India-Pakistan Secretary-Level Talks

The progress made in the India-Pakistan home secretary-level talks is an indication that the endeavors made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to improve mutual relations through cricket diplomacy are bearing fruit. The Indian side was led by Home Secretary G. K. Pillai, whereas Pakistan was represented by Qamar Zaman Chaudhry. The joint declaration released at the end of the two-day home secretary-level talks may not, after all, be taken as a major success or a milestone; yet it helps in thawing the ice on their relations. This aspect cannot be ignored.

The new measures enumerated in the joint declaration may raise queries as to when these would actually be implemented. What is, however, heartening is the fact that the home secretaries have admitted that the talks were positive and progress has been made.

Step Toward Exchange of Information

The joint declaration issued at the end of the talks mentions a hotline to be set up to deal with terrorism. The purpose behind it is to exchange any information on terrorism as early as possible. It was further decided that a team of investigators from India would visit Pakistan to question the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage, who are under trial in Pakistan. Also, a judicial commission from Pakistan would come to India to get information from some of the witnesses in Mumbai. The agreement on these points assumes significance because earlier, Pakistan was not agreeable to let a team of Indian investigators visit that country. The setting up of the proposed hotline, in fact, is a step toward exchange of information on terrorism.

It may be recalled that recently, Pakistan had conveyed some intelligence reports to India regarding possible terrorist attacks during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. There are several terrorist organizations working from Pakistani soil, which are purported to be involved in several acts of terrorism in India. A beneficial outcome of the exchange of information on terrorism would be that it would be easier to take precautionary measures. There is yet another progress in this respect: the two sides have agreed to establish cooperation between investigation agencies of the two countries. The cooperation between India's National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would help in solving cases relating to terrorism soon.

Cross-Border Terrorism

An important issue that relates to difficulties in getting visas also finds a mention in the joint declaration. The two countries have agreed to set up a joint working group. To ensure that the process of the dialogue and progress may continue, Indian Home Secretary G. K. Pillai would now visit Islamabad. Although innumerable issues continue to hang fire between the countries, what is heartening now is that both sides clearly and unambiguously presented what was in their mind during the talks lasting more than five hours.

The 26 November 2008 terrorist attacks, cross-border terrorism, explosions in the Samjhauta Express, and smuggling of fake currency are issues that yield numerous statements, but precious little is done to address them and no attempt is ever made to reach agreement on these issues during serious dialogues. The deliberation held on these issues during the secretary-level talks is a positive indication indeed.

Conducive Atmosphere Created

It is, however, a matter of great satisfaction that the cricket diplomacy initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, prior to the home secretary-level talks had a salutary impact on the talks, and both countries responded. A meeting of foreign ministers of the two countries is scheduled to be held in July.

One should hope that the conducive atmosphere created as a result of the cricket diplomacy would have its influence on the proposed talks in July also. It should be further hoped that the progress made in the secretary-level talks would continue during the foreign ministers' meeting, and also thereafter.

India-Pakistan Cricket Diplomacy

Soon after the finalization of the 2011 ICC World Cup Cricket semifinal match between India and Pakistan, political activities got escalated. Negotiation between home secretaries started and there was a consensus on certain issues. At least because of cricket, some progress took place, otherwise there was a stalemate.

The impasse was because of Pakistan's non-cooperation and India's insistence on stoppage of terror acts before talks. How terrorism has infiltrated and infected the Pakistani culture, its elimination before opening up the dialogue was not possible, hence Pakistan was procrastinating. Now the deadlock seems to be broken and the parleys will go ahead, to solve the old problems.

Pertaining to Extremism

It has been agreed that visa procedures will be made easier by setting up joint working group and a hotline will be established between home secretaries to exchange quick information pertaining to extremism. The parleys have been assessed as positive as both countries have resolved to extirpate terrorism and the permission has been granted to Indian Investigation Commission to visit Pakistan. In turn, Pakistan was informed about the progress in the Samjhauta Express investigations. This means efforts are being made from both sides to neutralize terrorism.

The secretary level talks have paved way for the prime minister-level talks. It was the wisdom of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to invite Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to witness the match, which was largely welcomed.

Mental Bankruptcy

The tension between the countries will start decreasing while the two prime ministers will watch the match together on 30 March. This will be the occasion when representatives of the two countries will be seen together in a mirthful atmosphere, though this will not be a good omen for bad wishers.

The reason extremist Hindu organization, the Shiv Sena, has criticized Mammohan Singh by saying that if he has so much love for Pakistan then he should have invited and sent two tickets to Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru in prison, to watch the match sitting beside them. This statement of Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Rawat proves his mental bankruptcy.

Hindu Terrorists' Involvement

Its politics is based on hatred and aversion. Earlier, there were reports of Shiv Sena's discreet association with Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence. Some names were mentioned, though not confirmed. If investigations intensify about Hindu terrorists' involvement in blast cases, more facts may crop up.

The flurry of the Shiv Sena may be the result of its apprehension that the two sides will neutralize the terror network. Like the Shiv Sena, in Pakistan also there are elements who do not like Gilani's visit to India. They also apprehend such dangers. However, peace-loving common people of both countries are happy with the move. May God keep the evil eye away.

ECOWAS Summit

Heads of State from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held its 39th summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, from 23 to 24 March. The summit decided to assess the developments in Cote d'Ivoire and chart the way forward for the regional organization. In a communiqué after the Summit, ECOWAS called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to adopt strict sanctions against Laurent Gbagbo made a request of the UNSC 'to strengthen the mandate of the UN operation in Cote d'Ivoire enabling the mission to use all necessary means to protect life and property and to facilitate the immediate transfer of power to Alassane Ouattara.'

Objective Behind Meeting

The motivations that lie behind ECOWAS demand for a tougher UN mandate in Cote d'Ivoire must be discerned because such a move seems both worrying and commendable. They are worrying in the sense that it may be interpreted to mean that ECOWAS is extracting itself from the situation but they are also commendable because ECOWAS may just be emphasizing the plight of Ivorians to the UN. The call from ECOWAS chairman and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan comes amid disquiet over the perceived global indifference of the UN and world powers towards the plight of Ivorians and sub-Saharan Africans in general.

Lifting Sanctions Imposed on Guinea

The heads of state and governments of the ECOWAS decided to lift the sanctions imposed on Guinea, reports Guinean privately-owned Aujourd'hui en Guinee website on 26 March.

The decision to lift the sanctions followed the return to constitutional order through the effective holding of free, fair and credible elections leading to the victory of Prof Alpha Conde as president on 7 November 2010.

'While congratulating HE Alpha Conde on his victory, the heads of state and governments rendered homage to Cellou Dalein Diallo for the exemplary conduct he put up by accepting the verdict of the ballot box', statement of ECOWAS pointed out.

Political Maturity

The regional leaders commended the Guinean people for their political maturity and especially the transitional leader, Gen Sekouba Konate, for his commitment and leadership leading to the end of the transition. The leaders also rendered great homage to President Blaise Compaore for his mediation efforts in Guinea. They also expressed their gratitude for the role played by the development partners under the aegis of the International Contact Group on Guinea in the country's transitional process.

Consequently, the ECOWAS leaders decided to lift the sanctions on the country: 'In view of the restoration of the democratic governance in Guinea, the heads of state and government to lift the suspension of the Republic of Guinea namely on its participating in every decision making body of the ECOWAS and the imposition of the embargo on the delivery of arms, ammunition and military equipment to Guinea'.

Imam of Heram's Visits India

Last week, Indian Muslims were privileged to have the high priest of Kaaba in India and hear the rhetoric of Abdul Rehman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sudais, the representative of the most revered place, Kaaba. The aim of his visit to India was to participate in the Dignity of Companion Conference organized by the Jamiat ul Ulema-e Hind president, at the Ram Lila Maidan. Millions of people paid homage to him.

Message of Peace

The giant congregation was marked with spiritual delight. Each word from him was a pearl of advice. He praised the companions of the Holy Prophet in spreading the religion and advised the community to make use of electronic media in spreading the message of peace.

Dignity of Companions Conference

On 25 March, after landing in India, the Imam of Heram went to visit the Darul Uloom Deoband in a helicopter, where he led the Friday prayers. The huge throng was desperately waiting for his arrival and fell in prostration before God. On his return from Deoband, after attending the Dignity of Companions Conference, he visited the head office of the Jamaat-e- Islami at Jasola Vihar. On 27 March afternoon, Saudi Ambassador Hasan Tarad hosted lunch in his honor at Hotel Taj Mahal, in which the city's dignitaries attended.

Positive Dedication

From morning to evening on 28 March, the Sheikh remained busy at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, Jama Masjid [grand mosque] Delhi. Rajya Sabha [upper house of Parliament] deputy chairman K. Rehman Khan's dinner and Abul Kalam Azad Islamic Awakening Center, Jamia Islamia, Sanabil, etc. He addressed the large gathering of people in all the above functions. Addressing the youth, including male and female, he emphasized the need to serve the country with positive dedication, simultaneously feeling pride of their being a Muslim.

Reaching at Jamia Islamia Sanabil, he expressed utter satisfaction and declared vice-chancellor, Allama Abdul Hameed Rehmani, as his teacher, mentor, and spiritual father. His three-day visit bestowed joy and strength upon Muslims in India.

West and Islamic World

Muslims are emerging as an extraordinary force in the Western countries. The large number of people accepting Islam in the West is also a proof of growing Islamic influence. The rising number of Muslims has terrified the leaders of the West. However, the more worrying factor for them is that their own citizens are interested in learning about the Islamic faith more than anybody else. This quest for knowledge brings them closer to Islam and soon comes the time for conversion to Islam.

Growing Problems The biggest problem facing Muslims of the West has to do with the survival and protection of their religious character and identity. The young generation of Muslims that has been brought up in the West is significantly influenced by the Western culture and values. It is very hard for the elders to save their children from the Western influence.

Parents of children, who have been brought up with the Western values, find it difficult to get their kids accustomed to Islamic traditions and then convince them to follow those traditions. This is especially true at a time when the West has joined forces to start a campaign against the Muslims in the name of war against terrorism and extremism.

Goal for Muslim Campaigns are being carried out against Muslims in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Under these circumstances, an important point to ponder on for Muslims is how to save their children from the harmful effects of the Western education and environment, so that they are not influenced by the Western culture. They want their children to be saved from the Western values and traditions despite being brought up there. At the moment, the most important goal for the Muslim of the West should be to provide Islamic education to their children to save them from the Western influence. For this purpose, more religious seminaries should be established so that the Muslim children can get accustomed to Islam teachings. Muslims of the West can only stay away from the Western culture by promoting the Islamic faith and ethics.

However, steps are being taken to impose sanctions on the Islamic seminaries and centers in the name of campaign against terrorism and extremism in the West. But reports that depict the truth and are based on the fact that the Muslims have nothing to do with terrorism are completely ignored. The people of the West are themselves behind the acts of terrorism in the Western society, but it is Muslims who are being targeted due to discrimination and narrow-mindedness.

Forced Thinking and Ideology At the moment, a tussle is going on between the secular powers and Islamic leaders. The Western and European countries are trying to force their own ideology and way of thinking on Islamic scholars. The German Government has voluntarily introduced courses for Islamic scholars and orders have been issued to take action against those scholars who do not attend these courses.

The surprising part is that the German parliament has included lectures from the Christian and Jewish religious leaders in the courses designed by the German Government for Islamic scholars. This is done with the intention of modernizing Islam just like Christianity and Judaism, so that a liberal version of Islam can reach the general public through the clerics at the mosque. According to a statement issued by the German prime minister, $5.6 million will be spent during the next five years to send Islamic scholars to attend courses at the University of Tübingen, the University of Rosenburg and the University of Munster.

The Measures It is the rise of Islam that has forced the West to introduce measures like these. The scholars, who have been brainwashed by the West, will only spread a version of Islam that is either incorrect or influenced by the Western values.

Under these worrying circumstances, it is a major responsibility of the Islamic World, particularly the scholars of the Islamic World, to guide Muslims of the West and confront the negative propaganda by the Western and Zionist media. It is important that Islam is presented in its correct form, so that all the efforts of the West to change the true face of Islam are foiled.

New Interpretation of Retaliation or Blood Money

Qisas is an Arabic word, the Urdu equivalent of which is Khoon baha. It is that money which is paid as compensation to the relatives of slain by the assassins. Islamic jurisprudence permits this compensation or blood money but under strict conditions, such as the relatives or heirs must accept it voluntarily. No force or pressure can be applied.

Today there are diverse opinions on it. While some consider it okay, others say it is archaic. Including the United States, capital punishment is prescribed for murder. In certain conditions, it is converted to life imprisonment.

Practice of Capital Punishment In many countries, voices are being raised against the practice of capital punishment, but no one thinks about the agony of the heirs in the event of the death of their bread earner. In that sense, blood money system is justified. In certain condition, the death penalty given to the assassin is fruitless for the heirs. Therefore, certain civilized societies besides handing the punishment also prescribe fine on the assassin.

The debate of blood money has once again surfaced when US man Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis. David was arrested and produced before the court, but this case became an issue between Pakistan and the United States, who asked for his release on the pretext of immunity to diplomat. Pakistan officials did not agree to this condition, saying that Raymond is a CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) agent, who has to be punished. This was on one side a prestige issue for the United States and on the other, Pakistan knew that the public which is already against the United States will further get agitated. Hence, this mediocre system was adopted and a heavy amount of $4 million per slain victim was finalized as compensation. Soon after this, Raymond was released and sent back to the United States.

Approval of Islamic Laws Although, the rich alone can afford such arrangement, rich people, without paying any compensation to the victim's family, often manage to hush up the case by greasing the palms of police and engaging great legal brains and go scot-free. In this case, the diplomatic relations between the countries remained intact.

The two parties, the Jamaat-e-Islami and Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf, are planning countrywide protests against this decision, whereas, this has the approval of Islamic laws. Do not they believe in this law? Surprisingly, in this case, the mediator was Saudi Arabia. In the present matter, the sentiments of the families of the slain would be similar to that of Jahangir's.

Japan Mishap Jolts US, Europe

The destruction of nuclear establishments after the recent earthquake in Japan has not only created problems for Japan but has also troubled several other countries having such establishments. It is said that nuclear energy is an unavoidable necessity. It provides maximum energy needs. That is why every country worth of it is floundering to have this facility. Today, nuclear reactors are spread across the world. Currently, there are around 441 working nuclear reactors across the world. This does not include many more under construction reactors. Until January 2010, there were 60 reactors under construction.

Security Reasons
There are 30 countries in which nuclear plants are working. There are over 100 plants that have been closed down for many reasons. In the United States, there are over 150 nuclear plants, half of which are over 30 years old. In the United States, certain plants were created for security reasons, on which work was started in 1950's.

The first nuclear power plant of the United States started in 1955, which was closed down in 1974. The reason for its closure was lack of emergency cooling system. In Europe also, over 150 nuclear plants are working, whereas dozens more European countries are planning to establish new plants.

Corrosive Process
In addition to the above, there are hundreds of laboratories where experimental work on nuclear energy is under way. Apart from the United States and Europe, Russia is one such country having numerous plants. From geographical viewpoint, Russia comes under Europe but in power block it is counted separately as an axis power. China and Japan also have constructed dozens of plants for getting energy. Although all such countries have made concrete arrangements for their safety and there are guidelines from the United Nations, still doubts persist on their safety.

Nuclear energy, which on one side has been made an unavoidable necessity, carries dangerous proportions as it is secured through a corrosive process. It is such a deadly process that even a minor fault can endanger the existence of the earth. Human beings have experienced its deadly effects still the work is going on.

The powers who have invented this dangerous technology have used it for anti-human and suppression purposes as well. When the victims of such suppression tried to develop this technology to contain the oppression, they were restrained. All this created an uneasy situation. This way the process of oppression and counter oppression kept on going.

Steps Toward Safety
Now the occurrence of Japan has cautioned all that they have invited plethora of problems for themselves. The United States and Europe made it a business by developing such technology for third world countries. Today, the plants existing in the third world are their gift of death. They invited risk not only for themselves but for others also.

Now after the Japan incident, the United States and Europe are aghast of it. The US citizens and Europeans are now emphasizing their respective governments to take prophylactic steps toward safety of these plants.

WikiLeaks Revelations and BJP

The same Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which targeted the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and demanded the prime minister's resignation, on revelations made by WikiLeaks relating to the cash-for-vote issue finds itself in a great quandary over the latest WikiLeaks revelations. While this provided great solace to the Congress, the BJP was forced to look the other way and to cut a sorry figure.

India-US Civil Nuclear Deal
In its latest expose, WikiLeaks has brought the BJP to stand trial. It can be safely assessed from the latest expose how greatly pro-United States the BJP is, which castigated the Congress and the UPA government toeing the US line. The fresh expose by WikiLeaks reveals that the BJP opposition to the India-US civil nuclear deal during 2008 was a mere ploy aimed at gaining political mileage out of the situation. According to WikiLeaks, BJP leaders had assured US officials that the BJP's opposition to the deal in public was only a political move, and the BJP was doing so to gain an upper hand over the UPA. The BJP leadership further assured the United States that should it come to power, it would do no harm to the India-US nuclear deal.

According to the expose, a member of the BJP executive committee and a prominent RSS leader Sheshadari, had told a US official in 2005 that the United States should not attempt to read between the lines to draw conclusion from the party's political resolution on foreign affairs. It is pertinent to note that the BJP in its above-cited resolution had accused the former UPA government of succumbing to US pressure, and following US dictates. While clarifying the BJP stand, Sheshadri told the US official that whatever was said in that resolution was merely to gain political mileage.

Deriving Political Mileage
One wonders that if the BJP was opposing the nuclear deal just for the sake of opposition, and to derive political mileage, was the BJP not misleading the country? True that after the Left withdrew support from the UPA on the issue of the nuclear deal with the United States, speculations on midterm election were rife, and the BJP was desirous of utilizing the opportunity to return to power at the central level. This attempt was clearly aimed at creating instability in the country, and forcing the nation to bear the huge expenditure of midterm election unnecessarily. At the same time, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its allies) continued to assure the United States clandestinely of their loyalty to the United States and support to the nuclear deal.

WikiLeaks has further revealed in the same vein that during 2009, the in charge of the US Embassy Peter Burleigh, after his meeting with L.K. Advani, informed Washington that the BJP leadership did not intend to pay greater attention to opposition to the nuclear deal yet again. The situation, emerging later, stands witness that though the BJP did not change its stance (of opposing the deal) in public, yet it never opposed it either.

This makes it clear that the same BJP, which goes all out against the UPA by accusing the government of being pro-United States, does not leg behind in US worship. The situation is a great solace for both the Congress and the UPA that it got an opportunity to beat the BJP with the same stick with which the BJP was beating it. It is, perhaps, because of it that the party (Congress) said, while reacting to the fresh expose, that it was the BJP's turn to be targeted. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari sarcastically said that the BJP had taken the WikiLeaks expose as holy political scriptures, but the Congress attached no more importance to it than being mere speculation.

Matter of Grave Concern
It is, however, of no importance who won or who lost on this particular issue. The basic issue, however, is the WikiLeaks revelations, despite having several loopholes and contradictions. Some of the expose, despite having the possibility of being incorrect, is not entirely untrue.

If even an iota of the expose is based on fact or truth, it goes to prove that the BJP that cheated people on the nuclear deal, or the Congress may oppose each other, but both of them stand on the same plank in the matter of worshipping the United States. This kind of a situation is a matter of grave concern for the entire country indeed.

Pakistan-China Bilateral Relations

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian has said that India is acquiring weapons on a large-scale by declaring China a threat. We have a close eye on the entire situation and our policy on Kashmir will not change. He said that India was making war preparations not only against China but also against Pakistan.

Defense Cooperation
The borders of China are safe from the Indian aggression. However it has deployed squads of fighter airplanes along the Pakistani border and the direction of its cannons is also toward Pakistan. India is the world's largest arms importer. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France which claim to be friends of Pakistan are supplying both conventional and unconventional weapons to New Delhi. China has withstood Pakistan in all difficult times and it is also playing an important role in the development of Pakistan. Its stance on Kashmir dispute is steadfast and firmer than the incumbent rulers of Pakistan. China is still pursuing the policy of not issuing Indian passports to the Kashmiri people.

Stronger Partnership
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jian said that Beijing was working on 20 strategically important projects in Pakistan and more than 10,000 Chinese nationals are engaged in these projects. The Chinese ambassador also complained that innumerable Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have been signed between Pakistan and China, but no significant progress had been made to implement them.

Keeping in view the stance of United States, Pakistan should have determined its priorities by now. China is our all-weathered and trustworthy friend. Both the countries have common enemies. Why should not we establish a stronger partnership with China by parting ways with the United States, an enemy in the guise of a friend? What needs to be done on priority basis is that progress should be made on the MoUs already signed between the two countries.

UN Resolution Against Libya

With the authorization of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the allied forces spearheaded by the United States, France and the United Kingdom launched their large-scale military actions against the military of Muanmmar Gaddafi's regime starting from 19 March.

Ever since the outburst of the massive demonstrations against the authoritarian rule of Gaddafi in Libya, Gaddafi has been taking actions against the dissidents with high-handed crackdown, which include attacking unarmed demonstrators using fighter jets. In the ensuing military actions against the areas controlled by the revolutionist forces, his military have shown no mercy to innocent civilians as well.

Disdainful and Bloody Massacres
Although Libya is a sovereign country, the disdainful and bloody massacres committed by Gaddafi's forces have violated the fundamental values and beliefs commonly recognized by the modern society. The UNSC passed a resolution on 17 March, which approves setting up a no-fly zone in Libya and authorizes the international community to take any necessary measure to protect the Libyan civilians and their residential areas from the threat of armed attacks. We believe that Russia and China, which always insists on the principle of non-interference, had abstained instead of vetoing the resolution this time out of the consideration that the main objective of the UNSC resolution is to protect the common people in Libya. It was also because of this reason that Singapore had made the stance to support the UNSC resolution.

The allied forces have resorted to cruise missiles and combat jets to destroy the air defense system of Gaddafi's military based on the reason that the latter has violated the ceasefire resolution of the UNSC by continuing its attacks against places controlled by the revolutionary forces such as Benghazi. The action is to stop Gaddafi's military from killing or hurting Libyan civilians in their attacks. If we examine from this perspective, the military actions of the allied forces can be considered a justifiable move.

However, it is easy to start the attacks but it is hard to bring it to an end. The UNSC resolution only agrees on setting up a no-fly zone, protecting civilians and imposing harsher sanctions on Libya such as arms embargo and asset freeze. The resolution does not authorize the allied forces to deploy their ground forces to occupy Libya. Under such circumstances, should Gaddafi's military disregard the UNSC resolution and continue their actions in wiping out the revolutionary forces, it seems that the allied forces would have no other more effective measures besides launching 'surgery-style combat' against ground targets in Libya.

If the allied forces accidentally hurt some Libyan civilians who happen to be Gaddafi's supporters, it will not only go against the spirit of the UNSC resolution; instead, such accident will will also be an issue that Gaddafi can utilize to rally pan-Arabic nationalist sentiment in the Arabic world to counter the West.

In fact, Gaddafi has begun to do so. The Arab League was the organization that proposed to set up a no-fly zone in the airspace of Libya initially. Now the secretary-general of the organization Amr Moussa has openly criticized the military actions of the allied forces. He said that 'what happen now in Libya has violated the objectives of setting up a no-fly zone. We need protection of the civilians, not bombings on more civilians.'

Disagreement Within EU
There is also disagreement within the European Union (EU). German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle defended his country's abstention in the vote on the UNSC resolution by citing the criticism of the Arab League on the military actions against Libya. He said that Germany is right to adopt a reserved stance on this issue.

It is hard for the allied forces to continue their military actions if they do not have the support from the Arab League. In addition, US President Barack Obama has earlier stated that launching military actions was not his first choice; while the US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also said yesterday that the United States will recede in the coming few days (he stressed repeatedly earlier that the United States would not deploy any ground forces to Libya) and will pass over the command authority to the United Kingdom and France. Judging from these signs, the United States does not want to see aggravation of the situation and has no intention to make Libya a 'second Iraq' or 'second Afghanistan' that will get the US military into a big trouble.

Future Step
Considering various factors such as the lack of adequate authorization from the UNSC, the objection of the Arab League, the absence of consensus among the EU and the reluctance of the United States to lead for long term, it seems that the allied forces' military actions against Libya are just a temporary measure. It is rather unlikely that it will develop into a long war.

The military actions over the past few days should have weakened Gaddafi's military strength to some extent. The next step should be diplomatic actions. They should attempt to persuade Gaddafi to resolve domestic conflicts in a peaceful manner as much as possible. But will there be any effect? We can only observe the subsequent development. After all this is an internal issue of Libya, eventually the Libyan people have to resolve it themselves.

Attack on Libya: West To Repeat Mistakes

The allied forces headed by France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched air attacks against the military base of the Libyan Government a few days ago. More than a hundred of missiles were fired over the course of several attacks. From early March until today, the US government has been hesitant over the matter whether or not it should launch military attacks against Libya.

Apparently, US President Barack Obama has taken into consideration how the Islamic world will view the United States if the country starts the third battleground now while the two wars the United States has involved in Iraq and Afghanistan have yet to come to an end. Will all the previous efforts Obama has taken since he assumed the presidency to restore the relations with the Islamic world go in vain?

Unwanted Troubles
The world may not remember. The day the allied forces fiercely fired missiles against Libya was also the 8th anniversary of the attacks of the US-UK allied forces against Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime. Eight years have passed since the battle in Iraq subsided. But the pains and wounds that war has brought to the people of the United States and the United Kingdom have not gone away completely as time goes by.

If we look at the statistics, the United States and the United Kingdom had mobilized nearly 1 million troops and spent $420 billion on the war. Close to 4,000 troops of the allied forces killed in the war while the death toll of the Iraqi Government troops is 14,000. On top of that, more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed or wounded in the war. From the perspective of the social cost, the two countries had not only gone to war in Middle East afar, a "civil war" was also in full swing back home. The upsurge in the anti-war campaign posed the most severe crisis to the United States and the United Kingdom since the Second World War. The opposition between the people and the government became increasingly intense.

Change of Security Order
From the perspective of the national strength, the vain involvement in a war in a foreign country that lasted for years has seriously jeopardized the national strength and international reputation of the two countries. The "Kingdom of Dollar" has turned into a "sick giant." From the perspective of international relations, the allegation that "Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction" was proven a lie. It has become a total test to the capability of the United States as the "defender of the world of freedom" and the "world police." The country's defense pledges to its allies became dubious. The change of the security order in Middle East has affected the strategic situation of the entire world.

At best, the decision of George W. Bush and Tony Blair to get involved in the Iraq War was a natural reaction to a "domino effect". The United States and the United Kingdom were worried that Saddam would control the strategic interest of the oil resources in Middle East once his power expanded. The decision-makers in White House proposed that Saddam was a strategic design of Russia and China in their plan to expand their Great Middle East Oil Strategy, the ultimate goal of which was to control Middle East. The United States and the United Kingdom strongly believed that they would definitely put down the internal strife in Iraq and win the war within a short period given the most modernized weapons and equipments of the allied forces. Ironically, the two countries had never devised a feasible Iraq War blueprint with a set of unambiguous goals.

Series of Mistakes
Militarily, their strategic arrangement was inappropriate, their tactics were bad, the efficacy of their high technology military equipments was limited and they landed in a passive position in so many aspects. The Iraq War was a non-traditional war - there was no frontier and their enemies were not readily visible. Politically, the United States and the United Kingdom had restricted themselves. First, they failed to end a war by waging another war; second, they did not want to overly offense other Middle Eastern countries. The two countries could not get out of the dilemma of peace or war; instead they became more and more entangled. They overthrew Saddam Hussein but failed to establish an Iraqi government that has the support of the Iraqi people. Both US- and UK-backed Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are not leaders with top qualities; instead they are fraught with corruption. They have no way to clean up the mess.

The Iraq strategy of the US and British Governments designed under the mentality of anti-terrorism was founded on ignorance, arrogance and a series of mistakes. They misjudged the intentions of Russia and China and the relations between the Shiite and Sunni sects; they underestimated the determination of the Shiite to commit in an armed confrontation and the combat capability of Al-Qaeda.

The United States and the United Kingdom knew nothing about the history, politics, society and culture of Middle East and did not have any expert on the issues of Iraq. They made a hasty "upholding justice" move in a completely strange country as the world police. Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, who had served in the Bush administration as high-level officials, have broken the silence one after another by openly admitting that the US involvement in the Iraq War was a "big mistake." Because of the mistake and muddled thinking of the decision-making system, the United States experienced a defeat after the Vietnam War. The Iraq War and the collective lie of the Bush administration have totally changed the political and spiritual conditions of the United States.

Man-Made Calamities
The US people should be able to learn their lessons from the bitter experience of the Iraq War. They should draw wisdom from the history and avoid making the same mistakes. Unexpectedly, while the flames of war in Iraq have yet to cease, the United States and the United Kingdom once again plunge into another vortex of unmeasurable depth. Apparently, the Americans and British have not gained better knowledge and understanding about themselves from the painful outcome of the Iraq War. They have not learned that the powers of their countries are actually limited and not invincible. In other words, the United States and the United Kingdom have not learned their lessons from their defeat in the Iraq War!

To be fair, in the tragedy of war, the defeated party of course gains no fame, but the winner has to pay a heavy moral price, too. The second decade of the new century has just begun, the new world order is not established yet. Genocide, terrorism, various forms of natural disasters and man-made calamities are found all over the world. Obviously the human race is still not able to get out of the plight of conflicts and disasters. As we enter into the 8th anniversary of the Iraq War, it is time for all human beings to reflect on how to get rid of war and save themselves out of disasters.

Terrorism: Need To Move Against Perpetrators

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) says that the government referring to Hindu organizations as terrorists is a very dangerous trend. In the inaugural session of the Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha (All India--Organisation), its general secretary Joshi, while addressing the media persons, said that for political compulsions Hindu organizations were being referred to as communal and blamed for terrorism. This is a very dangerous trend.

It may be noted that the Akhil Bhartiya is considered the foremost organization of the RSS for formulating policy. A shocking revelation that has been made is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not the political arm of the RSS. In the same breath, the BJP has been instructed to clean up its corruption act. The RSS has announced that it is struggling against corruption.

Terrorism Factor
As far as terrorism is concerned, if the RSS can produce concrete proof that it is free from corruption, then it should be welcomed. But nothing of the sort has happened. Bomb explosions and acts of terrorism to instill fear have been spreading without doubt. The investigating agency has reached the conclusion that ultimately it is the Muslims and Muslims alone who are responsible for terror. Their minds had been made up regarding this before fully investigating the matter. Therefore, as soon as explosions took place Muslims are rounded up and put in prison without a second thought.

Responsible officers were worried that if this was true that Muslims alone were responsible for the evil acts, then with the indiscriminate arrests of Muslims, the explosions would have stopped long ago. This line of thinking was suggested by former Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare. He changed the direction of the thinking and pointed it to the right direction and in a state of panic the investigations were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This was followed by the arrest of Swami Aseemanand and his subsequent confession that it was revealed that Hindus and Hindus alone were involved in terrorist activities attached to various organizations.

Malegaon Attacks
The CBI has informed that one of the accused was still in prison at the time of the Malegaon attacks, while another was many kilometers away when the attacks took place and was in the mosque, in the village, saying his Friday prayers. The CBI also told the court that these two accused were locked up without investigating the charges. Now the question is will someone tell or should we. The investigations are still under way. Now there is no doubt that Hindu organizations are involved in these acts of terror.

Soon after independence, it was claimed that Hindu organizations only have been creating communal riots, with the help of the police and the administration. These acts have been blamed on the defeated Muslims. The thousands of riots that have taken place after independence are sufficient proof of this. All prove that the canard against Muslims began when George W. Bush was the US president. It was then that Indian Muslims were labeled as terrorists. Now that Hindu organizations have been exposed, all are trying to brainwash innocent citizens that this lie is indeed the truth.

Demand of Situation
What is important is that our leaders should understand that by pushing innocent Muslims and putting them in prison is not going to solve anything. Muslims also are honorable citizens of this country. Punishment to all those who bring false charges against Muslims, knowing well that they are innocent, is the foremost demand of the situation. Protecting life, honor, and property is the foremost duty of the state. This is extremely important.

WikiLeaks Expose Creates Trouble for UPA Government, BJP

The WikiLeaks expose has proved a headache to several countries in the world, including the United States. It has now come out with some fresh expose, which have added to the woes of the Manmohan Singh government. Although these expose are self-contradictory, which make their veracity doubtful, yet they have created a new problem for the government, which already was under constant attacks by the opposition.

The fresh expose by the WikiLeaks relate to the first term of the United Progressive Alliance government. When the Left Front withdrew support to the then Manmohan Singh government in 2008 on the issue of the India-US civilian nuclear deal, the government, alleges the WikiLeaks, paid bribes to several MPs to get their votes in favor of the confidence motion, and to prove its majority on the floor of the house. The relations between the Manmohan Singh government and the Left Front had soured over the India-US civilian nuclear deal.

The strong objection and opposition to the deal by the Left and withdrawal of its support, led to the apprehension of a midterm election. The government had to work hard to win the majority to its side in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament). In the end, the government was saved. During a trust vote, it usually happens that parties accuse one another of getting vote by paying money. The same happened in this case too. The opposition including the Left accused the government of buying votes to save itself. During 2008, opposition parties had flashed wades of currency notes in Parliament claiming that they have been paid by the government to buy votes in favor of the trust motion.

Constitution of Joint Parliamentary Committee
A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was then constituted to probe the issue, which, in its report, brought the issue to an end. The WikiLeaks information has yet again resurrected the dead issue. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even went so far as to demand the resignation of the prime minister. The most important aspect of the issue is that the government has refused either to confirm or to deny the latest revelation by WikiLeaks.

According to WikiLeaks, the then US Charge’D Affairs in India Peter Burleigh conveyed to Washington that the BJP’s opposition to the nuclear deal was merely 'public posturing' and its leaders, including L.K. Advani, were 'assuring American officials privately that they were fine with it.'

Double Standard of BJP
Interestingly, Advani, in his blog, attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for maintaining that his government and the Congress stood vindicated against the allegations about 'cash for votes' by the 2009 General Election verdict.

The BJP leader also commended fellow party leader and former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh for attacking India’s foreign policy tilt towards the US. But not a word is there about the latest WikiLeaks cables.

Meanwhile, the Congress, which had borne the brunt of Opposition attacks because of WikiLeaks cables, appeared clearly pleased with the latest expose. The party wasted no time in scoring brownie points over arch rival BJP, asking the saffron party to apply to itself the same standards it had adopted for the government when it was disrupting Parliament over the past few days.

The government maintains that since the issue relates to the last Parliament and it mentions the correspondence of a sovereign country, the United States and its mission in Delhi, it cannot be discussed. It says the mission enjoys immunity under diplomatic rules and the messages referred to by WikiLeaks can neither be confirmed nor denied. Clearly, the opposition is not satisfied with the clarification made by the government. These parties claim that since the crime has been committed within the borders of the country and Indians were involved in the crime, the government should come out clean on it.

Matter of Conjecture
It is a matter of conjecture, which way the wind will blow, consequent on the confrontation between the opposition and the government on the WikiLeaks expose. The statement made by Ajit Singh in this connection could be a matter of great solace to the government. Ajit Singh has refuted the charge of vote for money against his party in the Parliament. He said he had categorically announced to vote against the government, which his party men did.

Howver, former Union minister and a Congress party leader, Satish Sharma claims that Nachiketa Kapoor, mentioned in the expose by WikiLeaks, as his personal secretary, had never been his personal secretary. Clearly, there are several contradictions in the WikiLeaks expose. It, however, proves how greatly the United States is interested in the internal affairs of India and what kind of relations are there between the United Progressive Alliance government and the United States. For the opposition, this facet of the expose is no less important indeed. It appears that until the elections for the five state assemblies are over, the government would have to continue to face strong attacks from the opposition.

Catastrophe in Japan: A Matter of Concern

Mankind may make tall claims of scientific and materialistic progress, but if providence gets annoyed and gives mankind even a slightest jolt, all claims of progress and development come crumbling down like a house of cards. Man's tall claims appear hollow and baseless. Facing the wrath of the Almighty, man realizes that all his hard toil to protect himself from an emergency situation is of no use. Luxuries of life, scientific inventions, all are fragile and incompetent to ward off destruction. He is forced to ponder how helpless mankind is in the face of the nature's fury.

Man usually forgets it while competing in the race of scientific and materialistic progress that in the system of the universe, as designed by nature, he is nothing more than a grain of sand and dust. If man attempts to tinker with rules of nature and strives to cause damage to it, he would have to bear the consequences in the form of huge devastation and destruction.

Motivating Factor
Although earthquakes, typhoons floods, tsunami, cloudburst, draught, famine endemic and epidemic diseases, and other natural disasters usually motivate us to turn to Almighty God, the creator of the universe, they also make man realize that these are admonishment from the Almighty to mend our ways. The gigantic tsunami rising to the skies, blasts and fire in nuclear reactors, and leakage of nuclear radiation in Japan have caused heavy damage. At the same time, it teaches a lesson those in love with nuclear energy and scientific and materialistic progress.

It is indeed a time to ponder seriously whether they should continue to depend on nuclear energy, or should give it up. Reportedly, some developed nations have, in view of the devastation in Japan, decided to give up their plans and designs for nuclear energy, or have decided to close down present nuclear plants.

Current Situation
The current situation is that Japan not only continues to jolt under earthquakes, the number of those killed in the quake or tsunami is on the rise. Leakage of nuclear radiation continues unabated there. Since 11 March, more than 200 jolts of the magnitude of 5 or less on the Richter scale have been recorded in north and central Japan.

The people living in the capital Tokyo have had to face several aftershocks of the magnitude of 6 or more. Meanwhile, snowfall since 15 March in the quake and tsunami-affected areas has made life difficult for people. It has further escalated the threat of spread of nuclear radiation. Nuclear experts maintain that last efforts are on in the nuclear complex to avert the worst ever-industrial calamity.

The French Nuclear Safety Authority has warned that the next 48 hours would be decisive, as all attempts to address the problem have proved futile so far. According to a British newspaper, The Mail, France has even claimed that the Japan's Government has lost control of administration, and Japan is striving to hide the seriousness of the situation from the world. Latest details reveal that nuclear leakage from the Fukushima nuclear plant has reached even the Russian city of Vladivostok.

Apprehension in India
Senior environmentalists and scientists in India have assured people that the country faces no threat from nuclear radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant. They have added that there is no apprehension either that radiation may reach India through rain or air. Minister for Science and Technology Ashwini Kumar has also reiterated that India faces no threat from the leakage of nuclear radiation from Japan, as radiation is heading toward the eastern region and that there is a huge distance between India and Japan's ill-fated nuclear plant.

Meanwhile, people of Jaitapur in Maharashtra, where a nuclear energy plant of 9,900 MW capacity is to be set up, have intensified their protest against it. It may be recalled that the Jaitapur area falls under the third category seismic zone.

Measures To Be Adopted
According to statistics of the Geological Survey of India, between 1985 and 2005, there have been 92 earthquakes there. The quake that jolted Jaitapur in 1993 was of 6.2 intensity. Geologists and social workers believe that land in Jaitapur is not stable and should an earthquake occur, it cannot be guaranteed that measures to be adopted by the government for safety of the proposed plant and people there would be able to protect them, and the sensitive Konkani coastal area from a possible nuclear disaster. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said the government was seriously considering to initiate some more environmental and protective measures for the proposed nuclear plant at Jaitapur, as well as nuclear plants in other parts of the country.

It must be borne in mind that 40 percent of the world's population lives within a radius of 100-km from the coast, and the population there continues to rise. In India also, 23 percent of our population resides within a 100-km radius of seacoast, while 35 percent of Indian population resides and lives within a radius of 200-km from seacoast.

Will There Also Be Voice for Change in India?

After Tunisia and Egypt, in many Western-styled democratic countries questions are being raised whether the people of these so-called democratic countries should voice against wayward leaders. According to Bhaskar Ghosh (Frontline 28 February), in India itself all those agonies and problems are faced by people that are faced by the people in Egypt. Prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing, unemployment is on its peak and the scams and black deeds of corrupt leaders are getting exposed.

Existing Problem
The problem in India is that there are very few honest people in the seat of power. The ruling party and the opposition, both are alike in respect of wealth accumulating and nepotism. Interestingly these corrupt people are lawmakers themselves. They increase their salaries whenever they like and can throw any rule or regulation pertaining to the qualifications and morale standards fixed for contestants of the election. They can purchase the will of people by showing the magic of the wealth. There is no restriction on them of any kind.

RSS Venom Against Muslims
How can a revolution come to India, when the country is unfortunately divided on religion, region, caste, creed, and color? In addition to the above, Muslims here are in minority and there is a large majority of communal class who spews the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) venom against Muslims and wants to crush them in all walks of life. This majority class, forgetting values and humanity, has engaged itself in plunder of wealth. Rejecting the pious traditions of Mahatma Gandhi's truthfulness and non-violence, they have adopted the morbid theories of Vir Savarkar and Nathu Ram Godse. Under these circumstances, they cannot be united to raise voice against any ailing system.

During the period of Jai Prakash Narayan, the entire nation had stood up against Indira Gandhi but after sometime, she again came to power and in the name of democracy, the same family rule came into existence. In this country, efforts were desperately made to introduce a third power but in vain. Hence, the minorities to avoid the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were unwillingly forced to vote for the Congress party, which is itself is a party of transgressors and ambidextrous politicians.

Voice for Proper Representation
Now the question arises who should streamline the procedures of public representation, as characterless and criminal persons are sitting as public representatives. Why should they be ready for election reforms, as the voice for proper representation was raised, but they did not agree to it? A large section of people are themselves involved in corruption, hence they do not mind seeing their leaders corrupt as well.

There exists no organization or leadership for bringing amelioration or revolution. All of them content on rallies and congregations. Not one of them has the capability like Egyptians to bring revolution in just 18 days.

Post-Disaster Economic Impact of Japan on International Community

Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster has led to radiation spewing out from the damaged nuclear reactors after explosions. The economic impact of the post-disaster has led to Tokyo's share market dropped by 16 percent in the past two days. Since investors have massively withdrawn from the Japanese stocks, the trading volume by investors to withdraw their shares from the Japanese stock market in the past two days was the highest since the Second World War.

While, the Asian share market could not avoid being dragged by the Japanese share market, the share market in the United States and European countries also could not avoid being affected. All of a sudden, the global share market turns color and becomes weak. The economic response to Japan's natural disaster is gradually fermenting.

Financial and Property Damage
According to expert prediction, the financial and property damage caused by this round of earthquake and tsunami in Japan can easily be at least above $150 billion. Moreover, new financial damaging figure has continued to pour in. Some estimated that the financial damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami is about three percent of Japan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010. Besides, the Japanese capital will soon become very tight, interest rate will rise while national consumption power will decline; and all Japanese export manufacturers will suffer losses.

The United States will of course bear the brunt of it. Taking into account the economic prospects for the future of Japan, the United States will likely to take the lead to withdraw its capital fund from Japan. This can result in the fall of Japan's stock market in a breaching manner. As it stands, quite a lot of fund managers have already invested in the Japanese shares. Nevertheless, when the Japanese stock market changes color after the earthquake, the fund redemption actions taken by the fund managers have also drastically been increased. In order to keep cash and in order to carry out fund redemption operations for their clients, the fund managers have no choice but to sell their Japanese stocks to maintain their cash flow. As such, when the Japanese share dropped drastically in the past two days, it triggered a chain reaction on the global stock market. This can exacerbate the decline in the Japanese and global share market. Japan also has large investments in the United States; it has now become an imperative for Japan to pull back its investment in the United States to rescue its stock market.

Negative Impact on Economy
Ever since Japan suffered the massive earthquake and tsunami, Japan has been quite cautious in reporting the damage caused by the calamity to prevent negative impact on its economy. Japan's Nomura Securities estimated the losses because of the disaster as $100 billion only. Meanwhile the Central Bank of Japan has taken the lead to announce the injection of $ 183 billion to the market in order to stabilize Japan's financial market. The Central Bank of Japan also hopes that Japan's banking system can release larger amount of fund to satisfy the capital demand of Japan's post-disaster economy and to further stabilize the country's economy. In the days to come, we can expect the Japanese Government to adopt a control mechanism to monitor the prices of oil, steel, cement, glass, food, as well as prices of daily necessities.

Yet more and more bad news is coming out from Japan's domestic scene without ceasing. The strong earthquake in Japan has severely damaged some crucial nuclear power plants as well as Japan's local enterprises and factories in various sectors resulting in an acute shortage of electricity supply. Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, might have to reduce its production to by at least 40,000 Toyota vehicles. When the Toyota plant in the disaster affected area stops operation, the daily profit of Toyota might reduce by $72 million. Other Japanese car makers such Nissan, Honda will also be affected.

The earthquake and tsunami affected disaster area is the base for the Japanese electronics, automobile, machinery industry, especially the semiconductor industry, where the demand of the integrated circuit for large factories in the western countries is met here. When these Japanese factories are halted, the global computer production will also be affected. Moreover, if the Japanese computer manufacturers cannot get its spare parts, the computer industry in Japan can become paralyzed. In addition, the insurance companies in Japan need money to pay for compensation for damage done by the earthquake and tsunami, these insurance companies will have no choice but to pull back their overseas investment. Japan is one of the countries with highest foreign direct investment. Japan's foreign direct investment is estimated at $1,000 billion. Among them, three quarters are bonds and stocks. While it is too early to tell if this round of sharp share market drop in Japan will speed up the withdrawal of Japan's overseas capital or slow down its capital flow process, the drastic drop in the Japanese share market has already upset the original share market deployment in Japan. Fortunately, Japan's share of global GDP ratio is declining. As such the impact of Japan's stock market on global economic growth may be limited.

Asia-Pacific Markets
As for the US stock market, at this stage of time, it is also at a weak and disadvantage situation. As a matter of fact the production activities and financial resources in the West have already suffered serious dislocation. In the past few years when bank interest was low, the floating capital could not find a good ground to invest and as a result, huge amount of hot money has poured into the stock markets particularly into the new Asia-Pacific emerging markets.

With the global stock market now risen to a considerable higher level, opportunist investors will begin to feel that the high interest day will come soon and so many of them will begin to leave the stock market to reap their harvest and gains and then move to engage in other forms of investment. As a result, stock market volatility is particularly significant in the West at this moment.

Lack of Power and Water Supply
For a long period of time, Japan is Malaysia's long-term major importer of raw materials. The earthquake and tsunami affected areas in Japan are mainly tourism, agriculture and forestry industries. These are not the main areas for Malaysia to import its key industrial spare part components. Therefore, the aftermath economic impact of Japan's earthquake disaster on Malaysia should not be too great. Of note is that the industrial supply chain between Malaysia and Japan is quite close and the earthquake and tsunami have damaged part of Japan's industrial areas there.

However, we believe that as long as Malaysian manufacturers can obtain short-term industrial supplies from other countries, the economic impact of it on Malaysia is very limited. Moreover, not all Japanese auto plants are located in the earthquake disaster area. Even if these industries are located in the disaster areas, if it is only a matter of lack of power and water supply, it will only be a short-term phenomenon. As such, the relevant Malaysian industries should not be over worried about the aftermath effect of earthquake in Japan.

Spreading Economic Risk
However, it remains a fact that for a long time, Malaysia's automobile industries have heavily depended on importing auto spare parts from Japan. When the Japanese automobile industries cannot supply what Malaysia needs regularly, it will become a big headache for Malaysia. The difficult experience for the Japanese industries in supplying the needed goods and industrial spare parts to Malaysia can still be recalled vividly when Kobe suffered massive earthquake in the past. Kobe is a cargo transit port for goods coming from the Western Hemisphere for forward transit to the East. But during the Kobe earthquake, the wharf and harbor in Kobe have been destroyed. As such shipping schedules from Kobe had been disrupted resulting in surging shipping charge and hike in the cost of imported goods from Japan.

In this round of natural disaster that happened in Japan, the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami Japan encountered is much more massive and severe than that of the Kobe earthquake. In this regard, it is time for Malaysia to reduce its dependency on Japan for getting the required goods and industrial supplies. Malaysia must begin to diversify and decentralize its procurement sources so that the country can enhance its self-control over unexpected situation such as natural calamity in other countries. Malaysia must make more alternatives in its overseas procurement routes. Malaysia must guide and lead the local companies to spread the economic risk thinly to reduce the economic impact of it on the country's economy.

Setback To People's Group Fighting Terrorism in Pakista

The dissolution of 'Lashkar-e-Aman' (peace army) in Pakistan is a massive blow to the Pakistani Government and those organizations that were fighting against terrorism. Lashkar-e Aman was constituted three years ago against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Its dissolution manifests rising supremacy of terrorist elements over society in Pakistan. It also reveals that the government has failed to provide security to those who love peace.

War Against Taliban
The decision to dissolve Lashkar-e-Aman was made after the Taliban recently carried out a terrorist attack on a funeral procession, and at the time of burial of the dead body. The funeral was of a Lashkar-e-Aman activist. In the attack, 36 people were killed and 50 others were injured. Lashkar-eAman was against Taliban terrorist activities, and it was constituted to counter their activities. The Taliban had, therefore, been targeting people affiliated to Lashkar-e-Aman.

Interestingly, the group was formed with the government's approval, and had reduced the burden on the police and army indeed. Therefore, it was the government's duty to extend full cooperation to it, so that people could be saved from terrorism indulged in by Taliban in the region. It appears that the government, which continues to fail in its war against the Taliban, found it impossible to extend cooperation to Lashkar-e-Aman, and left it in the lurch to fight a lonely battle against the Taliban.

Taliban-Lashkar-e-Aman Tussle
These people had no proper arms and weapons to take on the Taliban either, and common people had no courage to provide security to activists. That is why the Taliban constantly targeted Lashkar-e-Aman. The Taliban continued to kill these activists as police and government remained silent spectators. Since both police and government failed to take any action worth its name, the decision to dissolve Lashkar-e-Aman was made.

A prominent Lashkar-e-Aman leader, Dilawar Khan, announced the dissolution of the group, and called upon people of the area to fight against terrorists on their own. He complained that Lashkar-e-Aman activists had caught several Taliban terrorists and handed them over to the government, but they are now roaming scot-free. He further complains that the government is doing precious little for the families of those killed by terrorists, and the government does not do anything, despite attacks by the Taliban. It has failed even to provide cartridges to Lashkar-e-Aman activists to fight against the Taliban.

Pressure From Taliban
These allegations may not be totally true, but there is no doubt that pro-Taliban terrorists are roaming around freely and attacking people fearlessly. All this has pushed society in Pakistan into a jungle rule. It appears that the Pakistani Government is completely helpless and can do nothing against terrorists. At the same time, the government vociferously claims to be an important US ally in the war against terrorism.

The dissolution of the anti-Taliban Lashkar-e-Aman is a matter of grave concern because as a consequence, the threat of terrorism against people of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa has increased. The dissolution further conveys the message that the government is under great pressure from the Taliban, which is a matter of greater concern indeed. It also reveals that the government has no courage to come out against them, and if a group among people musters courage to do so, it does not get cooperation from the government.a

Protection of Minorities in Pakistan

The Pakistani rulers had presented deceased Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti on a platter before the assassins. A certain section has pushed forward the cause of assassination as violation of the laws of derogation of Prophet-hood, as if their blame on the slain. Bhatti was certain to be slain, but the government did not pay any attention. Bhatti had never uttered a single derogatory word to any prophet, whereas, numerous people heard him praising the holy Prophet Mohammad . He had only asked for such an amendment in the dignity of Prophet-hood laws, through which no innocent person could falsely be implicated.

Adequate Security Arrangements
Bhatti got threats not for his personal opinions but for the sensitive task of collecting diverse opinions from Muslim clerics and minority leaders without providing him adequate security arrangements, in spite of his repeated requests. This assignment entrusted on the directions of President Asif Ali Zardari pleased Western powers, but endangered his life. The government should have taken more precautions after former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer's murder. Who killed him? Was it the handiwork of Raymond Davis's henchmen, or the Taliban's, or some other Islamic enemy? It has to be ascertained but strongly. No one has claimed responsibility so far.

Religion prescribes strict responsibilities for the protection of life and property of minorities. However, prayer cannot be made for the non-Muslim departed soul, whereas the descendants of Bhatti deserve our sympathy and condolence. His killer should be arrested forthwith. One should also follow the limits prescribed by God. In Muslim jurisprudence, the punishment for killing a non-Muslim subject is the same as the punishment for killing a Muslim subject.

According to the Prophet, if a Muslim persecutes any non-Muslim, or snatches away his rights, or takes away anything away from him without his consent, or put pressure on him beyond the capacity of his tolerance, then on the day of resurrection, he (prophet) will give evidence against him. In the Caliphate period of Hazrat Ali, a non-Muslim was killed by a Muslim. Hazrat Ali prescribed retribution for him, but the brother of the slain said that he had pardoned him. Hazrat Ali was not satisfied with the statement, suspecting intimidation from the assassin's relatives. But his brother emphasized that he has taken the compensation money. Then only Hazrat Ali released the culprit and pronounced that 'the blood of a minority subject in our state is as precious as the blood of a Muslim subject and his compensation is also the same.'

Malicious Propaganda
Agents such as Pervez Musharraf are busy to please their US and the Western masters for an innovative Islam. God willing, they will not be successful in their nefarious plans, but it is our responsibility to introspect and remove the shortcomings in our personality and for the pleasing of the Almighty must strive hard to protect the minorities in Pakistan.

Significance of Rallies in Thailand

Coup rumors persisted although Prime Minister Aphisit Vejjajiva sent out a clear message, which known on 11 March as to when the House will be dissolved. The rumors persisted although the event of fund raising by the Democrat Party at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center was held grandly. The function was held in amicable atmosphere of coalition partners. All leaders of Democrat's partners joined the event.

People's Grievances
This kind of grand event was like an announcement by the Democrat that it has potential to return as the leader of the next coalition government. The message was directed to politicians and groups of funders. All of these messages failed to become a magic, which was powerful enough to quash rumors, bad news and coup smell.

And these messages could not stop groups of people, who are suffering from economic hardship, from coming out to hold demonstrations to demand the government to help them. These groups of people with grievances have been rallying along with various groups of protesters, which have been protesting throughout the past month.

In the latest move on 7 March, about 400 farmers, who belong to the Land Reform Network for Thailand, the Assembly of the Poor, the Network of the People for Social and Political Reform, gathered in front of the Government House to call on Aphisit to help them regarding to the issuance of community land deeds. They also called on the prime minister to open the hydroelectric Pak Mun Dam.

Earlier, about 30 people, who are members of the Federation of Communities in Thailand and the Thai Phophiang (Sufficiency) Party, came to the Government House to ask the prime minister to help them about high-interest non-banking loans. They called for help after they used to file a complaint to the government in early 2009.

Several groups of people came out to air their grievances and called for help from the government while the government and the prime minister were seen as being on the downtrend.

Economic Hardship
The protests have been going on while the people were having economic hardship and facing rising prices of consumers' goods. This situation apparently affected the popularity of Aphisit and his Democrat Party.

However, the rallies and protests by several groups of people under grievances were not new things as they happened during all governments' terms. But what is special for the Aphisit government now is that the rallies by various groups in grievances and the civil sector are happening while the Aphisit government is facing protests from yellow-shirt and red-shirt people, who want to bring down the government due to political conflicts and problems.

This may lead to complicated situation caused by political conflicts and people's grievances. The complications may provide an opportunity for some people to use in their quest for perfect political victory.

Some observers see that the rallies by civic groups to demand the government to tackle the public grievances while the government's term is ending may not pose as the real trouble for the government.

But the current protests by various groups may be only the prelude to the real trouble, which will happen after the no-confidence debate. After the censure showdown, protesters of the civic groups and political groups will step up their demonstrations to pressure the government.

In particular, certain civic groups are waiting for a right moment to join rallies to try to oust the government. These groups may join rallies of both the yellow-shirt and red-shirt people if these civic groups see that Aphisit and his Democrat are severely bruised by the censure debate. The opposition plans to attack the government over palm oil shortage and allegation that someone in the government had interfere in a legal case to help a cigarette importer.

Thai-Cambodian Border Dispute
And the longer the government remains in office, the problem related to Thai-Cambodian border dispute may reach its climax and the situation may prompt the armed forces to decide to use harsh measures against Cambodia. The military may resort to military measures if talks in major venues fail to become successful. Such a situation may provide justification for the People's Alliance for Democracy to attack the government and their campaign for the ouster of the administration may have more weight.

By that time, it is highly possible that all groups of protesters will become stronger, in particular groups that are related to political leaders and the yellow-shirt and red-shirt groups as well as demonstrators, who are close to the Phuea Thai Party, and even demonstrators who are close to certain coalition partners.

Aphisit may not be completely cornered by protests of various groups, whose members were suffering because of the country's administration. The government could not give in to the demands of the groups or else more groups of protesters would come out to demand the government to help them.

In fact, the Democrat and Aphisit could read through the game and realize the relations between politicians and groups of protesters. As a result, no one should be surprised that the prime minister always came up with clearer date for House dissolution when calls and criticisms against his administration grew louder.

Assessment of Situation
This is because the Democrat and Aphisit have assessed the situation and believe that House dissolution and new election will be worthwhile for their "investment". They see that House dissolution can cool down the political heat both inside and outside Parliament and calm down protesters from both political groups and civic groups.

Aphisit definitely realizes that some groups of protesters have special agenda for their campaigns. They are waiting for a right chance to step up pressure on the government when the situation permits them. And some groups of protesters, which have been established by the opposite side, will never be satisfied with the Democrat anyway.So, giving in to conditions of groups of protesters will be futile and will not boost the Democrat's popularity before the election day.

Explosion in Japan's Nuclear Plan

An explosion and feared meltdown at one of Japan's nuclear plants on 12 March exposed the scale of the disaster facing the country after a massive quake and tsunami left 1,000 feared dead. The cause of the explosion remains unknown though several employees were injured in the explosion. Damage to the nuclear power plant came as a result of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in the country that rocked the nation on 11 March. However, it is said that the reactor cooling systems failed at two plants after the earthquake hit, unleashing a terrifying 10-metre (33-foot) wave that tore through coastal towns and cities, destroying all in its path.

Declaration of Atomic Emergency
After declaring an atomic emergency, the government said that thousands of people living within 20 km (12 miles) of the Fukushima No 1 plant should leave, widening the evacuation zone from 10 km. Nuclear authorities had earlier warned that the Fukushima No 1 plant, located about 250 km (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo, an urban area of 30 million people, 'may be experiencing a nuclear meltdown.' The plant's cooling system was damaged in the quake that hit on 11 March, leaving the government scrambling to fix the problem and evacuate more than 45,000 residents within a 10-km radius.

However, serious damage to the stricken reactor's container, which shields the external environment from the effects of nuclear fission, was unlikely. Operator Tokyo Electric Power confirmed the explosion at the plant 250-km northeast of Tokyo, and that the roof of the reactor building had collapsed, saying this had happened during an aftershock from the quake.

Contingency Measures
The government was taking contingency measures and collecting iodine, which can be used against radiation sickness. Nearby residents have warned to stay indoors, turn off air-conditioners and not drink tap water. The people going outside were told to avoid exposing their skin and to cover their faces with masks or wet towels.

The radiation detected after the explosion was about twice the level at which companies are required to notify the government. The hourly radiation matched the allowable annual dose. When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external power grid, backup generators or batteries.

The fear is that, when this fails, fuel rods that cannot be cooled are exposed to the outside air and release radioactivity. In a meltdown, or severe nuclear power plant failure, the reactor core is unable to properly cool, leading nuclear fuel assemblies to overheat and melt, potentially releasing radioactive materials into the environment.

Japan -- located on the 'Pacific Ring of Fire,' where several continental plates meet and create a string of volcanoes and seismic hot spots -- records 20 percent of the world's major earthquakes. Japan draws about 30 percent of its power from about 50 nuclear plants.

Exposing Gujarat Chief Minister's Crimes

Former Gujarat former Home Minister Umat Shah is once again in trouble and he may be arrested, because his name has surfaced in the Sohrabuddin's fake encounter witness Tulsi Ram Prajapati's fake encounter case. Umat Shah and police conspired to kill Prajapati.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has got the telephone record on the basis of which this was revealed. It says it has been learned that Umat Shah who had been in jail in connection with the Sohrabuddin fake encounter has committed several other crimes to shield his earlier crime.

Criminal Nexus
Even before the imbroglio of the Sohrabuddin case had been solved, another issue came up, exposing the criminal nexus between Umat Shah and the police. The CBI has found that Prajapat was killed to cover up the Sohrabuddin encounter, as was witness to the entire episode. This matter becomes more sensitive when despite anticipation of danger, Prajapati was not provided security and he was killed.

Godhra Tragedy
The former Gujarat home minister, to conceal his black money, got Sohrabuddin killed and then Prajapat. Ever since the CBI probe began, Umat Shah has been worried. With great difficulty he came out of jail and may go again. Many innocent people were killed in Umat Shah's tenure, the facts of which are emerging slowly.

Sohrabuddin was projected as terrorist and the communal electronic media blew it out of proportion. The Sanghi lobby derived the benefit of his Muslim name. When the home minister of a state can kill the partner of his black deeds, why can't he project the Godhra tragedy as the handiwork of Muslims? The bloodshed of innocent people show results one day and the crimes of Modi and company will be soon be exposed.

Quake, Tsunami Devastate Japan

The strongest recorded earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.8 to hit Japan rocked the northeastern coast on 11 march, triggering a series of tsunami, including a 11-meter wall of water that submerged residential areas and farms with muddy streams and washed away scores of people, vehicles and boats in fields and ports in northeastern Japan. The earthquake was the biggest recorded in Japan since 1923.

Pathetic Condition
More than 1,000 people were dead, 530 were missing and 722 were injured, according to the National Police Agency. But one police official in Sendai's Wakabayashi Ward reported that between 200 and 300 people had apparently drowned.

Deaths were reported in nine prefectures, including Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and prefectural police departments. The meteorological agency put the epicenter of the quake 130 kilometers off the eastern coast of Miyagi Prefecture, which is part of the Tohoku region. Shocks of lower 6 were reported in parts of Chiba, Saitama and Gunma prefectures. The quake registered upper 5 in many parts of Tokyo.

It was the first time since October 2004 that an intensity of 7 has been recorded in Japan. The 10-meter tsunami was observed at Sendai port in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, at around 1555 after the quake with a magnitude of 8.8 rocked the region.

A tsunami expert at the government-affiliated Port and Airport Research Institute described the tsunami following the 1446 quake ''one of the highest and widest in terms of areas of devastation in the nation's history.'' Shigeo Takahashi, senior researcher at the institute, said, ''It's a tsunami of a once-in-a-century scale.'' TV footage showed quake-triggered tsunami causing the Natori River in Sendai to swell in spots near its mouth and a wide, muddy stream from the river rapidly moving to submerge a number of houses and buildings in residential areas and fields nearby, leveling everything in its path and hitting boats, containers, vehicles and a massive amount of lumber near the river.

After the tsunami was subdued, around 200 to 300 bodies were washed ashore in Sendai's Wakabayashi Ward. Officials of the ward facing the Pacific Ocean said almost all of the approximately 1,200 households within a district where a tsunami alert was issued were affected by a tsunami.

Major Casualties
At least two Japan Coast Guard patrol boats of the 2nd Coast Guard Regional Headquarters in Shiogama in the prefecture have also been washed away following a tsunami, while a fishing boat with nine crew members was struck by a tidal wave, leaving four of them, all of which are Indonesian nationals. Other footage showed more than 20 cars and containers being washed into the sea when a tsunami hit Kamaishi port.

The National Police Agency said the area of tsunami devastation in Iwate Prefecture, also in northeastern Japan, has spread to include Kamaishi, Miyako and Iwaizumi, while quite a number of people have died or are missing following a tsunami in the coastal town of Yamada in the prefecture, where many houses were washed away.

According to the Miyagi prefectural government, 50 teachers and workers at Kesennuma Koyo Prefectural Senior High School are stranded in a school building which was flooded to its fourth floor after a tsunami hit the area.

The government also said 50 percent of the city of Higashimatsushima in the prefecture has been submerged and many residents have been left on the roofs of their homes while many buildings are on fire in the city.

The Ibaraki prefectural police said three people were carried away by tsunami while watching the ocean from their home in the eastern prefecture, while the Miyagi police said a ship carrying 100 people was washed away by tsunami.

Meanwhile, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said about 300 buildings were washed away by tsunami in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.

The Sendai Airport authority in Miyagi Prefecture said the airport's runways were submerged by tidal waves. The Air Self-Defense Force's Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi was inundated with seawater, damaging 18 F-2 fighters and a number of other aircraft possibly permanently.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of huge tsunami in the Pacific coastal region from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Tokushima Prefecture in western Japan, following the quake, which measured the highest level of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale. It also advised residents in Pacific coastal areas to move to higher ground and stay away from the sea.
A 7.3-meter tsunami was also observed in Soma port in Fukushima Prefecture and elsewhere, a 4.1-meter tsunami was observed in Kamaishi port in Iwate Prefecture.

Warning and Precaution
The city government of Soma said it has confirmed that tsunami have surged to around 4 to 5 kilometers inland from the coast. The Tokyo metropolitan government said it has shut 19 of its floodgates to prepare for possible tsunami.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for more than 50 countries and regions on the Pacific coast including Russia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Chile, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas, while weather agencies in the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Panama and Peru also issued similar warnings.

Tsunami from the quake reached countries and regions in the Pacific basin including the state of Hawaii, three islets in the Kuril Islands, including four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, and the Philippines.

Uncertainty in Arab World

After the wave of awakening in the Arab world caused the dismissal of governments of Egypt and Tunisia, public consciousness has taken Libya in its embrace. People of Yemen and the Gulf region are also agitation in full steam against their rulers, as in Libya. If we consider this to be a revolution against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, then we would not be far wrong. Agitators have taken Eastern Libya under their control.

Gaddafi's Aggressive Attitude
From the very beginning, Gaddafi has adopted a ferociously aggressive attitude to save his administration. The pro-Gaddafi faction is going strong against his opponents. Air force jets are bombing Benghazi and its adjoining areas, which were so far under the control of anti-Gaddafi forces, and a large section of the army still seems to be faithful to Gaddafi. While police are quiet, the army has adopted an irresponsible attitude.

In Egypt, instead of summoning army commanders, Hosni Mubarak had himself taken command of army headquarters, and tried to bring the army around to his side. Being unsuccessful in this attempt and realizing that he was helpless, Mubarak surrendered power. If this situation had existed in Libya, Gaddafi would also have felt helpless and fled the county.

Ferocious Attack
It has been a tradition in the Arab world that clans or dictators have ruled them. To run dictatorships, rulers have formed their own political parties and to throttle the voices of opposition and to continue their dictatorship through family rule. In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak had tried to create a dynasty by appointing his son as successor. This is what Abdullah Saleh has done in Yemen. Gaddafi had wanted to adopt his son Saif al Islam as successor, and cleared the path for him. It is this Saif who is responsible for the ferocious attack on agitators. The present situation is leading to further awakening of the Arab world.

The time has come now to move on. It just may be that Gaddafi stems the tide against him temporarily by brutal methods he has applied so far, but you cannot suppress the voice of people indefinitely by brute force. The dictator will have to make compromises. The history of Arab people has shown that before the advent of Islam, frequent fights used to take place over petty matters and blood would flow. This has been the Arab way. It is Islam that taught them brotherhood, showed them the difference between right and wrong, and taught them to rise against injustice. Islam also taught them to stay away from corruption.

Grip of Disaster and Ignorance
As long as these Arabs stayed close to their religion, they ruled the world. History has no example to compare with the march of Islam. But as soon as dictatorship started in the Arab countries, they came under the grip of disaster and ignorance, which started spreading. Instead of going into details to confirm this, a glance at histories of Muslims countries will suffice.

This area has been blessed with oil, and is flushed with petroleum wealth, which can influence any international organization, but the reality is that they are in the grip of superpowers. The main reason for this is personal dictatorship, which has put them under 'superpower' control.

Solution to Problem
The solution is that Arabs should have a re-look at their governments. What they have as government is definitely not Islamic. People's participation is essential in running a modern government. The sword of Damocles is hanging over the heads of Arab Governments, and Western powers are taking advantage of their predicament. It is essential that people participate in running of government.