The New Nation - Internet Edition

ACCORDING to a recent newspaper report, 'a number of initiatives' have been taken to activate the secondary bond market which remained dysfunctional since its inception in 2005 depriving the capital market of the expected gains and benefits. Since its inception at the Dhaka bourse on January 1, 2005, only a treasury bond lot was transacted on the secondary market. The Dhaka Stock Exchange held a meeting recently to identify the deterrents to secondary bond trading and the meeting was attended by the representatives from the Finance Ministry, Bangladesh Bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd. and primary dealers of treasury bonds as reported by the media. The meeting named a number of issues that should be resolved immediately to create an active secondary bond market. In fact, no capital market can reach maturity without a strong bond market.

Issues like the tax on turnover for government bonds to be revised as stated by a representative of the Finance Ministry 'to create an effective secondary treasury bond market'. There was also assurance that the government would consider the tax issue on brokerage turnover to bring the transaction charges on bonds down to a reasonable level. The Dhaka Stock Exchange reportedly informed the meeting that it, too, was ready to reduce the brokerage charges on bond transaction to a reasonable level. The meeting, however, proposed that treasury bond trading should be held 'on the spot market' of the bourse until 1.00 PM to facilitate same-day settlements. In reference to the meeting, it was stated that the stock exchange should advise its authorised banks to issue country's central bank cheques for guarantees and same-day settlements of bond transactions. There was also proposal that every primary dealer should appoint at least one broker to place orders through the bourse and the primary dealers with the support of the brokerage houses shall increase the marketing of government bonds to the investors. However, there was proposal moved by representatives from the Bangladesh Bank and the primary dealers for creating a separate window for offering all relevant information on the secondary bonds.

Earlier, the central bank selected eight banks and a non-banking financial institution as primary dealers to handle the government-approved securities on the secondary bond market and issued a guideline for them. The nine primary dealers entitled to deal in treasury bonds are the state-owned lenders - Sonali, Janata and Agrani banks, private sector banks - Prime, Uttara, Jamuna, Southeast and National Credit and Commerce, and lease financier - Industrial Development Leasing Company. Currently government bonds of 5-year, 10-year, 15-year and 20-year maturities are being traded on the market. However, in the light of the deliberations and decisions at the meeting, effective steps should be taken immediately to activate the bond market.

A NEW crisis in respect of medical care is probably about to hit people due to lack of care or timely decision on the part of relevant authorities. The local drug producers and sellers warned the government at least two months ago about the crisis that was being aggravated by lack of concern and timely action on the part of the government. The crisis looming on the horizon is from the unresolved situation in relation to import of raw materials by the leading medicine producing companies of the country. The users of the medicines and the government were both warned that they must not assuredly count on getting such medicines in the pharmacy shops two or three months from now if the government remains strangely inactive about their demand to allow the selling of medicines at readjusted higher prices.

It could be misjudged as an ultimatum delivered by the drug companies against the helpless consumers and the government. But in reality, it was not. The companies are importing raw materials at higher prices in recent months but then selling the medicines at prices fixed officially years ago. They have been sort of subsidising on their own the sale at the fixed prices which do not reflect the higher import costs of raw materials. But it cannot go on like this. Therefore, they have been urging the government repeatedly to take the vital decision of revising upwards the fixed rates of selling medicines at the soonest after consultation with them. Or else the companies would simply have no alternative but to stop production.

But the reaction from the relevant ministry seems to be still one of unconcern. The secretary of the relevant ministry was noted telling the media some eight weeks ago that he was aware of the problem and would sit across the table with producers to resolve it. But no such initiative has been taken so far. The rather easy going attitude of the government in this matter, truly creates deep apprehensions. For the government has been found not proactive about some other serious issues that led to the worsening of the sufferings of common people. That is why, swift official actions in this area are indispensable to offset the possibilities of a full blown crisis developing from the inability to take actions in time.

Government, of course, has reasons of its own to be wary of readjusting prices upwards. Under the present drug policy, it is intended that users should have access to medicines at affordable prices produced in the country. Nobody objects to the goal of the drug policy. But when it is a choice between no medicine or medicines at somewhat higher prices for unavoidable reasons, then surely some adjustments are unavoidable. The government just cannot afford to sit tight and do nothing and allow circumstances to develop. Therefore, actions from the government are over due to relieve all concerned of the anxiety.

Nava Thakuria

Trafficking in human beings, especially women and children, is a heinous crime that violates all tenets of human rights and dignity-that is how the Indian Women and Child Development minister Renuka Chowdhury expressed her reaction while attending a South Asia regional conference in New Delhi recently. The three-day regional conference was organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the government of India, where hundreds participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka and India rubbed soldiers to discuss about the burning issue of trafficking.

The issue of human trafficking that is identified as a serious crime in the human society and a billion dollar global illicit trade came out for rigorous discussion in the conference. Various speakers in the conference reaffirmed their point of views terming human trafficking as a multi-faceted problem, often associated with illiteracy, poverty, lack of employment and also cultural practices.

The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of a threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud for the purpose of exploitation. Trafficking is primarily done for sexual exploitation, but many times trafficked victims are used for forced labour, organ removal and marriage or adoption.

According to the UN understanding, human trafficking that involves the illicit and clandestine movements of persons across national borders is a booming illegal international trade (after arms and drugs trafficking), making an estimated USD 32 billion annually at the expense of millions of victims, who are victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour. It is also estimated that nearly 1,50,000 people, mostly young women and children are trafficked within South Asia annually with promises of a good job, a good marriage, or stardom in the entertainment industries.

"Human trafficking is world's third largest profit-making illicit industry and the South Asia has emerged as the home to the second largest numbers of internationally trafficked persons (after Southeast Asia)," informed Gary Lewis, Representative (South Asia) of UNODC. South Asia is otherwise home to one-fifth of the world's population and nearly 500 million people of the underdeveloped region live in poverty (surviving with less than a dollar a day).

The head of UNODC, Delhi office also acknowledged, "Poverty is the primary cause of trafficking in the region." Revealing that India had emerged as the favoured destinations in South Asia, Mr Lewis informed that over 25,000 women and children are trafficked from Bangladesh annually to India. The share from Nepal is likely to be 15,000, who are brought illegally for the primary purpose of prostitution and slavery, he added.

Porous borders with economically poorer Bangladesh and Nepal (from where none need visa to visit India) aggravate the problem of cross-border trafficking. Bangladesh remained a source country for women and children for a quite a long time, traffickers target their preys in the poverty stricken rural areas.

On the other hand, Nepal is identified as a source country in the region. Fair looking Nepali young women are the primary victims of the trafficking, though new trend emerges with attraction for boys too. Unconfirmed statistics reveal that in average 12,000 Nepali women with minors are trafficked every year for sexual exploitation in outer countries. Most of the trafficked women from Nepal were later found infected with HIV/AIDS and also tuberculosis.

India with over a billion populations also remained a state of origin and transit country for trafficking in persons. It is estimated that that 90 per cent of India's sex trafficking is internal, where States like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and the Northeast contribute their shares. But often, women and children, trafficked from neighbouring countries, are sent to the Middle East, Gulf countries and even to the Europe. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also lately joined in the circuit.

Addressing the conference, the minister Ms Chowdhury also argued that trafficking is by and large a gendered phenomenon. The trafficking in India is primarily for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. There are nearly three million sex workers in India and 40 per cent of them are children or adolescent girls. Statistics reveal that children below the age of 10 years are also found in the brothel of Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi now a day, the minister disclosed.

"Many believe that having sex with young and virgin girls would cure them of diseases. It is nonsense," Ms Chowdhury uttered. She emphasized on reducing the demand for prostitutes, engagement of children in workplaces, use of forced labour and empowering all collaborative efforts of governments, NGOs and other institutions to deal with the situation.

Ms Chowdhury also informed that New Delhi was formulating a joint action plan with Bangladesh and Nepal to combat the growing tendency of human trafficking in the region. "We are working for a joint effort (with Dhaka and Kathmandu) to formulate policies ensuring quick and safe return of the cross-border trafficked victims," added the minister.

The ministry of Women and Child Development (in India) was actively engaged in organizing the conference on October 9,10,11 in New Delhi that brought together nearly 700 delegates representatives of government, civil societies, private sectors, film industries, media and partnering UN agencies. The regional conference under the global initiative to fight trafficking (UN.GIFT) concluded with a Delhi Declaration at Vigyan Bhawan highlighting the seriousness and magnitude of the crime with a series of focus areas to deal with the issue effectively.

The 19-point declaration, which was read out in presence of many high profile Indian ministers, Afghan deputy Labour minister Wasil Noor (Muhmand) with other dignitaries, resolved to 'call upon all concerned including police, prosecutors and judiciary to undertake concerted action in law enforcement so that offenders are punished quickly, certainly and severely in a time bound manner'.

The declaration also urged upon the States to ratify the UN Transnational Organized Crime Convention and its supplementary protocols to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. While encouraging 'all efforts towards evolving a synergistic approach in dealing with trafficking issue', it also stressed on working 'towards systemic training and capacity building of all stakeholders'.

The role of youths is recognized as change agents in the declaration with an aim to promote education of the girl child that would finally empower the women 'to their full participation in economic life and decision making'. Identifying 'inter-state and intra-state source, transit and destination routes for forced labour' as a focus area in the declaration, where it was also emphasized on promoting the mode of safe migration.

One important point of the declaration includes building 'a coalition of media partners and popular personalities to advocate for the prevention of trafficking. Mentionable that a good number of media persons and many Bollywood (Indian commercial film industry based in Mumbai) personalities including John Abraham, Amisha Patel, Kiran Kher, Mita Vashisht, Meghna Gulzar with Usha Utthup, Talat Aziz, AK Bir joined the conference and interacted with the vibrant audience that ended in stimulating debates.

Addressing the conference, where officials of UNFPA, UNDP, UNIFEM, UNICEF, ILO and several law officials participated, the Labour minister Oscar Fernandes described forced labour as a global menace that is prevalent in many countries. "Trafficking plays a major role in this exercise, which forces millions of people into the clutches of traffickers," affirmed the minister.

Kiran Bedi (director general, Bureau of Police Research and Development) and Vijay Shankar (director, Central Bureau of Investigation), who were part of a panel discussion during the conference, emphasized on evolving a synergistic approach to all the efforts with an aim to combat the human trafficking effectively. Others who supported the move included David Arkless (corporate affairs officlal, Manpower Inc), Kailash Satyarthi (chairman, Global March against Child Labour) and Carmen Madrinan (executive director, ECPAT).

An UNODC official informed, around 10,000 human trafficking victims, mostly women and young girls, were rescued annually from traffickers in India. At the same time, thousands traffickers with customers were also arrested. "Corporate sector can make an invaluable contribution in curbing trafficking by creating livelihood opportunities and supporting organizations which prosecute traffickers and protect rescued victims," Jeff Avina, director of operations with UNODC in Vienna argued while addressing the assembly that included participants from distinguished companies like Tata Steel, Microsoft, HSBC, Reliance Health etc.

The Indian Home (Interior) minister Shivraj Patil assured the gathering in the valedictory function that New Delhi would support all international efforts to fight against human trafficking in the region. While describing the problem as old, complicated and difficult to get resolved, the important minister in Dr Manmohan Singh's cabinet stressed on modification of existing laws and empowering law-enforcing machineries to efficiently deal with the trafficking issue. He concluded emphasizing on a comprehensive policy with national, regional and international perspectives to efficiently deal with the trafficking issue in the trouble torn South Asia.

Md.Monirul Islam

The current international system, although not necessarily perfect, is certainly satisfactory, partly because the United States has played such a bulky role in establishing it. No state can have a greater stake in the prevailing order than the hegemon, nor can any state have greater power to maintain the system. The United States should then be a very conservative state in its foreign relations; with its power and dominance thus assured, it should be the quintessential status quo power. It makes a puzzle of Washington's current behavior, which is anything but conservative. In the fierce debate over the merits of its post-September 11 foreign policy, insufficient attention has been paid to the odd fact that the United States, with all its power and stake in the system, is behaving more like a revolutionary state than one committed to preserving the arrangements that seem to have suited it well.

A newly hurt heated phenomenon far and wide has enthralled well-versed natives ubiquitous the planet forthrightly termed the Yankees' fervent stance against democracy and democratic standard with the slur of Mahood Ahmadinejad, the president of Islamic Republic of Iran. The entire world's a stage when the general assembly comes to town, and Ahmadinejad strutted and fretted plenty. He was snubbed first by the city of New York when he proposed laying a wreath at ground zero.

No one can do, police said; too big a security risk, which was rather delicately put, given how revolted New Yorkers were by the prospect of a tyrant's hand touching sacred ground. The Iranian president was invited by Columbia University, New York, where he addressed the students and faculty of the university on September 24.

The Columbia University, a great centre of academic scholarship, true to its tradition of freedom of expression, went ahead with its invitation much against opposition by the city and some prominent senators. Though his speech created a good deal of furore, Ahmadinejad could not have had a better forum. Lee C Bollinger, president of the university, while introducing the Iranian president, chose to pour venom upon his invited guest, and showered some of the 'choicest' epithets in his arsenal of vocabulary.

Bollinger described Ahmadinejad as a 'cruel dictator,' an 'astonishingly uneducated' person. How an erudite being consider others annunciating like that? Iranian president was dispossessed of drawing the conclusion of his delivering speeches in the Columbia University, which every sightseer's free will is echoed, as per sited extraordinarily of Iranian President. Washington's tremor to Iran's nuclear program strongly illustrates his direct contrast against Iran, although Tehran's claim the peaceful operation of its nuclear program. Iran is strongly going ahead as his Diplomats said Iran had installed close to 3,000 centrifuge machines, enough to start refining usable amounts of nuclear fuel, but would need to run them in unison at high speeds for long periods to attain that threshold.

Western powers fear Iran's stated pursuit of nuclear-generated electricity is a precursor to it learning how to build atom bombs. They have sponsored two sets of UN sanctions against Tehran and are preparing to draft harsher penalties, but fears are growing that the standoff could escalate into war. In this sequence, a report is revealed by Tim Shipman in Washington in the Sunday Telegraph with the title of "US trains Gulf air forces for war with Iran". The report reveals that The American air force is working with military leaders from the Gulf to train and prepare Arab air forces for a possible war with Iran.

Air warfare conferences in Washington last week was told how American air chiefs have helped to co-ordinate intelligence-sharing with Gulf Arab nations and organizes combined exercises designed to make it easier to fight together. Gen Michael Mosley, the US Air Force chief of staff, used the conference to seek closer links with allies whose support America might need if President George W Bush chooses to bomb Iran. Pentagon air chiefs have helped set up an air warfare centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Gulf nations are training their fighter pilots and America has big bases.

USA were waiting for Ahmadinizad's visit in UN conference, how does he approach in this confrontation between USA and Iran. Now, it is lucid to USA that Iran will never discard its nuclear program that shrewdly stated by Iranian president; so America vehemently has carried out all its endeavors of home working invading Iran through erecting intelligence-sharing with Gulf Arab nations and organized combined exercises designed to make it easier to fight together.

A startling picture was located on the street of New York, during the visit of Mahood Ahmadinejad, the current president of Iran, that holding placard by U.S citizens on behalf of Reza Shah Pehlobi, the former autocratic ruler of Iran ousted with the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Every people of this planet know about the atrocities of SAVAK, a brutal police force formed by Reza Shah Pehlobi to suppress the workers of Imam Khomini, the harbinger of Iranian Revolution whose effort bestowed the flavor of liberty for Iranian people from despotism exceedingly triggered by Pehlobi.

Placard exhibition on behalf of despotism in America, the pasture of democracy viewed strongly by them, bamboozles their stand for democratic standard may be considered the democratic dualism or duelism done by U.S. Invitation of Mahmood Ahmadinizad in Columbia University for respecting democratic norms and values is right in an absolute perception, but making hindrance on his way of freedom of expression and slurring him using erroneous words question about U.S's stance in favor of democracy.

The current attempt of the preparation of USA with its psyche lived in Gulf area to invade Iran, in which sense it is correct vibrates all whose position are always on behalf of democracy as fan of democratic standard. They demand, U.S should come to the table with world leaders on, Iran's acquiring either peaceful nuclear energy or not.

U.S also should dispatch enquiries whether they deem, Iran's nuclear energy lies beyond the peaceful operation. What is indicated by the democratic fans? The teaching of democracy points toward debates and discussion on the table either is bilateral or multilateral, but not unilateral. Unilateralism is often well matched with despotism, which fans of democracy will move forward in their performing stage beyond sheltering dualism or duelism.