The New Nation - Internet Edition

Support the shipbuilding sector

THREE large shipbuilding companies in Bangladesh have received 'export offer' of about Taka 2,000 crore within a period of three months. Accordingly, a memorandum of understanding, in this regard, was signed earlier this month between the Highspeed Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, Bangladesh's oldest and largest shipbuilder and Hollander Scholtens (HS) Groningen of the Netherlands for construction of eight MPC (ICE-Class) vessels. The eight ships each of 4500-tonne capacity will be built in phases at the cost of Tk 600 crore or equivalent to US $ 87 million from December next. Two other shipbuilders - Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited, based at Meghnaghat and Western Marine in Chittagong respectively have also bagged rest of the order of Tk 2,000 crore.

The country became global destination of shipbuilding last year. The new shipbuilding efforts and the entry into the global market, it is expected, will open new avenues for earning foreign exchange through export of ships besides creating wider scope of expansion of the industry and employment. Bangladesh's shipyards have acquired a lot of experience in the field of shipbuilding as most of the motor launches and cargo vessels plying within the country have been built at local shipyards. The cost of shipbuilding is 'highly competitive' compared to other foreign shipyards.

The local shipbuilders require urgently proper attention of the government so that whatever assistance they need is provided for rapid expansion of the industry for greater interest of the country. The private shipbuilders are optimistic about generating employment in line with readymade garment sector provided the government gives enough incentives to the sector. One of the shipbuilders the other day expressed the confidence of building even war ships of any category at the local shipyards with all the precision required internationally for the defence services.

NCBs as corporate bodies

UNDER the financial sector reforms programmes (FRSP), the government-owned Rupali Bank was subjected to some reforms and prepared for sale. Now, the remaining nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) - Sonali, Janata, and Agrani - would be gradually privatised. The shares of these banks would be aimed for sale eventually to members of the public. It appears that the central bank would reserve some rights to scrutinise the appointment of the directors of these banks and recommend changes, if necessary, or to select persons in accordance with its suggestion.

The central bank would be also probably keeping some control over these banks in their policy directions. One of the main arguments that had been extended for the retention of banks in the public sector was that these were expected to carry out some banking services in the interest of common people such as running banking services in non-urban areas and meeting the credit needs of small existing or potential entrepreneurs. Therefore, an obligation on the part of corporatised banks to retain an interest in these areas, seems to be only pragmatic.

The main aim of corporatisation would be to recast the management of the NCBs. Presently, their managements are infested with people owing their allegiance to the employees' unions of the banks. Such is their influence that they are still able to control appointment and transfer of the officers even in high ranking posts. Even some loans from these banks are said to have links to these unions. No wonder, therefore, that the classified loan burdens of these banks have become so massive in size. It should be only logical and practical to think that once corporatised the banks would become more competent and operationally much unencumbered to do their work.

Protecting the future of jute

M. Mizanur Rahman

Once jute was called the golden fibre of East Bengal. Jute and jute goods became then a legend of our earning a huge foreign exchange, especially the eastern part of Bengal as the best jute producers had been given the name 'Golden Bengal'. After the political partition of Bengal as the East and the West Bengal, the glamour of the partitioned Bengal became though faded yet the portion of the Eastern part (then East Pakistan- now Bangladesh) was blossomed worldwide as the best seller of jute and jute goods produced and manufactured in mills and factories lying at the riversides of Narayanganj, Khulna, Mymensingh and Pabna. Some non-Bengali jute mill owners like Adamji, Bawani and Ispahani were the most well organised expertise masterminds behind flourishing this business all over the world while Calcutta (of West Bengal, India) based huge jute mills by the banks of the Ganges remained almost unfed and idle due to the shortage of jutes mainly supplied to them from East Bengal (now Bangladesh). The then East Pakistan was called the Manchester of the East, famous for its jute industries.

Once it made a hue and cry of agitation politically that the major shares of its jute trade financial benefits were taken away by West Pakistani or non-Bengali jute entrepreneurs and this created a sort of distrust between the people of the two wings of the then Pakistan. However, after the Liberation War this distrust and hatred caused expulsion of the non-Bengali people en masse from Bangladesh. Bangladesh lost a very valuable business community out of them. Whereas politically motivated influential persons took the opportunity meanwhile to employ their own inexperienced and corrupt people in all-important posts of jute mills and factories. This ultimately resulted with disastrous failure in management. Even in all such cases heavy subsidy support of the government in power could not meet the end. One of the biggest jute mills in the world Adamji Jute Mills at Narayanganj had to be dismantled and sold on auction by the immediate past government in its privatisation scheme. All those business enterprises of the non-Bengali business community became losing concerns at the hands of the most inexperienced Bengali managers with great financial loss to the government of Bangladesh.

After the successful revolution in 1917 in Russia neither Lenin nor Stalin did expel a single industrialist or businessman from Russia though most of them opposed communism. Rather they took some purgatorial actions against most of their compatriot revolutionists in the interest of the nation. The lesson of this history had never been applied in the interest of our country after the Liberation War. For the lack of patriotism and with the stink of corruption we are suffering till now as a nation.

Now some young jute entrepreneurs appeared anew in the firmament of Bangladesh. It would only be their firm resolution to stand with perseverance to put their business in the zenith of success to restore the past glory of Bangladesh.

The foremost contribution of the rising entrepreneur and the Managing Director Mr. Md. Abdul Hye of M/S Satabdi Hye Bangladesh Ltd. is to be taken into account towards the establishment of the following enterprises. He bought jute machineries of the now defunct Adamji Jute Mills Ltd. on auction and sold them to various young but rising entrepreneurs of different places of the country at very nominal prices. Now those machineries have been used absolutely to make twenty new jute mills around different places of the country. Meanwhile some eager entrepreneurs could establish many more jute mills in different places of our country in which production of jute goods have already been started. Besides some mills have already increased production by these jute machineries. The following mills among them are noted. Sadia Jute Mills Ltd. 2. Poddar Agro Best Ltd. 3.J.K. Jute Processing Works. 4. H.R. Enterprise.5. North Bengal Jute Industries Ltd. 6. S.R Jute Fibres. 7. Usha Jute Mills. 8. Nysa International. 9. Mauna Jute Mills Ltd.

In spite of the above noted jute mills many other jute mills along with Akmal Jute Mills, Anwar Jute Mills, Madina Jute Mills and Shah Sultan Jute Fibres bought our machineries and have already completed B.M.R.I. in which about five thousand workers have been employed. As a result the social unemployment problems have been solved to some extent. On the other hand, by selling and exporting jute and jute goods produced by these Jute Mills the government have been gaining financial benefits by VAT and other taxes including foreign exchange earnings.

When the last siren of the laid down Adamji Jute Mills tolled, the entire mill employees burst into tears because of the fact that their only source of income ceased to exist now. On the spree of the moment MIS Satabdi Hye Bangladesh Ltd., in consultation with the concerned businessmen of the northern region of Bangladesh, took advantage of purchasing jute machineries in the form of scrap of Adamji Jute Mills on auction from the government and felt that the suffering employees could make worth of produces if employed. So they made up their mind in establishing jute mills by purchasing jute machineries from the government. Now most of those expert jute workers were employed in those jute mills. Hence jute grower farmers of the northern region are benefited while the entrepreneurs of the same areas have been making huge profit by exporting jute and jute goods abroad. Nowadays demand of jute and jute goods is increasing abroad. The demand of jute goods abroad is doubled now than raw jute. It brings home huge foreign exchange earnings, whereas the income of raw jute export is limited.

Earlier in Europe many such jute factories were established but they needed many workers to run them and the amount of their wages were too high. In Europe a sum of about Taka one and half lakh per worker is to be paid while in Bangladesh a worker of the same standard can be had at Taka two and half or at best at taka three thousand only.

There exists crisis of raw jute as well as jute workers in Europe and as such, their factories are closed whereas both of them can be had here in plenty. Their machineries have the capacity of 70 to 80 years' duration that can be imported here provided our government give us good hands to that end which can tend to flourish huge jute industries all over Bangladesh paving the way for the brightest future towards earning huge foreign exchange said one of the exponents of the jute industries. This should be taken into consideration for future progress of our industrial development, -especially in jute industries.

Free and fair poll: Russian experience

Dr.Abdul Ruff

The concepts of democracy, equal justice, equal opportunities and free and fair poll are more of phrases of gimmicks than of any serious substance. These concepts referring to noble causes of humanity in its drive towards an informed society are invoked only every politician and party to win votes and outsmart their political opponents. As a result, none of these concepts has been fully employed to the fullest satisfaction of the populace. On the contrary, every where there are ambiguities and imbalances in their practice and all possible irregularities including the misuse of official machinery take place with full knowledge of the state agencies charged with the responsibility of creating conditions for and supervising the process of these responsibilities, in most cases they just refuse, rather than, fail to do any justice to their professions.

Recent March 02 Presidential poll that elected Dmitry Medvedev, 42, a lawyer and Deputy Premier, as proposed by his mentor President Vladimir Putin, as the new president of UNSC veto-powered Russia from May for the next five years as the most acceptable person of Russian voters to lead this one of the most powerful nation, has shown that Russian power is united and is on the rise and will further assert its power globally. But the poll has given rise to sever criticisms of irregularities. Soviet Russia had no problems mainly because the constitution had provided for only one candidate for a every contest, big or small, but they had the right to recall the candidates if their services were found unsatisfactory. Post-communist Russia has permitted multi-cornered contests from bottom to top. President Vladimir Putin got elected twice in 2000 and 2004 and his ratings have been gong up since he took over the reigns of the Kremlin. There have been severe criticisms that Moscow does not really promote multi-contests. The most crucial issues being debated the world over is about the deliberately weakened opposition in Russia. And many argue that polls in Russia are just an eye-wash.

Campaign was seen totally one-sided affair and the election was devoid of real choices. Only 300 international election observers monitored the 96,000 voting stations across Russia's 11 time zones. Some 450,000 police and troops deployed nationwide to ensure the voting proceeded calmly. With nearly 100% of the ballots counted final results showed that Medvedev had received 70.23 percent of the vote. The March poll also has given rise to malpractices of a sort in the campaign and poll, which the world monitoring agencies and opposition parties have raised.

Most Western election observers did not monitor the vote, citing obstruction by the authorities. Relatively few independent international observers were on hand to monitor the vote. Observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said that unfair access to the media put into question the vote's overall fairness. The influential Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(OSCE), which has sent hundreds of observers to past Russian elections, refused to monitor the vote, saying Russian authorities had imposed such tight restrictions that its monitors could not work in a meaningful way.

Not everyone accepted the results, and two of Medvedev's challengers threatened to go to court over alleged violations. Former world chess champion and Kremlin opponent Garry Kasparov plans street protests the day after the election, though only a minority of Russians sympathizes with his cause.

Although Dmitry Medvedev scored a crushing victory in Russia's presidential election, the Kremlin's opponents complain that voters have been denied a real choice because the biggest television stations slant their coverage in Medvedev's favor while election officials have barred some opposition challengers from running. However, Medvedev refused to take part in televised election debates, citing a lack of time. He already has the powerful state machinery behind him. There was a strong criticism for the Kremlin's favorite refusal to debate his rivals or formal campaign.

But Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov and ultranationalist candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky still alleged violations after the voting ended. After polls closed opposition leader Zyuganov said there had been widespread irregularities. "We will go to court over this," Itar-Tass quoted him as saying.

Impression was created that Medvedev was going to take over from Putin and the poll was only a formality, because Putin's eight years as president have left a deep imprint on the world's largest country.

Government-paid teachers and doctors across the country complained that they were being pressured to vote at their workplace under the gaze of their superiors, to ensure a convincing win and a high turnout for Medvedev.

Russian Daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, discontent with Kremlin policy from academic circles, covered the report's contents, which focused on the lack of political opposition in the country and the need to change course.

While Medvedev is trumpeting the successes, not everyone was so convinced. Dmitry Sorokin, first deputy director of the Economics Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said "increased PR" had essentially become the main result of the two-year projects. He said the amount committed to addressing the problems was meager and the country is undergoing a slow degradation.

The liberal opposition alliance headed by former chess champion Garry Kasparov, who was barred from running in the election, undertook marches in cities around the country on 03 March. He said that Russian elections are a farce; its results were known long ago; he is prepared to stand up to their plans to destroy democracy." Russian riot police clashed all opposition protesters who tried to hold an unauthorized rally in Moscow against the election of President Vladimir Putin's protégé, Dmitry Medvedev. Police detained scores of activists and dragged protesters to police buses in major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Critics denounce the election as little more than a cynical stage show. The Central Elections Commission threw the only liberal candidate - former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov off the ballot for allegedly forging signatures on his nominating petitions. The election campaign included debates on Russia's foreign as well domestic policy, but they did not affect the fortunes of Medvedev.

Official Russian media talked about voting for Medvedev and for the stability he represents. A few ministers ended a speech at a government meeting with the words: "Forward, Russia"-Medvedev's campaign slogan. So, the poll is only a mere formality to conduct peaceful power shift.

The Kremlin made a big show of its performance by using officials to brief about their achievements to boost the image of the official candidate. Medvedev's Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, for example, said 13 million more Russians received gas to their homes as a result of the company's work since 2005, raising the level of homes being served to 62 percent from 54 percent. Even ordianry things were boosted to gian undue poll milage.

In Medvedev's hometown of St Petersburg popular artists and performers distributed their autographed CDs and books to the young voters after they cast their vote. The anti-Kremlin coalition, The Other Russia party threatened post-election protest marches cross the country, despite an official ban in the capital. Its leader and former chess champion Garry Kasparov has urged world leaders not to recognize Medvedev as the new Russian president as the elections were a 'farce'.

Reports say that many workers were told by their bosses to vote for Medvedev. Various inducements were also offered to mobilize voters, including cheap food, free cinema tickets or toys. Polling stations offered food and office supplies at a discount. In Medvedev's native St. Petersburg, some voters quaffed bargain beer at their polling place. Regional and municipal officials had roped in businesses to lure voters by distributing discount coupons of shopping malls, organizing lotteries and gifts, liberal opposition leaders said. There were many alleged vote violations.

Moscow is keen to use the poll victory to woo the Chechens. In Chechnya, raven by two wars since 1994 but now more or less under control by a Kremlin-backed administration, President Ramzan Kadyrov worked for a successful 95 percent to 100 percent turnout. "I voted for a bright future, for Medvedev," he said in Grozny.

The Kremlin has dismissed claims of fraud. The Izvestia newspaper supported that claim saying the vote was a "triumph of the majority" that created a "bridge to the future for Russia". West is irked at Medvedev having even based his platform on a vow to pursue "the Putin plan." It's a telling demonstration of how Putin established dominion over Russian politics through genuine popular support, marginalizing opposition parties and putting national broadcasters under the state's thumb. Many Russians feel that Medvedev's campaign seemed "planned and coherent" and voted for him despite disappointment in the Kremlin's unfulfilled promises to provide cheaper housing for families like his.

The Nobel laureate from Russia and the former Soviet President Michael Gorbachev, commenting on the poll, said Russian democracy has been different form the rest of the world powers and the West should not interfere in Kremlin affairs. He admitted that Russia has only one future - democracy. As the first priority, Gorbachev has suggested a return to a mixed system of parliamentary elections, so people may vote both for party lists and for individual candidates. He wants the governors be again elected in a popular vote, instead of the president's choice being approved by regional legislatures.

But, considering the evil practices like fund-raising, booth capturing, ballot stealing, replacement of boxes and religous hatred, etc, as part of so-called free and fair polls in third world, like India, the poll in Russia was not totally invalid. By the way, can any one come out with reasons to suggest a country, developed or developing, where genuine free and fair poll is conducted regularly?

Opinion: China and its minorities

Philip Bowring

NON-Han minorities may comprise only nine per cent of China's population, but as the violence in Tibet and simmering resentment in Xinjiang indicate, the problem is one that Beijing is unable to resolve.

This is a blow to President Hu Jintao, who is supposed to be an expert on Tibet, where he was once party secretary. He ordered troops as well as police forces into Tibet and Xinjiang last year to guard against pre-Olympic disturbances, but to no avail.

There are three reasons for the Communist leadership's inability to address the issue other than by repression. First, given that Beijing's first priority is government centralisation, the official designation of any "autonomous region" in China is a façade.

Second, there is the innate belief in the superiority of the Han race, a notion historically reflected in China's attitudes to all its neighbours as well as towards the non-Han minorities within its borders.

Third, the three regions with significant minority populations that are actual or potential trouble spots are all frontier areas that Beijing regards as strategically important. The minorities in southwest China are no problem because they are small, isolated and near frontiers from which China has never been invaded. The homelands of former invaders - the Mongols and Manchus - still exist, but they are now overwhelmingly Han. But Tibet - with its long history of isolation, immense cultural, linguistic and religious differences and on-and-off independence - is a different matter.

So too is Xinjiang, which means "new territory" in Chinese. It saw brief independence as East Turkestan, or Uighurstan, in 1933 and part of it was again under Soviet tutelage from 1945 to 1949. Its population is still roughly 55 per cent non-Han - Uighurs and Kazakhs whose Turkic-speaking cousins stretch all the way to the Black Sea. Moreover, it also has an ethnic Korean minority in the northeast that would likely be agitating to be reunited with Korea if the divided peninsula were a united and prosperous state.

At different times in history, China has sought to defend itself by expanding its western frontiers to create buffer states or subdue foreign enemies. At other times, it has been content to secure its own Han borders but not stretch its resources. Communist China has not formally expanded the borders it inherited from its predecessors. But it has made strenuous efforts to use migration to spread Han people, culture and commercial power into Tibet and Xinjiang. Some Tibetan majority areas were also transferred to Han-majority provinces - Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu. Most recently, at huge cost, Beijing brought the railroad to Lhasa in an effort to reinforce integration.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, China's security dilemma has gotten worse. Newly independent states like Kazakhastan may be friendly, for now. But they naturally sympathise with minorities under the Han yoke, and Chinese efforts to present Uighur separatists as terrorists are wearing thin.

These regions cannot be exempted from China's opening to the outside world. Images of protests and military crackdowns quickly go around the world, evidence of how a wired China is also a more volatile China.

Beijing asserts that the histories and cultures of the Tibetan, Uighur and Korean peoples within its border are "Chinese." China's attempt to turn Mount Paektu, which straddles its border with North Korea and traditionally is sacred to all Koreans, into a Chinese World Heritage site, has infuriated many Koreans.

China is incapable of offering minorities either cultural equality or autonomy. Officialdom and much of the population treats minorities either with suspicion or as colourful tourist attractions. This leads to an informal apartheid - evident in the housing, schools and social organisation in Tibet and Xinjiang - reinforced by official arrogance. The Han ethnic basis of Chinese identity is seen even in cosmopolitan Hong Kong, where it is easier for ethnic Chinese born in Malaysia or Canada to get full citizenship than for a Hong Kong-born person of Indian or Philippine background.

For now, the Olympics notwithstanding, China will rely on an iron fist to quell dissent. Over the longer term, Beijing will have consider whether to step up efforts to integrate the minority regions into China through money, infrastructure and migration. That might well raise the level of resentment among Tibetans and Uighurs against their relatively rich, commercially exploitive colonisers. Han Chinese may, however, become increasingly reluctant to live in restive minority regions when a better, safer living is available elsewhere.

It is possible that Beijing might eventually allow a little real autonomy in the hope that separatism can be contained. But it is more likely that China's own rising nationalism will meet its match in the determination of Tibetans Uighurs and Koreans not to be swamped by a Han version of Manifest Destiny.

(Phillip Bowring regularly contributes to the International Herald Tribune's Opinion pages)