The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reactions should be pragmatic

NOTHING could be more dangerous for the peace and security of India and Pakistan and the South Asian region as a whole than a full-fledged confrontation between the two when after decades of animosity they seemed to be well set on a path of normalisation of relations. India's reaction to the Mumbai carnage was too hasty. The declared identities of the attackers as India-based terror groups was too quickly rejected. The Indian Prime Minister was too hasty to warn the neighbours in tough language but everyone understood that it was meant for mainly Pakistan.

Now, after some evidence has been gathered that at least one of the attackers had origins in Pakistan, too much of the issue looks like being made. The point of origin does not necessarily mean the country or its government sponsor terrorism. As it is, Pakistan is fighting terrorism on its own soil and sustaining casualties at regular intervals. India also has its own extremists running violent insurgencies for different causes. There are also terrorism networks across borders. Thus, pragmatism demands that terrorism needs to be seen as a common problem for both India and Pakistan as well as the entire world.

Instead of seeking a regional response to the problem with everybody's cooperation, Indian authorities seem bent on pinning the blame on Pakistan exclusively. This has naturally caused angst in Pakistan. Pakistan government has refused to send to Delhi their intelligence chief; their foreign minister has also cut short his trip to India in a clear expression of dislike for his host's reaction to the Mumbai incidents. Thus, relations between the two countries are set to nosedive and this would be counter-productive for both of them.

Soybean oil price

IT is reported in the press that price of soybean oil showed an uptrend in the local market. It is so due to the practice of a section of business people to earn more profit from sale of the elible oil to consumers. They are importing soybean oil at lower price, stock the same in their stores and try to create an environment of scarcity to quote higher price. The price of soybean oil in the retail market remains thus virtually under the control of importers and wholesalers.

Despite the gradual fall of price-level of soybean oil in the international market, the consumers have not received any benefit. Instead, they are forced to buy oil at higher price. The current autumn season and the coming winter season are usually marked by an increased supply of vegetables. The Eid ul Azha is only a week away. Thus a higher demand for edible oil during the festival can easily be guessed.

The business community, at large, and the importers of soybean oil and other consumable items have to note the negative effects of price-hike on the consumers. The uptrend in the price of edible goods like soybean oil should be reviewed by the appropriate authorities for taking remedial measures.

The prevailing practice of some business people to increase their range of profit from import and distribution of consumable goods has to be effectively checked. The ministries of commerce, finance and agriculture have to work dispassionately to reduce the pressure on consumers who have already been affected by price hike of essentials. The buyers of soybean oil naturally look for corrective measures against uptrend in its price. The profiteering motive has to be contained for protecting the interests of consumers.

Senator McCain: Welcome to Bangladesh

Dr. M. S. Haq

Senator John McCain will pay a visit to Bangladesh in a few days time. Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator Lindsey Graham will accompany him. The visit - reportedly a short one, though - carries a special significance for Bangladesh. It will be the first visit of Senator McCain and his colleagues to Bangladesh after the 2008 US election. The visit is taking place at the time when Bangladesh is apparently moving towards a people elected government. Senator McCain, Senator Lieberman and Senator Graham - Welcome and Congratulations!

Senator John McCain along with vice presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin had performed well in the recently concluded presidential race in the US. They also performed well in accepting the defeat in the election, which has, among other things, set a good example for political parties and others in Bangladesh to follow and to promote. Bangladesh like, other countries in the universe have inter alia fans and well wishers of John McCain, Sarah Palin, the republican party and concerned others.

A brief analysis of products and developments such as: editorials, articles and letters that had appeared in newspapers and magazines of Bangladesh; debates and discourses that were held on the electronic media; and the people to people transactions that took place via the internet, on dinner tables, over the tea, in village homes and at other forums, physical, virtual or otherwise - on the US election and throughout the election period - would reveal for example: how much popular this year's (2008) US election was in Bangladesh; how much conscious and serious people of Bangladesh (to whom it might concern) were when it came to their assessment of post-election impacts on the US and other countries including Bangladesh; how many times - at a geometric rate of progression - names, statements and other related things of McCain, Obama, Palin and concerned others were used, repeated and recycled; how much focus and attention McCain (including his daughter of Bangladeshi origin), Obama, Palin and concerned others had received in Bangladesh; how much recognition the candidacy profile of McCain had received from concerned Bangladeshis; and how much appreciation McCain had received from concerned Bangladeshis on account of his good election related stances.

I wrote two articles on the US election that had appeared - between 08 October 2008 and 31 October 2008 - on respective editorial pages of two national dailies of Bangladesh namely, The Bangladesh Observer - the country's oldest national daily, and The New Nation - an independent daily. I had - through those articles - attempted prima-facie to present inter alia my arguments before people of the US, people of Bangladesh and people of world at large as to why and how Senator McCain was the right candidate for the 2009 vacancy, and as to why and how he was the need of time. I shared with them my prediction about the senator's win in the election. I also predicted possibilities of Palin becoming first women president of the US in the foreseeable future - against a set of parameters and a number of attending conditions, among other things.

I have no regret about the fact: Senator McCain could not win the election after a hard fight. But I have certain reservations about the quality and the quantity of support he had received from the republican party and concerned others during the election. I am not sure, at this point in time, though: how and to what extent the money-vote game (less campaign money?) affected, in a negative way, the republican strategy for wining the election? I am not sure: whether or not the republican party had the required power and tensile strength (used in an engineering sense) to withstand the pressure of this year's election (2008) after the two presidential wins in a row? I am not also sure about the existence of any connection between the recent bank failures in the US and the vote buying affordability (used in a financial sense) demonstrated by political parties contesting the election.

It is expected the people of US and others will, as appropriate, look into above and related matters in an effective, efficient and result-oriented manner. It is also expected future elections in the US and elsewhere in the world (as applicable) including the upcoming election in Bangladesh will be managed by all concerned in a manner that will ensure - as far as humanly and otherwise possible: election votes are earned and not bought by money, power or similar things, for example.

Senator McCain is a born fighter. He has been fighting on a continuous basis for inter alia: one, the betterment of his country and the world at large; two, the welfare of his people and the welfare of people of world at large; three, his own life - in a deeper sense though, every 'thing' in the relativistic universe is apparently fighting at least at this point in time for existence - whether consciously or otherwise - relative to individual positions and other variables, though; four, his principles; and five, his goals in life - all with, in an average sense, a human face, determination, courage and result-orientation, so far.

In the existing and evolving situations - that are largely arising out of for example and as appropriate: global recession; troubled economy; market imperfection; conflict; tension; terrorism; extremism; environmental plus non-environmental insecurity; intolerance; poverty; deprivation; inadequate knowledge, understanding and application in areas say, arts, sciences, engineering and technology for problem identification and problem solving; wastage; and moral degradation - leaders like Senator John McCain can, if given the right opportunity, not only facilitate change for better in above areas for his own country but for the world at large, including inter alia Bangladesh.

In that respect, it is expected the US help and assistance to Bangladesh through the present time and hopefully through the foreseeable future will inter alia be instrumental in assisting Bangladeshis to develop more effective antidotes - than those at present - to fight out infections that make the country sick, off and on. It is also expected Senator McCain will demonstrate his fighting spirit, skills and expertise when it comes to helping Bangladeshis to help themselves in pertinent areas.

It may be mentioned here: the role of ambassador Moriarty and his team in Bangladesh has so far been found - in an average sense - to be relevant, constructive, result facilitative and people sensitive when it comes to assisting Bangladesh in the effort towards change for better, among other things.

The last word: We wish Senator McCain, Senator Lieberman and Senator Graham an enjoyable and productive stay in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is - in a sense - Senator McCain's second home, he has a personal responsibility for taking care of it. God bless.

They are Terrorists, not Muslims

Maswood Alam Khan

Mumbai has proven to be a soft target for terrorists. It would be disgraceful on the part of India if their intelligence now fails to unearth the groups of terrorists and their mastermind who perpetrated this dreadful and heinous attack on the innocent people in Mumbai. The fundamentalists who fueled this shameful act must be brought to book. If India now remains deaf, dumb, and keeps mum the country would look like turning her other cheek only to encourage the next round of attacks by another group of terrorists.

The attack has stalled games and seriously affected the city's commerce and tourism industry. Cricket matches have been shelved, tourists have cancelled their trips and expatriates have closed their shops and offices. Players, travelers, and businessmen have packed up their bag and baggage and already left the city. It would take a long time for the city to heal its wound and regain its traditional flavor. The very pride of India now stands injured. Capacity of Indian law enforcement agencies now is questioned.

Mumbai, which was known as a liberal city open to all and sundry, will have to close its wide open doors. Visitors will now have to stand in long queues and enter places one by one through arches equipped with metal detectors. This romantic city of Bollywood, a vibrant metropolis where locals and millions of visitors used to roam around with a laissez-faire style, is on its way to lose its character of hospitability and sensuality.

The whole region of Indo-Pak-Bangladesh subcontinent is now in a state of severe vulnerability and as such has to be on red alert to deter future terror attacks. Bag and body checks have to be introduced in all the soft targets in all the big cities. Porous and unguarded borders and seashores have to be sealed with barbed-wire fences. Armed guards have to stand vigil round the clock at all the strategic points, both civil and military.

Bangladesh may be a tiny country compared to India. But some of our achievements are huge in dimensions. One such feat is a commendable job our elite force RAB did in netting the whole ring of a terrorist group known as JMB. As a member state of SAARC Bangladesh government may volunteer to send to Mumbai a few squads of RAB personnel, who have had experience in dealing with JMB terrorists, to help Indian forces ferret out terrorists and their clandestine abettors from their hidden dens.

Terrorism is a pandemic disease. If unchecked, the disease is bound to spill over to the next door neighbors and then engulf the whole world. It is high time SAARC must form an elite force of its own with personnel recruited from its member states and deploy them exclusively with the onerous job of combating terrorism in this region as a united force.

The whole world would now be watching how Muslims react to this act of terrorism by some idiots bearing some Arabic names. If millions of Muslims take to streets when someone in Denmark insults their religion many more millions of Muslims should now come out of their houses and chant their full-throated slogans demanding exemplary punishments of those who in the name of their religion commit such cold-headed massacre of innocent civilians, an ignominious, monstrous and barbaric act Islam never allows or ever allowed. This attack in Mumbai should be deemed an attack on Islam!

Silence of Muslims at this hour of peril in India, I am afraid, may be construed as a nod of consent to terrorism. Inaction of Muslim-dominated countries in the face of further possible attacks by errant Muslims may be misunderstood as their approval for terrorism. Any whisper about portraying Islam as a religion of terrorism may explode a communal hostility. An unwise step by any Indian at this high voltage tension may spark an ominous backlash.

As I was viewing the scenes of carnage in Mumbai on the 27th November night the only fear that was sending a chill down my spine was of reprisals. I could imagine how TV viewers in India were clenching their teeth as elite Indian commandos were fighting room to room battles with militants to save people trapped and taken hostage inside two luxury hotels in Mumbai.

The questions that are gnawing minds of observers all over the world: In reprisal of what the terrorists had killed 195 and injured another 320 unarmed civilians? What fate will now befall the next innocent people in India? Will Muslims be the scapegoats?A normal Muslim cannot enlist himself as a member of such a terrorist group that unleashed this attack in Mumbai. All these terrorists must be blindly fanatic who were injected with high doses of fanaticism the way a drug addict is doped up before being sent to an assassination mission.

A doped up assassin at the moment of pressing the trigger of a gun is completely shut out from all his human feelings as his brains are kept numb under the drug influence, his sense of judgment entirely blacked out. Such an assassin should not be judged as a representative of a particular group, community, religion, or race. Rather s/he represents a vested group whose far-sighted motive is something ulterior, something mysterious or something unimaginable as we find in movie plots where the real culprit plays his innocuous role incognito all along the plot before being caught red-handed just before the end of the story.

Whenever there is an attack anywhere in the world there is a propensity for some countries to blame Muslims within ten minutes of the attack. It is assumed that the terrorists came from Pakistan, though there is no raison d'être on the part of the democratically elected government of Pakistan, unless there is a concrete evidence, to sponsor this most abominable act of direct terrorism.

If Pakistan were behind this shameful act their intelligence must have presaged beforehand what could be the outcome when a captured assailant on interrogation would disclose to Indian authorities. Can Pakistan authorities afford to be such a bunch of fools, knowing full well that such an attack by the assailants would provoke a backlash against Muslim inhabitants in India?

But a big mastermind like a huge organization---as big as a state---must have provided trainings, logistics, and weapons to these terrorists who seem to be trained in military style precisions. These terrorists killed three celebrated police officers including the head of Mumbai's anti-terrorism squad. They are professional killers! But, who is the mastermind?

In this age of DNA analysis when no criminal can escape the omnipotent searchlight of the defenders of law and sovereignty, we are confident a power like India will soon be able to declare, with smoking gun evidence in hand, who, the mastermind, actually was behind this terror campaign. If the mastermind is found to be from within India efforts should be made to find out the root causes. It is right to hate the terrorists and it is also wise to try to eliminate the reasons that may lure the young fools to indulge in such suicidal campaigns.

The blame game may heighten tension in the border areas between India and Pakistan and in the neighborhoods where Hindu and Muslim communities are cohabiting. But it would be a terrible mistake if any quarter takes anger on Muslims. It would be unwise to be quick to pass a judgment at this stage. Most Muslims, everyone should believe, are peaceful people, no matter they live in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or elsewhere. Those who killed innocent people in Mumbai are terrorists, not Muslims! Terrorism and Islam are antonymous, not synonymous!