The New Nation - Internet Edition

WITH the celebration of the historic Victory Day only a day away, the nation today mourns once again the martyrdom of the most illustrious sons of the soil who were murdered by the occupation forces and their collaborators when they sensed their defeat in our War of Independence in 1971. Accounts of the families of the martyred intellectuals indicate that the collaborator forces of Al-Badr made a list of the intellectuals in a systematic way and killed them with the malicious intention of crippling the nation intellectually. The intellectuals were called out of their residences in different parts of the city and taken to the Rayer Bazaar killing ground.

Nobody knows for sure when another philosopher of Prof. GC Dev's stature, or a litterateur of the like of 'Prof Munir Chowdhury would be born again on this soil. Shahidullah Kaiser, Jotirmoy Guha Thakurta, Dr Fazle Rabbi were all legends in their own fields of concentration. The occupation forces knew about their patriotism and their potentials to contribute to the growth and development of the nation born through a glorious War of Liberation. When the occupation forces saw their surrender to the allied forces imminent they committed the most heinous crime of murdering the unarmed intellectuals who posed no threat to their security. Some of the bereaved families found bodies of Shaheed Intellectuals after the surrender of the Pakistani occupation troops. Some other families could not trace bodies of the intellectuals and only recalled the memories of how they were picked up by the collaborators of the occupation army before they were taken to undisclosed destinations.

A grateful nation observes the Shaheed Intellects Day today to pay respects to the most illustrious, sons of the soil. They did not live to see the liberation-of Bangladesh, but their ideals inspired the war of liberation and are continuing to inspire the nation to achieve the ideals they cherished. The intellectuals dreamt of a democratic Bangladesh where the people could enjoy all rights and achieve progress and prosperity in economic spheres. They looked forward to seeing a society where there would be no exploitation of man by man, and no discrimination between man and man. Their dream of a democratic Bangladesh has been established through the enactment of a consensus Constitution in 1991. But in the absence of political tolerance and corruption the democratic system faces obstacles from time to time. The nation has also surged ahead a long way towards economic development with the economic growth rate being above six per cent, and more positive outlook being forecast by relevant national and international agencies. International banking finance organisation Goldman Sachs has ranked Bangladesh among the next 11 countries which would turn developed in the next one decade and a half. Foreign big businesses and multinationals are showing interest to invest in Bangladesh. But while all the indicators are in the positive, the inability of the political leaders to accommodate themselves not only hurt the nation but also dampened the enthusiasm of the people to work even harder to develop the country. On this day our leaders should take oath that they would not continue to fail the nation.

Major Mirza Mahbub

Cote d'Ivoire aka Ivory Coast is a West African Country; a little more than twice the size of Bangladesh with only 20,000,000 population. Almost half of the population lives in the commercial capital Abidjan. The country has an equatorial climate much like spring time in Bangladesh with temperature averaging from 27-34 degrees Celsius all year round. The country has a surprisingly sophisticated infrastructure in relation with other neighboring countries and its commercial capital Abidjan is considered as the Manhattan of West Africa. The GDP is about 1600 USD and the value of the CFA is rising on a daily scale as it's pegged with Euro. Also the prospect of election in 2008 is making a positive effect in the burgeoning economy. The country is the world's largest coffee and cacao exporter and other exportable commodities include banana, rubber, palm oil, pine apple, mango, timber, cement and surplus electricity etc. But their import is mostly form European countries with French predominance. They import almost every type of consumer products and everything is almost three times higher in price than the similar commodity found in Bangladesh. There are two ports in Ivory Coast and the northern landlocked countries depend on the facilities provide by Abidjan port for their imports.

Aim: The aim is to highlight Bangladeshi business potentials in West Africa.

Economic and political situation : The Ivorian economy depends largely on its two major exportable commodities that is coffee and cacao and therefore the rise and fall of the international market price of those commodities directly affect the Ivorian economy. They have very small industrial base and the land use is also only 11%. The service sector is developing but their dependence on French language for business is a problem for non French speaking countries to do business here in Ivory Coast.

The political situation is on a stalemate and the prospect of election is not very bright. But that is not stopping the economy to take a boom as people in general are getting more and more interested in doing business, particularly after the tax structure is modernized and simplified to cope with the international business practices. There is an excellent business climate prevailing here particularly favorable for Bangladeshi businesses as there are virtually no Bangladeshi commodities to be found and all these products are less in quality and at least three times higher in price that that of the exportable commodities found in Bangladesh.

The Ivorian people also like the Bangladeshis very much as the peacekeepers deployed here try very hard to keep an amiable and congenial environment in their respective area of responsibilities. The people in general hold a high esteem about the people form Bangladesh and they also comment while they pass by saying 'Bangla good' or words to that effect. So, the situation for Bangladeshi exporters looks very promising and it will only be a matter of time to get a firm foothold of Bangladeshi products base here if we don't make delay in exploring the markets here. Otherwise, the market is surely going to be captured by other countries with less quality but by aggressive marketing capabilities.

Prospects of Bangladesh and Ivory Coast import-export possibilities: The Ivorians import everything form Europe, Turkey, China or from Lebanon. These commodities are either not good in quality when the price is less and the costly commodities are having a very high price tag. On the other hand, Bangladeshi products are world standard in quality and also very competitive in price structure.

Since our business communities don't have much idea about the West African economy, the market is not yet explored by our business communities. But the situation is now highly favorable for Bangladeshi businesses and with perhaps an exposition of Bangladeshi exportable items can really open doors for Bangladeshi products to enter into a new market which is quite large and growing.

Predicted Difficulties: There are of course difficulties which are mostly initial and once the tempo of export can be established, the temporary hurdle will be easily overcome. The language can be a problem for Bangladeshi exporters.

But this problem too can also be minimized once there will be an exposition and when the Ivorian and the West African people will see with their own eyes how good our products are, the language barrier will be solved by their own interest.

The unusual shipping route can also be costly and time consuming. But that too can be easily rectified once the supply route will open and regular shipment from and to Ivory Coast starts taking place.

Recommendations: The following recommendations can be looked into:

1. Establishment of Diplomatic relationship can make the situation favorable for the long haul.

2. Temporarily appointing a consul general from Bangladesh in Ivory Coast can also help the business situation develop.

3. Arrangement can be made to hold a general exposition of Bangladeshi exportable items in Abidjan for which the Ivorian Prime Minister's investment wing the CEPICI is already interested and made a team to study the feasibility of such an exposition from Bangladesh. They are as a matter of fact waiting for an official letter of intent from Bangladesh to hold a general exposition in Abidjan. Our Export Promotion Bureau can act upon these possibilities.

4. A team comprising business experts, officials with the government's interest to hold a Bangladeshi general exposition and also the teams request to meet the Prime Minister and the President of Ivory Coast to make bilateral favorable situation for business can be beneficial for both the countries and also for the whole of West African countries.

5. Bangladesh can also ask the government of Ivory Coast to open an embassy at Dhaka which will be beneficial for both the countries.

6. To make the Africans know more about Bangladesh, a cultural team may be sent to hold an open air concert in Abidjan side by side advertisement can also be aired by the sponsoring organizations that may also come to explore the opportunities.

7. One of the first and foremost requirements is a landing station for Bangladeshi business people to come and stay for a short duration to assess the market potentials. This house can be hired by the business organizations like the Bangladesh chamber of commerce, furnished and complete with all business amenities like television, cooking, a freezer, security, a car with driver (local), an interpreter and the secretarial services like the telephone, internet and printing facilities in house.

A hotel can cost more and offer less business insight than a bilingual business graduate, with marketing major who can show them a lot of market data and inform them about the local business practices. The businessmen from Bangladesh will get a one stop service from this house like visa assistance, habitual accommodation, kitchen and a fridge, television and more importantly; local insight from the in-house expert who will show them around, brief them about the market in general and take them to the appropriate government and business organizations in Abidjan's Plateau area that the Bangladeshis present here call Motijheel! on here in the West Africa can be exploited by the Bangladeshi exporters only with the government support as the business communities have no knowledge about the West African business potentials.

Therefore the governmental intervention and assistance can really help our business to get a major market share here in West Africa. Time is running out and as there are a lot of Bangladeshi people already stationed here as peacekeepers and we have a favorable lookout from the local people, it's a good time to start business with West Africa; may be initiated by a general exposition of Bangladeshi exportable products.

Ahmed Quraishi

(From previous issue)

The book was launched in Pakistan in early 2007 by Oxford Press. And, contrary to most reports, it is openly available in Islamabad's biggest bookshops. The book portrays the Pakistani military as an institution that is eating up whatever little resources Pakistan has.

The Pakistani military's successful financial management, creating alternate financial sources to spend on a vast military machine and build a conventional and nuclear near-match with a neighboring adversary five times larger - an impressive record for any nation by any standard - was distorted in the book and reduced to a mere attempt by the military to control the nation's economy in the same way it was controlling its politics.

The timing was interesting. After all, it was hard to defend a military in the eyes of its own proud people when the chief of the military is ruling the country, the army is fighting insurgents and extremists who claim to be defending Islam, grumpy politicians are out of business, and the military's side businesses, meant to feed the nation's military machine, are doing well compared to the shabby state of the nation's civilian departments. A closer look at Siddiqa, the author, revealed disturbing information to Pakistani officials. In the months before launching her book, she was a frequent visitor to India where, as a defense expert, she cultivated important contacts. On her return, she developed friendship with an female Indian diplomat posted in Islamabad. Both of these activities - travel to India and ties to Indian diplomats - are not a crime in Pakistan and don't raise interest anymore. Pakistanis are hospitable and friendly people and these qualities have been amply displayed to the Indians during the four-year-old peace process.

What is interesting is that Siddiqa left her car in the house of the said Indian diplomat during one of her recent trips to London. And, according to a report, she stayed in London at a place owned by an individual linked to the Indian diplomat in Islamabad.

The point is this: Who assigned her to investigate the Pakistani Armed Forces and present a distorted image of a proud and efficient Pakistani institution?

>From 1988 to 2001, Siddiqa worked in the Pakistan civil service and the Pakistani civil bureaucracy. Her responsibilities included dealing with Military Accounts, which come under the Pakistan Ministry of Defense. She had 13 years of experience in dealing with the budgetary matters of the Pakistani military and people working in this area.

Siddiqa received a year-long fellowship to research and write a book in the US. There are strong indications that some of her Indian contacts played a role in arranging financing for her book project through a paid fellowship. The final manuscript of her book was vetted at a publishing office in New Delhi.

All of these details are insignificant if detached from the real issue at hand. And the issue is the demonization of the Pakistani military as an integral part of the media siege around Pakistan, with the US media leading the way in this campaign.

Some of the juicy details of this campaign include:

. The attempt by Siddiqa to pit junior officers against senior officers in Pakistan Armed Forces by alleging discrimination in the distribution of benefits. Apart from being malicious and unfounded, her argument was carefully designed to generate frustration and demoralize Pakistani soldiers.

. The US media insisting on handing over Khan to the US so that a final conviction against the Pakistani military can be secured. . Benazir Bhutto demanding after returning to Pakistan that the ISI be restructured; and in a press conference during her house arrest in Lahore in November she went as far as asking Pakistan army officers to revolt against the army chief, a damning attempt at destroying a professional army from within.

Some of this appears to be eerily similar to the campaign waged against the Pakistani military in 1999, when, in July that year, an unsigned full-page advertisement appeared in major American newspapers with the following headline: "A Modern Rogue Army With Its Finger On The Nuclear Button."

Until this day, it is not clear who exactly paid for such an expensive advertisement. But one thing is clear: the agenda behind that advertisement is back in action.

Strangely, just a few days before Bhutto's statements about restructuring the ISI and her open call to army officers to stage a mutiny against their leadership, the conservative US magazine The Weekly Standard interviewed an American security expert who offered similar ideas:

"A large number of ISI agents who are responsible for helping the Taliban and al-Qaeda should be thrown in jail or killed. What I think we should do in Pakistan is a parallel version of what Iran has run against us in Iraq: giving money [and] empowering actors. Some of this will involve working with some shady characters, but the alternative - sending US forces into Pakistan for a sustained bombing campaign - is worse," Steve Schippert was quoted as saying a November 2007 issue of Weekly Standard.

In addition to these media attacks, which security experts call "psychological operations", the US media and politicians have intensified over the past year their campaign to prepare the international public opinion to accept a western intervention in Pakistan along the lines of Iraq and Afghanistan:

. Newsweek came up with an entire cover story with a single storyline:

Pakistan is a more dangerous place than Iraq.

. Senior American politicians, Republican and Democrat, have argued that Pakistan is more dangerous than Iran and merits similar treatment. On October 20 , Senator Joe Biden told ABC News that Washington needs to put soldiers on the ground in Pakistan and invite the international community to join in. "We should be in there," he said. "We should be supplying tens of millions of dollars to build new schools to compete with the madrassas. We should be in there building democratic institutions. We should be in there, and get the rest of the world in there, giving some structure to the emergence of, hopefully, the reemergence of a democratic process." . The International Crisis Group (ICG) has recommended gradual sanctions on Pakistan similar to those imposed on Iran, e.g. slapping travel bans on Pakistani military officers and seizing Pakistani military assets abroad.

The process of painting Pakistan's nuclear assets as pure evil lying around waiting for some do-gooder to come in and "secure" has reached unprecedented levels, with the US media again depicting Pakistan as a nation incapable of protecting its nuclear installations. On October 22, Jane Harman from the US House Intelligence Panel gave the following statement: "I think the US would be wise - and I trust we are doing this - to have contingency plans [to seize Pakistan's nuclear assets], especially because should [Musharraf] fall, there are nuclear weapons there."

The US media has now begun discussing the possibility of Pakistan breaking up and the possibility of new states of "Balochistan" and "Pashtunistan" being carved out of it. Interestingly, one of the first acts of the shady Maulana of Swat, after capturing a few towns, was to take down the Pakistani flag from the top of state buildings and replace them with his own party flag.

The "chatter" about Musharraf's eminent fall has also increased dramatically in the mainly US media, which has been very generous in marketing theories about how Musharraf might "disappear" or be "removed" from the scene. According to some Pakistani analysts, this could be an attempt to prepare the public opinion for a possible assassination of the Pakistani president.

Another worrying thing is how US officials are publicly signaling to the Pakistanis that Bhutto has their backing as the next leader of the country. Such signals from Washington are not only a kiss of death for any public leader in Pakistan, but the Americans also know that their actions are inviting potential assassins to target Bhutto.

If she is killed in this way, there won't be enough time to find the real culprit, but what's certain is that unprecedented international pressure will be placed on Islamabad while everyone will use their local assets to create maximum internal chaos in the country. A dress rehearsal of this scenario has already taken place in October when no less than the UN Security Council itself intervened to ask the international community to "assist" in the investigations into the assassination attempt on Bhutto on October 18. This generous move was sponsored by the US and, interestingly, had no input from Pakistan which did not ask for help in investigations in the first place.

Some Pakistani security analysts privately say that US "chatter" about Musharraf or Bhutto getting killed is a serious matter that can't be easily dismissed. Getting Bhutto killed can generate the kind of pressure that could result in permanently putting the Pakistani military on a back foot, giving Washington enough room to push for installing a new pliant leadership in Islamabad.

Getting Musharraf killed isn't a bad option either. The unknown Islamists can always be blamed, the military will not be able to put another soldier at the top, and circumstances will be created to ensure that either Bhutto or someone like her is eased into power.

The US is very serious this time. They cannot let Pakistan get out of their hands. They were kicked out of Uzbekistan last year, where they were maintaining bases. They are in trouble in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iran continues to be a mess for them and Russia and China are not making it any easier. Pakistan must be "secured" at all costs.

(Ahmed Quraishi is an investigative reporter, currently hosting a weekly political talk show titled Worldview from Islamabad.)

This is why most Pakistanis have never seen US diplomats in Pakistan active like this before. And it's not just the current US ambassador, who has added one more address to her other most-frequently-visited address in Karachi, Bhutto's house. The new address is the office of GEO, one of two news channels shut down by Islamabad for not signing the mandatory code-of-conduct. Thirty-eight other channels are operating and no one has censored the newspapers. But never mind this. The Americans have developed a "thing" for GEO. No solace of course for ARY, the other banned channel.

There's also Bryan Hunt, the US consul-general in Lahore, who wears the national Pakistani dress, the long shirt and baggy trousers, and is moving around these days issuing tough warnings to the Pakistani government and Musharraf to end emergency rule, resign as army chief and give Bhutto access to power.

Pakistan's options

So what should Islamabad do in the face of such a structured campaign to bring Pakistan down to its knees and forcibly install a pro-Washington administration?

There is increasing talk in Islamabad these days about Pakistan's new tough stand in the face of this malicious campaign.

As a starter, Islamabad blew the wind out of the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte who came to Pakistan recently "to deliver a tough message" to the Pakistani president. Musharraf, to his credit, told him he won't end emergency rule until all objectives are achieved.

These objectives include:

. Cleaning up northern and western parts of the country of all foreign operatives and their domestic pawns.

. Ensuring that Washington's plan for regime-change doesn't succeed. . Purging the Pakistani media of all those elements that were willing or unwilling accomplices in the plan to destabilize the country.

Musharraf has also told Washington publicly that "Pakistan is more important than democracy or the constitution". This is a bold position. This kind of boldness would have served Musharraf better had it come a little earlier. But even now, his media management team is unable to make the most out of it.

Washington will not stand by watching as its plan for regime change in Islamabad goes down the drain. In case the US insists on interfering in Pakistani affairs, Islamabad, according to sources, is looking at some tough measures:

. Cutting off oil supplies to US military in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials are already enraged at how Afghanistan has turned into a staging ground for sabotage in Pakistan. If Islamabad continues to see Washington acting as a bully, Pakistani officials are seriously considering an announcement where Pakistan, for the first time since October 2001, will deny the US use of Pakistani soil and air space to transport fuel to Afghanistan.

. Reviewing Pakistan's role in the "war on terror". Islamabad needs to fight terrorists on its border with Afghanistan. But our methods need to be different to Washington's when it comes to our domestic extremists. This is where Islamabad parts ways with Washington. Pakistani officials are considering the option of withdrawing from the war on terror while maintaining Pakistan's own war against the terrorists along Afghanistan's border.

Talks with the Taliban. Pakistan has no quarrel with Afghanistan's Taliban. They are Kabul's internal problem. But if reaching out to Afghan Taliban's Mullah Omar can have a positive impact on rebellious Pakistani extremists, then this step should be taken. The South Koreans can talk to the Taliban. Karzai has also called for talks with them. It is time that Islamabad does the same.

The US has been telling everyone in the world that they have paid Pakistan $10 billion over the past five years. They might think this gives them the right to decide Pakistan's destiny. What they don't tell the world is how Pakistan's help secured for them their biggest footprint ever in energy-rich Central Asia.

If they forget, Islamabad can always remind them by giving them the same treatment that Uzbekistan did last year.

(Ahmed Quraishi is an investigative reporter, currently hosting a weekly political talk show titled Worldview from Islamabad.)

(Ahmed Quraishi is an investigative reporter, currently hosting a weekly political talk show titled Worldview from Islamabad.)