A colleague here at FPA brought to my attention last week proposed legislation in the US congress regarding Afghanistan-Pakistan duty-free areas that looks like it may have promise.  The legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, would open up segments of Afghan-Pakistan territory to be free trade or duty-free zones.  In other words, certain products could be made in these respective zones and then be sold to the United States with zero tariffs, hopefully giving them a strategic advantage.  The upside to this move for the people and business of those Afghan-Pakistan territories is rather obvious, as this business would hopefully create new jobs and wealth for those involved.

However this legislation may face delay or opposition from US labor unions and must pass the a Democrat-controlled House and Senate.  In this regard, Hollen, a Democrat, has received support from some fellow Democrats and Republicans, which have promised to help sponsor the bill and get it through Congress.  There is also the logistical aspect of figuring out where the duty-free zones should be chosen and just how big they should be.  Having these zones in too conflict ridden territories may curb the expected benefits, but also having them too big may create a backlash from American labor unions.  In addition, choosing the acceptable goods to be duty-free, some likely to be textiles, will also be cumbersome and domestically sensitive.  Hopefully these Congressmen, with the support of the Obama administration, can work out a deal that can satisfy all sides.  Economic struggles are not the only reason for the conflict and pains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it certainly is a central aspect.

There are a series of UNFCCC meetings this year leading up to the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties - the 15^th COP.  As you know, Copenhagen is where the post-Kyoto agreement is going to be finalized.  The first of the five planned negotiating sessions leading up to the COP wrapped up in Bonn last week.  (There is also the “Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate” that President Obama is convening in Washington at the end of April.)

The UNFCCC reported that “Progress was made on technology transfer, and agreement reached on the need to boost funding for adaptation. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said “…more clarity was still needed on industrialized country commitments to produce the scale of finance required for both mitigation and adaptation. He added that real negotiations based on negotiating texts would take place at the next meeting in June.”

Here is a succinct version of de Boer’s press statement.

This past weekend brought news of a mega business deal in India.  Tech Mahindra was the highest bidder (at $1.2 billion) for Satyam Computer Services, a large and fraud-ridden information technology/outsourcing company that had been taken over by the Indian government after a series of scandals.  Tech Mahindra is set now to become India’s 4th largest outsourcing company, reaching a wide variety of sectors.   And Tech Mahindra’s executives worked quickly to reassure Satyam’s big (American) clients that they would retain quality service and care.  Tech Mahindra’s Chairman Anand Mahindra issued a statement:

“To all our customers, I would like to say we will give our highest priority to restoring your confidence and earning your faith in the future of Satyam. I plan to reach out at the appropriate time to some of Satyam’s largest customers at Cisco (CSCO.O), Citibank (C.N), and General Motors (GM.N).” Read more.

This large business deal is proof that India’s outsourcing market remains alive, influential and vital to the Indian economy.  At a time with many protectionist voices, particularly in the US, are calling for an end to corporate outsourcing, the reality is that companies like India’s Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro Technologies continue to wield economic power.  As other rising powers increase their military prowess and energy sectors, India will continue to develop one of its key strengths - its plethora of remote offices for Western companies.

Terrorists are carrying out attacks inside Pakistan with incredible ease and stunning accuracy. Taliban are seizing more and more territory everyday. The sense of security and protection in the country is long gone. Everyone in Pakistan is nervous, and nobody knows how and when, if ever, life will become stable or normal.  Not only are Pakistanis tense, but this erosion of law & order in Pakistan is also making its neighbors extremely uncomfortable. Obviously, if the current trend of violence in Pakistan continued, countries around Pakistan might join hands to protect their territory from the on-going carnage in Pakistan.

This is no doubt that the problems that Pakistan is facing today are extremely complex. It is also true that responsible people in the current and in the previous administration have done everything in their power to confront the threat of terrorism, religious militancy and convince Pakistanis that terrorists are enemies of Pakistan, but judging from the current level of bloodbath in the country, it is clear that governments have failed. As a result of this failure, regretfully there is no place in Pakistan that is safe or out of reach for vicious thugs using religion to carry out massacre.

The security situation in Pakistan is just awful.

It is never safe to shift the blame because this pattern of finding excuses actually destroys the ability to be honest and realistic about the ground realities and we are witnessing this play out in Pakistan today. There are people, and they are not in minority, who believe that if only America leaves Pakistan alone, everything will get better. There are political parties, pundits, analysts, writers, journalists, and of course, religious scholars making the case that Taliban are not bad people, we just don’t know anything about them. And when we get a chance to witness any evidence of Taliban’s unimaginable brutality, especially if the evidence is in the shape of a video, we hear that the evidence is fake and more absurdly, the evidence is turned into a conspiracy against Taliban by the Americans. Even more amusingly, the so-called analysts, untrained and biased anchors join the chorus that Taliban did nothing wrong and there is an international plot to demonize Taliban, who, according to these people are sim
ple people. 

This denial and appalling logic is actually the root cause of Pakistan’s problems.

Interestingly, so far, no one has asked what Asma Jehangir pointed out on T.V. According to Ms. Jehangir, If the system that Taliban are proposing is so safe, so ideal, and so just, then, why aren’t we seeing caravans of buses, truck, trains, cars and jeeps etc moving from rest of the country to Swat or FATA where Taliban are in complete control and their form of Sharia is in place? This question should be put to the supporters of Taliban and they must answer, openly and unequivocally so that the ordinary Pakistan get a chance to understand the complexity of the problem. 

The reality is that that unless Pakistanis agree that Taliban are not the answer to any problem, nothing will change. Otherwise, Pakistanis will continue to see suicide bombing across the country. If the most urgent issue of terrorism is not decisively addressed right away, Pakistanis will continue to see their schools turn into fortresses, Pakistani women being targeted by misguided people convinced that they are working to ‘restore woman’s honor.’ If the nation did not wake up, Pakistanis will drown with their eyes and ears open!

 
Bilal Qureshi

A recent interview with Hamas leader Khalid Meshal denotes a potentially change in posture by the terror group. While the organization continues to imprison abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, launches rockets into southern Israel, and plans additional terror strikes, perhaps Western pressure and legitimacy vis-a-vis President Obama’s approach could force Hamas to moderate its stance. Notably, the article states:

“On the crucial question of rewriting the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, he was unbending: ‘Not a chance.’ Khalid Mishal is not Yasir Arafat — he is not looking for a Nobel Peace Prize. Among the Hamas articles of faith is a belief that in renouncing violence and in recognizing Israel’s right to exist in 1993, Mr. Arafat sinned against his people. (Nonetheless, others to whom he speaks have told me that Mr. Mishal has said that ‘when the time comes,’ Hamas will make some of the moves demanded of it by the West.)

Curiously, amid rising calls from politicians and policy makers around the world for Hamas to be given a seat at the Middle East negotiating table, Mr. Mishal made clear that he was willing to bide his time. His message is, ‘Watch what we do, not what we say.’”

Hong Kong magnate Stanley Ho is at it again. Not formulating a “Ho Plan” for Hong Kong energy security that centers around wind power, as the growing similarities between him and T. Boone Pickens might suggest. Stanley Ho’s investment du jour, while on par with his recently established eco-trend, will not be in Asia. Rather, the biofuel play will be located off of the Western coast of Africa.

Geocapital, a Macau-based investment holding company started in 2007 and comprised of partner investors Stanley Ho and Jorge Ferro Ribeiro, is in negotiations with the Government of Cape Verde to install a biofuel research and development center on the African archipelago, Portugal’s Lusa news agency recently reported.

The pair hopes to take advantage of Cape Verde’s experience producing biofuels from jatropha, a crop that yields ten times the output of corn plants. Jatropha-based biofuel is considered one of the best candidates for future biofuel production, and has already been successfully tested as a substitute for jet fuel in commercial airplanes. The poisonous seed has a long history as a fuel source: in the early 1900s, it was exported to France and Portugal for use in streetlamps.

…..click here to read more

In a somewhat rare state-sponsored rally, over 8,000 students gathered in Beijing’s Olympic Park last Saturday to show their commitment to environmental protection. The event launched the newest phase of the “Green Long March,” an ongoing effort to bring youth together and initiate a grassroots-esque environmental conservation movement nationwide.

Working with the Communist Youth League’s All China Youth Federation, US-based NGO Future Generations has gathered college-aged volunteers for the past two years to take part in educational campaigns throughout China, both to learn more in the field about China’s current state of environmental degradation and protection, and to teach others what they know. According to the Green Long March website, student activists have covered issues ranging from water quality, green agricultural practices, and the polluting effects of plastic.

At last week’s rally, GLM student leaders and well known environmentalists, such as Beijing-based WWF Director of Global Climate Change Solutions, Yang Fuqiang, spoke about the larger goals for China’s environmentalist movement, as well as what the GLM hopes to achieve in the near future.

In 2009, GLM hopes to mobilize more youth and communities to reduce their carbon footprint; conduct local training programs of student GLM volunteers on key energy issues; and strengthen information sharing between universities.

The rally was part of a 4-day conference and training, held on the campus of Beijing Forestry University, a co-organizer of the GLM. The bulk of the students’ 2009 field activities will take place this summer.

News of the rally especially resonated with me. That’s because I recently had the chance to see the first public New York screening of The Road Ahead: China’s First Green Long March, an award-winning film that chronicles the start of the journey of some 2,000 hope-filled, passionate youth endeavoring to “[ignite] a movement” in China. …..click here to read more

Every interaction with Israelis this week began and ended identically, with a smile and a warm exchange of “Chag sameach,” happy holiday. Israelis, secular and religious, heralded the opportunity to vacation to the southern resort-town of Eilat, spend a few nights with the family in a cabin in the Galilee, or at least picnic with friends surrounded by nature. This holiday mentality does not merely appear once a year to coincide with Passover; weekly, Israelis declare “Shabbat shalom” to one-another as government services, including public transportation, rest for 24-hours, from Friday night to Saturday at sun-down.

However, the streets of Tel Aviv remain most crowded on Saturday morning, with taxis and private mini-buses bearing the brunt of Israelis’ need to commute. Finding a wait less-than 30 minutes at a restaurant is a feat for the ages, with even some establishments serving their proverbial bread and butter as various forms of pig product for brunch. During Passover, the sight remains the same, with coffee shops continuing to serve deliciously leavened bread. On Israeli news during the first day of Passover, a report filmed Israeli picnickers as one individual proclaiming joy for the holiday season before wrapping a kabob in bread and saying, “It’s the best with pita.”

Even an elderly gentleman I know in southern Israel (alright, fine, grandpa) sat proudly at the Passover Seder eating matzo and talking about the first kibbutzim in Israel prior to the 1948 war. As a diabetic and self-proclaimed Yekeh (Yehudi Kasheh Havanah, a term used to describe early German-Jewish immigrants, mocked for not fully understanding the culture but being overly meticulous in many matters), the elderly man checks his blood sugar on a near-hourly basis and refuses to eat any food product sweetened with sugar. Upon being offered a sugar-free kosher-for-Passover cake during his daily tea-time, he expressed an air of confusion before entering the cupboard to produce his regular, diabetic, leavened cookies. While clearly possessing the will power to capably manage his diet, the thought of keeping kosher for Passover remains to him a bizarre superstition.

On face value, many Israelis embrace the holiday spirit but dismiss the religious connotation associated with the event, thereby ascribing solely to the cultural connotations. I, for one, maintain kashrut during Passover, but the thought of entering a synagogue leaves me entrenched in confusion, capable of only uttering ‘why?’ to the mere idea. 

This discrepancy of secular versus religious, observant versus cultural, and outward perception versus actual beliefs embodies itself beyond merely observing a week-long event that coincides with Easter. Many political scientists question the validity of Israel’s democratic system due to the imposition of certain religious tenets on the population and differing citizenship criteria for non-Jews. Conversely, due to the ability of businesses to operate on the Sabbath and serve non-kosher products, for example, some observers state that the religious grip on the community remains weak and tangential.

A recent opinion piece from Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy encourages the secular community to cease its passive-aggressive opposition to religious imposition into their lives. He dictates the need for non-observant Jews to oppose, what he views as, “dark religious aspects” analogous with “Iran, Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia.”

Israel is not fully westernized and democratic; nor is it completely religious and pious. While the country should protect the rights of all religious people to freely practice their faith, even observant Jews, the imposition of these beliefs onto the general population remains resisted, leaving many Israelis befuddled by the notion. The government should not mandate piousness, rather permit Israelis to participate in Judaism as they themselves see fit, even if it is just a quick “Chag sameach” or “Shabbat shalom.”

Pardon me while I go back to eating matzo, but I sure would like to ride the bus on Saturdays.

Just outside the Schuman metro station, in front of Brussel’s executive arm - the European Commission, a Romani woman cradles her small child.  Next to her is a cup.  

It is a sad spectacle for a Europe that has had and continues to have an entire people either living on the cusp of poverty or in its unforgiving grasp.

On the 8 of April, Brussels welcomed the Roma International Day and highlighted the misery of 10 million people the rest of Europe is trying its best to ignore.  

Unemployment, prejudice, discrimination, poor health and education, the Roma are Europe’s outcasts who survive by any means at their disposal.

A day before, the  Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)  High Commissioner on National Minorities released a statement condemning the scapegoating of Roma communities by Europe on the ills of society.  Scapegoating should be a word that has sensitized Europe into facing up to its own problems.  But the reality is different.

Racist attacks against not only Roma individuals but entire families are widespread.  Camps have been razed  (pdf) and firebombed in Hungary, Italy, Czech Republic, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.  

Xenophobic Italian politicians are keen to point their fingers at these communities. A London monthly called Rome’s mayor Gianni Alemanno  a “fascist posing as a respectable politician” according to journalist Doug Ireland. 

And who could forget the pictures of two dead Roma girls on a crowded Italian beach?  The Independent put it bluntly - The Picture That Shames Italy.

Gianfranco Fini, a high ranking political figure in Italy, delivered a hate speech against Roma communities. His racist statements were subsequently published in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera without any editorial remark.

Young Romani seeking employment disguise their identity.  A 26-year old Romani woman from Western Transylvania, found work in Tuscany, Italy with the help of a local priest.  

She was able to secure her working papers, social-security and identity card.  Six months later, the employer found out that she was a ‘gypsy’ from Romania.

The employer then seized her documents and refused to pay her. A labour union helped recover the documents and lost wages.  Disheartened, the young woman returned to Romania (excerpt taken from the OSCE report below). 

For more information check out the European Roma Rights Centre here.

Also, see the OSCE report on the Recent Migration of Roma in Europe here (pdf).

ISLAMABAD: Differences over India’s enhanced role in Afghanistan led to the drift in strategic relations between Pakistan and the United States that caught public eye after prickly Foreign Minister Qureshi pointed towards a trust deficit between the two allies and asked the senior partner for a fair treatment based on mutual trust and respect.

Background interviews revealed that strains in the relations were much more serious than met the eye and as the insiders put it the testing moment for the strategic cooperation has arrived and critical decisions by both the allies are due now.

‘The ties are in a very delicate stage and there are very few options left for both the allies – either to concede some ground to the other or to enter an all out confrontation,’ a diplomatic source opined adding things may worsen in days ahead because the Americans are known to be bad listeners and have an inclination for ‘bulldozing’ the matters.

The differences started after President Obama unveiled his strategy for the region, which among other things envisioned the setting up of a Contact Group on Pakistan and Afghanistan which involved India. Subsequently, it became clearer with the passage of time that the Obama administration was looking towards a greater role for India in Afghanistan.

Ambassador Holbrooke articulated the US thinking by calling India the ‘absolutely critical leader of the region.’ The new US policy was a major shocker for Islamabad that had yet to recover from the surprise U-turn by President Obama, who had during his election campaign promised a resolution of the Kashmir issue, but later went back on his promise.

Suspicions in Pakistan compounded with the introduction of the Peace Act of 2009 in the US House of Representatives, that attached stringent conditionalities to the proposed $1.5 billion annual assistance, which required Islamabad not to support any person or group involved in activities meant to hurt India and to allow US investigators access to people suspected of involvement in nuclear proliferation.  

Pakistan believes that the conditionalities were out of sync with mutual desire for long term strategic relationship.

Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit termed the proposed conditionalities as unhelpful.

Alongside all this there was a stepped up vilification campaign against Pakistan’s premier intelligence outfit – Inter Services Intelligence accusing it of supporting Taliban. There was a perception in Islamabad that the US was subscribing to India’s position on the security situation in South Asia.

Fears that US was planning to expand drone attacks, already a sensitive issue in Pakistan, into Balochistan did not help the cause. Some sources say the US and Pakistan had reached a broad understanding in principle on ending the drone attacks in Pakistan’s territory, but Islamabad was taken aback after finding no mention of it in the revised policy.

The change in terminology being used for Pakistan and particularly the choice of the Af-Pak phrase, clubbing Pakistan and Afghanistan together, manifested the US thinking, which considered Pakistan as part of the problem.

Basit says there is no comparison between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the two needed to be looked at separately for a tenable solution.

These developments were completely unacceptable to the military establishment in Pakistan, which then convinced the government to stand up to it although President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani were the first ones to have welcomed the new Obama strategy.

Islamabad was of the view that the shift in the US foreign policy towards Pakistan was demoralizing and promoted distrust.

‘The American tilt towards India despite knowing Pakistan’s concerns about it and having evidence of Indian role in promoting instability in different parts of Pakistan was not in good taste,’ a source said.

The matter was taken up in the meetings with US Special Envoy Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen during their visit to Islamabad last week, where they were categorically asked about what they had done for curbing the Indian destabilizing role in Pakistan.

Admiral Mullen and Ambassador Holbrooke were further told that the shift of strategic focus from the Eastern borders to the Western borders was not possible until tensions with India were resolved and the core issue of Kashmir was addressed.

Analysts say the surprise reaction in Islamabad is being processed in Washington by their strategic planners for whom it was a revelation that things had gone awry. Pakistan has expressed the intentions to take up the issues again at the trilateral Pakistan-Afghanistan-US meeting in Washington on May 6-7.

However, it is expected that there could be a high level diplomatic or military contact between the two countries even ahead of the Washington meeting, to resolve the differences.

The seven US congressional delegations visiting Pakistan over the next three weeks for discussions on aid legislation could also talk about the thorny issues straining Pak-US ties.

Analysts believe that Pakistan would first have to put its own house in order before entering serious negotiations with the US. ‘They need to furnish acceptable proofs of Indian involvement in Pakistan; develop a credible counter-insurgency strategy; and more importantly get all of their state institutions on the same page.’

Dawn (Pakistan)