The New Nation - Internet Edition

LIKE their support to the readymade garment (RMG) industries, the banks can now come forward wholeheartedly to invest in the second generation of industries linked to the garment sector. There is a huge opportunity awaiting for anybody wanting to invest in the backward linkage industries needed by the RMG sector. Investment in such industries may prove to be just as rewarding-- if not more-- like in the RMG industries. There are also compelling reasons to invest in the linkage industries. The USA is about to withdraw its restrictions on export of cheap Chinese apparels to its markets which were expressly designed to help countries such as Bangladesh to survive the post-multi-fibre arrangement (MFA) era. European Union (EU) countries are also likely to link 30 per cent local value addition in countries that export RMG products to them.

Bangladeshi RMG industries are also required to absorb higher wages for workers to meet pressures for the same from the buyers. Thus, this advantage of cheap labour for Bangladesh is also getting squeezed. Under the circumstances, the RMG sector must improve its competitiveness to survive in the future. And one major way of boosting this competitiveness is through the establishment of linkage industries for this sector. At present, there is a scope for the establishment of 148 spinning mills, each with 25,000 spindles, and 295 weaving and 280 dyeing cum finishing units. Thus massive investments are waiting to be made profitably in the textiles sector. One may contend that establishment of even a single spinning mill to make yarn or a composite mill to produce both yarn and fabric requires huge investments that even a dozen medium to large RMG industries did not require. The banks can get around this problem by forming consortiums among themselves to pool enough resources into a fund for investment exclusively in backward linkage industries for the RMG sector.

These would be sound investments with good returns in the long run. The banks would also be hedging their investments made in the first generation of RMG industries. If the RMG industries face setbacks for insufficiency in the number of locally available linkage industries, then the effects of the same will be passed on to the banks. Thus, in their own interests the banks should be specially enthusiastic to encourage such establishments. The past governments should have been playing leading roles in promoting the linkage industries. Steps could have been taken to mobilise a special fund, independent of the banks, to set up linkage industries. But no such seriousness was seen on the part of the previous governments although an investment scheme for RMG's linkage industries drawn up by them and funds mobilised for the purpose, could be very helpful in securing the interests of the RMG sector. It is better to be late than never. The incumbent government, the banks, other financial institutions and all potential investors should waste no more time to facilitate investment in RMG sector's linkage industries.

THERE was a time when landlessness which accompanies poverty and its attendant ills, affected a far smaller part of the Bangladesh population than today. But the number of the landless people is noted to be rising in the country. People are forced to sell their last parcels of ancestral holdings after falling into worse poverty conditions in the wake of natural calamities; river bank erosion also leads to loss of homesteads and croplands. Those without land join the ranks of the worst ones in extreme poverty. According to one reliable assessment, the number of the landless in the population was 28 per cent in 1972. The number has increased to 50 per cent at present. Bhumi Adhikar Parisad, an NGO, claims that the number of the landless today is as high as 54 per cent.

Considering the links between landlessness and poverty, it is important to put a hard brake on the process that forces people to become landless. One way of doing it is to distribute government owned lands, called khas lands, among landless people. There is a countywide programme designed for implementing this method of empowering the poor but it suffers from pervasive corruption and neglect. A report published in a national daily some time ago highlighted that in the Sylhet district about 53 per cent of the distribution of khas lands remained pending while the 47 per cent of those who received khas lands were undeserving persons. Locally influential groups get their favourite persons to become beneficiaries in the settlement of khas lands at the expense of ones who should have got ownership rights over such lands in view of their landless state and acute poverty.

In both the cases unlawful squatters are also in possession of khas land by exercising their links to locally powerful vested interest groups. The situation in Sylhet is symbolic of khas lands distribution in other areas of the country. Clearly, the report indicates the need to take action on two fronts: to ensure that truly landless and very poor persons get entitlement as well as effective possession of khas lands and the eviction of undeserving people from their current occupation of such lands. Furthermore, insurance to cover various assets of rural people needs to be introduced along with laws and their enforcement to discourage sale of lands under distressed conditions. The availability of institutional credit to poor rural people must also increase. All of these steps and more will create conditions for reversing the process of landlessness as people will be hedged from conditions of extreme poverty that create the compulsion for them to sell their lands to survive.

Nava Thakuria

Asom (Assam) is the land of anti-Adivasi people and the residents of Guwahati have no respect for women". That was the picture that emerged from the contents of some metropolitan dailies and satellite news channels during the coverage of the Guwahati violence in the third week of November. Though the Northeast Indian State is no stranger to violent demonstrations, the unruly situation created on November 24 in the heart of Guwahati city following a procession of Adivasi people, was really shocking for the Asomiyas. It was in fact a Black Saturday, with at least one death, hundreds injured, and a young girl stripped in broad daylight were reported within a few hours of chaos.

The incidents of the day have shaken the conscience of the residents of Guwahati, which have now been reflected on in the public meetings, organized thereafter, as also widely in media columns and editorials in the newspapers published from the virtual capital of Northeast. But it was the coverage of the incident in a section of media outlets, which has shocked the Guwahati people more, as they blatantly blame the residents of Guwahati for the unfortunate developments that day.

The residents of the Beltola area of the city witnessed a procession of around a thousand Adivasis, both male and female, from Beltola to Dispur. The demonstrators, equipped with traditional bow-arrows marched to the State Secretariat at Dispur to add voices to their demand for inclusion the community in the Scheduled Tribe list. The duty police on the street tried to prevent the demonstrators, which angered the participants and many of them continued the march.

Meanwhile, some of them turned violent. "The angry demonstrators started damaging the vehicles parked at roadside, shops and even private properties. Pedestrians were also not spared by them. Many of them carried their traditional bow-arrows, but few of them were equipped with stick and hammers too," said an eye-witness of the Beltola incident.

Soon the protesters faced another batch of police near the Secretariat complex and this time the police with the help of paramilitary forces dispatched them. Facing the harsh police force, which later used teargas to disperse the protesters, they started fleeing. But more cruel strikes were waiting for the demonstrators as some local people retaliated by attacking them. For around an hour there were public clashes in full view of the media people, where Adivasi demonstrators were mercilessly beaten up by some youths.

Amidst the chaos, a girl was stripped of her clothes by some unruly youth. The victim was identified as a high school student from Biswanath Chariali locality. However, many of the local residents braved the rowdies to come out and gave shelter to the humiliated Adivasi protesters.

One Bhagiram Barman, a local shopkeeper, risked his life and saved the girl from more physical and mental assault. Later she was handed over to the police.

However, a section of media projected the incident simply as an unprovoked attack on the Adivasi demonstrators by the residents of Guwahati. They remained silent on the courage of some Guwahati residents who came out to give shelter to the victims. Moreover, the same media space was full of the description and images (with some portions blurred) of the girl, who was stripped during the chaotic situation. The Telegraph published her picture on the front page, 3 days after the incident (November 27).

Questions have been raised in public meetings, media columns and Internet outlets, on whether any newspaper or TV channels (which used the image repeatedly for a day) took the victim's permission to do so? Would they have done the same if the victim was from a better off family (and not from a less privileged community)?

Meanwhile, the State government led by Tarun Gogoi has received brickbats for the sadistic incident from different sections in the society. The condemnations were poured from the main opposition party Asom Gana Parishad with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Condemning the violence, the party leaders demanded the resignation of the Congress-led coalition government at Dispur.

Social organizations including Gauhati University Teachers' Association, Asom Mahila Samata Society, Sodou Asom Lekhika Samaroh Samity and Brihattar Guwahati Sachetan Mahila Samaj Umaihatia Mancha with many others came out with demands to take actions against those guilty of creating the violence and vandalism on the day. Public meetings organized by the Concerned Citizens Forum as well as other organizations concluded with strong words of resentment against the Gogoi government and also resolved in appealing peace and harmony among the people of the State.

The AASAA leaders later called for a 36-hour Asom bandh, beginning on November 26, to protest against the mugging on the Adivasi protesters in Guwahati. The All Assam Tea Tribe Students Association supported the bandh call. The strike concluded with few unpleasing incidents in some parts of the state. Normal life was affected in Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Tinsukia, North Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar districts during the period, though it had no impact in Guwahati, where the incident took place. Incidents of violence were reported from Tezpur, Kokrajhar, Golaghat, Jorhat and Dibrugarh districts.

The powerful student bodies of the State, All Assam Students' Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad not only condemned the government for its failure but also criticized a section of media for allegedly exploiting the gory incident for their benefit. The leaders of both the student outfits alleged that a section of metropolitan dailies and electronic media repeatedly depicted the image of the Adivasi girl in an obscene way. Surprisingly the same media persons had not reported that the victim girl was immediately rescued by a local youth and given shelter.

"The media has every right to inform the society about the happenings. But they should not take a way that only humiliate the victim once more or escalate an ongoing tension. After all the same media outlets never bother to cover about the genuine grievances of the Asomiya society since the days of Independence," said a student leader.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Guwahati, Assam)

Aijaz Zaka Syed

THE world would be so dull without its share of the Bushes, don't you think? He is a constant delight to watch and listen to. I often find it difficult recalling who we in the media turned to for comic relief before the US leader came along.

Even as the pundits scratched their heads over the findings of the US intelligence agencies this week that concluded Iran is not building nuclear weapons wondering if it signalled a turnaround in the US-Iran relations, Bush called an impromptu press conference at White House to thunder: "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous."

Clearly, he had panicked over the National Intelligence Estimate report released earlier in the day. Compiled by America's all 16 intelligence agencies and hundreds of experts, the NIE is the closest you could get to objective analysis.

And America's top intelligence agencies and sleuths have concluded that Iran had indeed been telling the truth all along. That its loud protestations that it is not building nukes and that its nuclear programme is only aimed at peaceful purposes were after all true. The NIE reveals that even if Iran had ever flirted with the idea of nuclear weapons, it has long abandoned it.

In other words, the US agencies have demolished the big white lie spawned by their own administration that Iran is a clear and present danger to the world.

We in the Middle East - and sane and thinking people everywhere - had always believed there was as much truth in the Bush's charge sheet against Iran, as in their long list of accusations against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

The same white lies, the same spin, the same Goebbelsian propaganda that the world had been fed in the run up to the war on Iraq in 2003 have been employed against Iran, with the same ingenuity and with the same force and unity of purpose.

Why, only a month and half ago in October, Bush warned us of a Third World War and 'nuclear holocaust' if Iran was not prevented from building the NUKES that would hit Israel and other neighbours.

Which is why it is so interesting to see America's top sleuths call the bluff of their own government, illuminating the incredibly brazen lies and mischievous skulduggery that lies at the heart of this whole campaign.

And as the Middle East experts and wonks this week began wondering if these new findings by NIE would lead to the US-Iran thaw, Bush appeared on television screens to tell us: "No, not so fast. We won't let Iran off the hook so easily. The world cannot change as long as I am in charge."

All this while he had been telling us about the 'evidence' gathered by the US intelligence agencies on Iran's shady nuclear programme, warning the Americans and the rest of the world how Iran remains a threat to peace.

And now he tells us, the stark and undeniable truth brought out by America's own intelligence agencies does not change anything on Iran. There's no question of a change of policy on Iran. Intelligence or no intelligence, Iran is a threat. The National Intelligence Estimate says and I quote: "We judge with high confidence that Iran will not be technically capable of producing and reprocessing enough plutonium for a weapon before about 2015."

The NIE authors go on to explain in bold print upfront: "This NIE does not [italics in original] assume that Iran intends to acquire nuclear weapons."

Can it get any clearer than this?

Yet President Bush says these findings do not change anything. He insists: "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous."

Why? Because, the US president explains, "they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Can it get any better than this? If this isn't absurdly unreasonable, what is?

Now you are a criminal, if you know how to commit a crime. Now, according to Bush law, you are a killer, if you know how to kill someone. Socrates argued knowledge is power. But according to Bush doctrine, knowledge is a crime. Knowing something is doing it. Iran is dangerous because its scientists know how to make a nuclear weapon. Therefore, Iran must be dealt with, just as Saddam's Iraq had been dealt with. Who can argue with the proponents of this theory that you don't have to be a nuclear scientist to know how to build the Bomb.

Anyone with access to Internet-which in today's world means anyone-would tell you how to make a nuclear weapon. Only making one isn't so easy with the impossibly elaborate process and resources involved. If it were that easy, every country on the face of earth would boast a nuclear arsenal. Who would explain this simple fact to the leader of the world's mightiest power? But doesn't Bush know this? I can bet my life he sure does. Only he is not prepared to face this reality and admit it. Driven as he is by the agenda of our neocon and Zionist friends, he cannot afford to let Iran get away.

When Bush took over, Iraq and Iran had been the two big thorns in the Israeli lobby's side. One has been taken care of. The other remains to be dealt with. And it should be done so before this president leaves the White House. Otherwise, they can always count on Bush's successor, whoever he or she might be. But isn't the dangerous method in this madness that is apparent to ordinary hacks like me clear to the movers and shakers in the Arab and Muslim world? I have a feeling it is. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dramatic appearance at the GCC summit in Doha last week was a diplomatic coup.

The Arab leaders demonstrated rare foresight and political wisdom by inviting the Iranian leader to the conclave. When was the last time you saw an Arab leader warmly clasp an Iranian leader's hand and usher him in. It was a rare and heart-warming sight to see King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Arab-Muslim world, and Sultan Qaboos of Oman embrace and lead Ahmadinejad in a procession. UAE President Shaikh Khalifa was among the first to welcome the Iranian leader with a warm smile. I hardly need remind my readers that UAE and Iran are involved in a row over three islands that once belonged to UAE. Which is why this unprecedented unity and solidarity in the ranks of Arab and Muslim countries is so refreshing. If only they'd demonstrated this unity and solidarity in the past, the map of the Middle East and the Muslim world would have been dramatically different today.

Whoever scripted this deserves kudos. And remember this came in response to the clever propaganda campaign that has been going on for some time on this front, warning the 'Sunni Arabs' against the nuclear threat of a 'Shia Iran.' Even a day before the GCC summit in Doha, Western news agencies screamed that the 'Sunni Arab' heads of Gulf states were meeting to "devise strategies" to deal with the threat of 'Shia Iran'.

By inviting Ahmadinejad to their meeting in Doha, the Arab leaders effectively trashed the Western media blitz. By doing so, they sent a loud and clear message to Washington and the West: "We refuse to be dictated and played against each other. We know who our real friends and foes are!"

The West would ignore this message from the Muslim street at its own cost.

( The writer is a senior editor and columnist of Khaleej Times).