies aren't helping much. They generate more than $62
billion in annual revenues, and more of that is being made in
foreign markets where antismoking efforts are generally weak. If
there's hope that antismoking efforts might gain ground, it's
found in the Global Tobacco Treaty, which became international
law last month. Of 168 signatories, an amazing 59 countries
already have ratified it -- meaning those countries will take
stronger antismoking steps. The United States though, hasn't
ratified the treaty. It needs to, soon. A country keen on
exporting democracy should be just as keen not to export the
addiction and health issues surrounding tobacco use.
-- Christian Science Monitor, Boston

Distressed foreign job seekers

Poverty in Bangladesh has been exploited in many ways. One
recent example, where unethical and conscienceless persons not
only ripped off the gullible and the poor but also sent many of
them to their deaths, came to public attention through two
appalling incidents that cost the lives of 24 Bangladeshis in the
space of a month.

In both the instances Bangladeshis seeking livelihood abroad
were made the victims of diabolical designs of some unscrupulous
among the manpower and travel agents both at home and abroad.
Each of the unfortunate victims had to pay between six and eight
lakh takas for the elusive employment overseas.

It is no secret that exploitation of the job seekers has
become rather commonplace in the freewheeling and dealing
environment of manpower business in Bangladesh. Many, finding no
job opportunity in Bangladesh, fall victim to the lure and
enticement of the eldorado and the corrupt machinations of
manpower agents, only to be left high and dry, some literally on
the high seas. Those lucky to survive the ordeal returned home
but only as paupers.

In our eagerness to export manpower, the laxity in oversight
of the agencies, in some cases deliberate due to the collusive
arrangements of the relevant government organisation and the
manpower recruiting agencies, becomes a recurrent feature. The
wrong doings and the shortcuts that the recalcitrant recruiters
resort to make it imperative that constant vigil is maintained by
the government agencies on their activities.

We feel that the problem needs to be addressed in a
comprehensive manner and there are at least three ways in which
this can be done. First, exemplary punishment must be meted out
to those found involved in this sort of manpower business which
is tantamount to trafficking in persons. Second, there is need
for stringent monitoring of all manpower related activities.
Basically, there is need for building awareness at the village
and ward levels about all aspects of foreign employment including
the traps laid by the racketeers to induce the credulous out of
their homes and cheat them out of their money.

The ministry for expatriate welfare may consider forming a
special cell in this regard to spare Bangladeshis the fate that
some of their compatriots have had to face recently.
-- The Daily Star, Dhaka

America's bad choices

Nominations to two important posts by the U.S. government, one
for its ambassador to the United Nations, and the other for
president of the World Bank, have provoked widespread concern,
not least because both the candidates are known hawks in
President George W. Bush's administration.

John Bolton's nomination as U.S. envoy to the UN and that of
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank
have rung quite a few alarm bells all over the world.

The Voice of America reported last week that Mr Bolton,
currently under secretary of state for arms control and
international security, had said in 1994 that if the UN
secretariat building lost 10 stories it "wouldn't make a bit of a
difference". As for Mr Wolfowitz, his record, especially on how
America deals with the rest of the world in the post-Sept. 11
period, is anything but encouraging.

Right after the tragic events of Sept. 11, he was one of the
first senior officials who advocated that the U.S. attack Iraq.
The arguments used were Saddam Hussein's alleged links to Al
Qaeda -- an allegation which the U.S. government later admitted
it was unable to prove, and the existence of so-called weapons of
mass destruction in Mr Hussein's arsenal -- another claim that
has since fallen by the wayside.

In fact, he told the American magazine Vanity Fair in an
interview that "for bureaucratic reasons we settled on one issue,
weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason
everyone could agree on".

When America eventually did invade Iraq, Mr Wolfowitz's
advocacy for it was among the most ardent. Asked to explain
before Congress the still missing WMDs, Mr Wolfowitz said that
intelligence "is an art not a science" and insisted that he had
"not misled anybody".

His style of working as the U.S. defense department's No 2 man
has been indicative of the arrogance and hubris that seem to be
the hallmark of the Bush administration. To nominate such a
person to head the foremost multilateral lending institution in
the world, whose actions, policies and initiatives have a
profound impact on the developing world, is an ill-advised move
on the part of the U.S. government.
-- The Dawn, Karachi