~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