Terrible Timor
The UN must act with force now

(column by Niharika Patra)

After a horrendous spell of fighting in East Timor, the United Nations finally got on board with its flash appeal for nearly $20 million aid. Till mid-June 2006, nearly 100,000 people are estimated to have fled their homes in and around capital Dili. The humanitarian situation has been called precarious, with rebel soldiers and pro-government troops vociferously arguing over calls for Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's resignation. The result: The youngest, poorest and the most inexperienced country in Asia, Timor-Leste, is in dire straits.

President Xanana Gusmao, who differs with Alkatiri, is leading efforts to try and break the deadlock, but there's no improvement. Alkatiri sacked 600 soldiers, nearly half the army, in March after they deserted their barracks complaining of discrimination. The sacking triggered off fighting between rival soldiers and police that disintegrated into street violence involving rival gangs.

Alkatiri has little control, while his opponents are planning a formula to modify the Constitution to give Gusmao more powers. Gusmao is encouraging this by meeting rebel soldiers. On June 7, the rebels agreed for talks, but their mood and the clauses indicate that peace can only come if Alkatiri resigns. Some 150,000 tonnes of relief material has already been sent by the UN, which includes basics like lightweight family tents, plastic sheets, jerry cans and kitchen sets. But the government has no clue on what to do about anything.

But what takes the cake, and seems extremely ridiculous, is that the peacekeeping force (sent by Australia) has been unable to enforce peace. Factually, the United Nations now has to wake up to the fact that it's a shame that its own forces can't enforce the very basis of its own existence: Promoting peace. With no illusions, making Alkatiri resign is an absurd suggestion. The UN has to act now, with power!

(End of Niharika Patra column)

Yippee! Garcia's elected... So what?
Alan Garcia must realise Peru's 54% poor can't live better just on his rants

(column by Mansi Goel)

For some time now, the United States has been so preoccupied with its war on terror that it hasn't paid attention to the rise of anti-Americanism closer home in the Americas. But, though it did virtually nothing, the US has something to smile about in Peru. Alan Garcia returned as Peru's President on June 5, 2006, defeating the strongly anti-US Ollanta Humala, who was backed by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Garcia is moderately left -leaning and not expected to be critical of the US when Peru and the US are slated to act on their Free Trade Agreement(FTA) this year.

Garcia's previous presidency between 1985 and 1990 was marked by hyperinflation and a bloody insurgency by guerrillas of the Shining Path, an ultra-left Marxist group. In his campaign this time, Garcia claimed he had learnt his lessons. "Do you think I want my tombstone to read, 'He was so stupid that he made the same mistakes twice'?" he asked reporters. So Garcia promised free markets, the fallout of the policies initiated by his predecessor Alejandro Toledo. Garcia lost the 2001 election to Toledo, and says he is now looking to carefully globalise Peru's economy.

This goes against what is advocated by Evo Morales in Bolivia and Chavez in Venezuela. After his victory, García told supporters in Lima, "The only person defeated today was Hugo Chávez. He thought he could dominate us, but we've ensured the independence of Peru."

Of course, Garcia must realise that pointless balderdash comments will not be enough to improve Peru, which has close to 28,000,000 people, of whom 54% live below the poverty line. Peru's external debt was $30.18 billion in June 2005. In Peru's capital Lima, 8.7% have no jobs and the figure is spreading fast elsewhere in the country. Rather than continuing his rants, Garcia must get down to ensure that free markets don't mean making the rich richer, but rather contribute to the bottom majority of destitute.

(End of Mansi Goel column)

Congress of Confabulations
Unless the Congress accepts coalitions, it cannot succeed

(column by Sharad Gupta)

The Congress may have saved face in the recent Assembly elections, but its relations with partners are deteriorating fast. Things soured further when its Maharashtra ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), decided to send Bajaj Auto Chairman Rahul Bajaj to the Rajya Sabha, to fill the seat vacated by Pramod Mahajan's death. Bajaj was primarily backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena, both opposed to the Congress.

Recapitulating, the Congress was hoping to put up a joint candidate despite recent strains with the NCP. But when the NCP backed Bajaj, Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva accused NCP Chief Sharad Pawar of reneging on his words. Pawar's colleague, Tariq Anwar, claimed the Congress first backtracked by not offering to the NCP even one of the four legislative council seats in Maharashtra.

An embarrassed Congress hastily announced the candidature of Maharashtra General Secretary Avinash Pandey for the Rajya Sabha, but faced certain defeat. Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi then accused the NCP of working with communal forces. He carefully added that this would have no impact on either the union or the state government. Unfortunately now, the Congress also has strained relations with its Andhra Pradesh ally, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Jammu & Kashmir's PDP.

It's time for the Congress to learn the dynamics of coalitions to improve relations with allies. The key to power in 2004, after all, was party President Sonia Gandhi's ability to forge better alliances as compared to the BJP. A repeat victory would surely depend on that again. To an extent, Congress' problems with allies arise because the party believes it can do better by itself. But the party needs to understand that if it had been that easy to be the lone ranger with monopoly power, the situation in the last elections would have been much different. Clearly, if the Congress continues to toe its aggressive stance, there are only two words that will describe its future: Sure defeat.

(End of Sharad Gupta column)

Mumble, mumble, mumble...
BJP's double speak is most damaging to its own state government

(column by Kalyan Upadhyay)

One of Murphy's inimitable laws goes like this: When in doubt, mumble. The Bharatiya Janata Party, India's principal opposition party, might want to consider this after having shot their mouths off , simply to oppose the UPA government. Having hastily & impulsively supported President Abdul Kalam's decision to send back the office-of-profit Bill (for prevention of disqualification of Parliamentarians holding offices of profit) to the Parliament, the BJP belatedly realized that their own government in Jharkand had very recently suggested a similar Bill to prevent legislators from being disqualified for holding an office of profit.

So does backing Kalam's objections mean that BJP is ready to allow the disqualification of 12 NDA MLAs in the Jharkhand Assembly (and thus allowing its own government to fall)? Of course not, as the BJP's damage control media spin has already started blaming the discriminatory nature of the legislation, rather than opposing the legislation itself. Though of course again, in the valiant post-mortem words of BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, "Our opposition is based on principle. We are ready to make any sacrifice (read, loss of government) if the UPA decides to withdraw the...legislation."

Brave words, courageous analysis, but unfortunately, lacking in honesty. The BJP has to necessarily realise that opposing the UPA for everything under the sun would only make it look like a frustrated party in the eyes of the nation. The BJP has a wonderful legacy to be proud of. It has to realise that it is now close to rock bottom, and shooting its mouth off with continuous double speak will only take it there faster. Didn't you hear Murphy at the start? When in doubt...

(End of Kalyan Upadhyay column)

The erudite politician
Even out of power, Shourie is most powerful, with intellect & honesty

Very few Indian politicians can rightfully claim to be erudite in their own right. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram come to mind when one thinks of "intellectual" politicians. More than them, perhaps it is Arun Shourie who can lay claim to the intellectual tag. Not only is he famous for his logically argued viewpoints, Arun Shourie is probably the only Indian politician who is also a prolifi c author of not just columns, but a plethora of books. As usual, his latest book on reservations is causing controversies with critics accusing him of being elitist. Yet, even his worst critics will not deny the facts that Shourie has marshaled while arguing how the political class is virtually subverting the constitution.

He has always been different throughout his career, whatever be the profession he has followed. An economist by training, Shourie worked in the World Bank for a few years and gave up a lucrative international tax free career, to come back to India. A surprise encounter with the legendary Ramnath Goenka saw Shourie appointed as the Editor of Indian Express. His stint as Editor marked the arrival of what is now known as investigative journalism in India.

The notorious "cement scandal" was one of the first major investigative stories to create a storm. The story led to the resignation of the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra A. R. Antulay and almost buried his political career. Many such investigative stories marked the decade or so that Shourie spent as an active journalist. Shourie also worked notably for India Today and The Times of India. But he also spent the larger part of 1990s writing thought-provoking columns & books that ranged from a re-examination of Ambedkar, a close look at Christian missionaries' role during conversion and how China can be a strategic threat.

Along the way, he joined the Rajya Sabha and was eventually made a Union Minister in the Cabinet headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Though he handled the telecom portfolio for a while, it was as Union Minister of Disinvestment that Shourie left an indelible mark. The disinvestment of Balco generated a lot of controversy and Shourie had to stoutly defend the process. Though many allegations were made about the disinvestment process and about corruption, not one rival could ever raise any question about the personal integrity of the Minister.

The NDA is out of power, and Shourie - no longer a minister - has reverted to being a full-time author, columnist and commentator. But with BJP divided over the recent quota issue, the high significance with which Arun Shourie's most well researched anti-quota stand, and consequent support to L. K. Advani, are being viewed, goes a long way to prove how powerful this entity we know as Arun Shourie is, even out of power; a status achieved by politicians of only one variety...erudite!