China on the rise once more across the East
Telegraph.co.uk
If any more evidence of China’s steady ascent towards Asian regional dominance was needed, the climax of Sri Lanka’s war has provided the proof.
By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor
An ally of Beijing has fought a bitterly controversial conflict to a final victory, while shrugging off international protests along the way. India, the other Asian giant, is only 50 miles from Sri Lanka across the waters of the Palk Straits, yet it has been shown to have far less influence on its neighbour than China.
Through a combination of strategic investments in seaports and pipelines, along with direct financial and military support for friendly governments, China is building a web of influence across South Asia. Many of Beijing’s immensely ambitious projects are years away from fruition, yet the repercussions of these ventures are already being felt.
The official line is that Hambantota is only a “commercial” trading venture and the facility will handle civilian shipping and nothing else. “Any attempt to distort the facts would be invalid,” said Ma Zhaoxu, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.
But the appearance of a new Chinese port on Sri Lanka’s southern coast would allow Beijing the option of using the facility as a naval base in the future. Other projects under way at strategic points across the Indian Ocean raise the same possibility.
China is building another port at Gwadar on the Pakistani coast and at Kyauk Phyu on Burma’s island of Ramree. Taken together, these and other facilities may allow China to extend its growing naval strength well beyond its traditional coastal waters and into the Indian Ocean. It would mark a crucial stage in the country’s rise to become Asia’s hegemonic power.
“China is marching towards regional dominance and that brings it into conflict with India on one flank and Japan on the other,” said Kerry Brown, a senior fellow at the Asian programme of the Chatham House think tank. “It will at some point become much more active as a military power in the region.”
China’s ambitions are of deep concern to its Asian rivals, especially India which shares a 2,100-mile disputed border with its neighbour. Countries as far away as Australia have also shown they are worried. Kevin Rudd’s government in Canberra is hugely expanding the Australian navy with the unspoken aim of balancing China’s growing strength.
These fears may, however, be exaggerated. China is bidding to become Asia’s foremost power, but not a global behemoth to rival the United States. Moreover, all the evidence suggests that its prime aim is securing its economic growth and domestic stability.
“The Chinese are not seeking conflict. They are seeking a stable international environment within which they can continue their economic development,” said Mr Brown. “The key imperative is to preserve internal security within China.”
There is no sign of China becoming an overtly threatening, expansionist power. Far from having designs on other countries’ territory, China has resolved all border disputes with 12 of its 14 neighbours. In the case of Russia, where the People’s Liberation Army fought bloody frontier skirmishes in the 1960s, and Vietnam, where Chinese forces waged a full scale border war in 1979, Beijing chose to make big concessions and give away large areas it had previously claimed.
If a future Chinese government decides to use the string of new ports as naval bases, this does not necessarily mean Beijing is out to intimidate its neighbours and overawe the region.
Instead, China’s economy is largely dependent on energy supplies brought from the Middle East and Africa along vital Indian Ocean shipping lanes. Guaranteeing the safety of these arteries is an understandable aim and does not, of itself, show an aggressive intention.
In particular, China imports about 80 per cent of its oil through the Strait of Malacca, where the Indian Ocean joins the Pacific. President Hu Jintao has called this dependence the “Malacca Dilemma” and China’s naval planning seems geared towards ensuring this passage remains open, while developing alternative routes where possible.
Whatever the motives behind the inexorable extension of China’s influence in Asia, however, the balance of global power has already changed dramatically.
Over 60 killed, hundreds displaced in Darfur violence
NEWSTRACK INDIA
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) spokesman Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash said the troops managed to defeat the rebels in the attack but in the process 20 soldiers were killed and 31 others injured.
Khartoum, May 26 (Xinhua) At least 20 Sudanese soldiers and 43 insurgents have been killed in fighting in the restive Darfur region, as rebels fought a pitched battle with the security forces before being crushed, leaving more than 300 people homeless, officials said Monday.
The fighting started Sunday after the armed rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) group attacked the government soldiers to gain control of the Umm Baru area in North Darfur State
He added that 43 rebels were killed and dozens of vehicles of the insurgents were destroyed in the fighting.
Meanwhile, the UN and African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur (UNAMID) said the Sudanese Army has gained full control of the Umm Baru area after the fighting.
UNAMID spokesman Ahmed Salah said about 350 civilians who fled the area after the fighting broke out have taken shelter in government relief camps and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
At least 53 civilians who were seriously injured in the fighting needed immediate evacuation for further medical treatment, UNAMID said in a statement in Khartoum Monday.
The situation in the conflict zone has been calm Monday while the UNAMID peacekeepers were monitoring the developments after the attack.
Officials said this was the second attack by JEM rebels in the past 10 days against the government troops in North Darfur.
Vienna backlash: 2 die as violence spreads across Punjab
Jalandhar:
Two people have died as tension mounted in Punjab on Monday with violence breaking out in several parts of the state following the attack on the head of Dera Sachkhand Baland and his supporters in Vienna on Sunday.
Mobs torched three trains, including Jammu Express, but no one was reported injured. Unconfirmed reports said two persons were killed in police firing. Reports of violence have also come from Amritsar, Patiala and Nawanshahr. A showroom of Hyundai motors in Jalandhar was torched destroying at least 15 brand news cars.
Police fired in the air and curfew was imposed in at three cities of Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur. Traffic on the national highway and train services have been disruppted. Protesters also burnt down a train at Dakola near here but one was reported injured.
Army has been called out in certain parts of Jalandhar and has been put on alert all across the state.
Last night followers of the sect had torched several vehicles and indulged in arson in Jalandhar. Senior Superintendent of Police R K Jaiswal said security forces have been deployed at sensitive points to check any untoward incident.
At least 30 people were injured, nine of them seriously when two groups had clashed with knives and handgun at a gurdwara in Vienna on Sunday.
Meanwhile markets in several areas of Punjab, including Patiala, have been closed and bus service has been suspended.
Sources said that the second-in-command of the sect Sant Ramanand who was shot in Vienna died early Monday morning, as he had suffered gun shots.
What ‘Islamic law’ means in Pakistan
MALAYSIAKINI
In an attempt to restore peace in the restive Swat Valley, the Pakistan government had signed a controversial peace deal in March with the Taliban-backed group Movement for the Enforcement of Syariah.
The following month, the Taliban extended their grasp beyond Swat to within 60 miles of Islamabad, the nation’s capital, forcing the army to resume military operations.
This move brought fresh international attention to Pakistan’s economic and social problems. But within the country, the rise of the Taliban has focused attention on a different question: what does Islam mean for Pakistan?
Talk to any Pakistani Muslim about their faith and the most common statement you will hear is: “Islam is a complete code of life”. If pressed further, they may elaborate that Islam – unlike Christianity – does not distinguish between church and state, and that from an Islamic perspective there is no such thing as purely secular legislation.
Push even further and you are likely to hear that the solution to all of Pakistan’s problems is to make its laws consistent with Islam.
This seeming consensus is misleading, however, because there is, in reality, very little agreement on what Islam actually entails in terms of legal, enforceable rules.
While each school of thought within Islam – four major schools within Sunni Islam and one amongst Shiite Muslims – has its own clear and detailed laws relating to inheritance, marriage and divorce, everything beyond the limited arena of ‘personal laws’ is open to debate.
For some people, Islamic law means imposing veils on women and beards on men. For more left-leaning Pakistanis, Islamic law means common ownership of property. For those inspired by Sufi tradition, Islamic law means a respect for the overarching principles of love, kindness and charity.
The real problem then is not that Pakistanis want Islamic laws, but the manner in which those laws are determined. In this regard, Pakistan has struggled from the very beginning with two distinct legal identities.
The first identity was the secular administrative identity inherited from the British in 1947. The second was the Islamic identity espoused by most of its citizens.
Pakistan’s constitutions of 1956, 1962 and 1973 were based on a secular, Westminster-style political model in which the parliament was sovereign.
Thus, it was the job of Parliament not only to make laws but also to ensure that all laws were in conformity with the principles of Islam or Syariah.
Political vacuum
This model was then radically undermined by General Zia ul Haq following his military takeover in 1979. Zia’s first attempt to justify his rule was to argue that he had – quite literally – been directed by God to impose Islamic law upon Pakistan.
When his attempts to claim divine inspiration ran thin, Zia was forced to restore democratic rule, but not before he had tinkered with the constitution, creating a Federal Shariat Court charged with ensuring that all legislation was in conformity with Islamic laws. The actual effect of his attempted Islamisation of most laws was minimal, except for laws relating to women’s rights.
This change, however, raised the question of who could decide whether a law was in conformity with Islam.
Zia’s austere and rigid model of Islam was largely imported from Saudi Arabia and deferred to religious extremists who, bolstered by massive amounts of Middle Eastern funding, consistently argued that laws were to be decided by people like them, and not by Parliament.
These conservative figures became public spokespersons for Islam, even though their beliefs had limited public support.
Given the instinctive veneration most Pakistanis have for Islamic law, the end result was a paralysis in which people rejected doctrines of hate at a personal level but lacked the intellectual and institutional leadership to articulate a strong, unified response.
General Pervez Musharraf’s military takeover in 1999 led to the collapse of parliamentary democracy that had been in place since 1987 after Zia’s death. This created a political vacuum in which the ability to define what was Islamic was ceded – almost by default – to well-funded religious extremists.
This political collapse was accompanied by a continuing failure of all democratic governments in Pakistan to provide basic necessities like education, health, energy and clean water for all its citizens, which in turn have allowed fundamentalists to expand their zone of influence.
For example, the madrassah (religious schools), some of which might have extremist leanings, provide free education for children while government-run schools are routinely fraught with administrative and financial setbacks. Not surprisingly, the areas in which the Taliban are now ascendant are also the least developed.
The first step toward regaining security in Pakistan is certainly for the army to take control of the areas that were ceded to the militants.
But in the long run, Pakistan will not regain the ‘middle way’ of Islam for its people until it can show that a parliamentary democracy can deliver the basic needs of its citizens, and a more articulate Islamic leadership recovers its indigenous voice.
FEISAL NAQVI is a lawyer based in Lahore, Pakistan. This article first appeared in The Washington Post/Newsweek and was written for the Common Ground News Service.
Pakatan tells Penanti: Look at Perak and reject Umno-BN
SUARA KEADILAN
By Wong Choon Mei
Pakatan Rakyat leaders fired the first salvo in Penanti, urging voters there to stand up for neighbouring Perak state by telling Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Umno-BN coalition in no uncertain terms that Malaysians will not brook any loss of their democratic rights.
“We must send a strong protest signal against BN that the people will no longer tolerate their despotic rule,” said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
“And the way to do this is to increase voter turnout and increase the majority votes from what we gained in the last general elections.”
The reform icon was speaking before a huge crowd of thousands at a ceramah or political lecture in the electorate, a core Malay heartland and part of his Permatang Pauh stronghold.
His view were echoed by other top Pakatan leaders – DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Hadi Awang.
Both Hadi and Kit Siang urged Malaysians to reject the Umno-BN as it had failed the people, and was increasingly resorting to abusing the country’s system and robbing its institutions of every drop of credibility.
There was no better example than Perak, which remains been plunged in turmoil as a power-crazed Najib refused to heed either the wishes of the people there nor the rule of law, they added.
“Never mind that this by-election is not as vibrant as other by-elections. Penanti is important because the increase of votes for Pakatan would send a strong signal that the people are rejecting the BN government,” Kit Siang said.
Treachery from hidden Umno-BN hands
At Penanti, Pakatan has fielded PKR Penang deputy chief Mansor Othman. The 56-year old former USM lecturer will face three Independent candidates in the by-election – Aminah Abdullah, Nai Khan and Kamarul Ramizu Idris.
Arch rival Umno has decided against contesting, having lost in four of the past five by-elections.
However, Najib is widely expected to quietly back either one or even all three of the Independents to spoil the Pakatan’s chances, while at the same time shielding himself from the political consequences of a loss.
Already Aminah, a former PKR Wanita member, is spreading news that Pakatan agents tried to lure her from contesting by offering ‘bribes’.
Her accusations sparked an immediate denial from PKR leaders.
“We will resort to other actions, including legal means, on these complainants if they failed to prove their claims,” said Tian Chua, PKR director of strategic affairs.
“I am sure no PKR leaders were engaged in such unhealthy activities.”
Independents the new trend as the Umno-BN brand becomes unmarketable
Tian also said there was now an unmistakable trend of Independents taking part in by-elections despite the huge costs involved. In nine cases out of 10, candidates ended up losing the hefty RM15,000 campaign deposit.
“The BN symbol has become so unmarketable, it is now the trend to go in as Independent if you can’t run for the Pakatan. Your chances would be better, the dacing (BN’s trademark) would be a sure loss anywhere in Malaysia now,” Tian said.
Of the three Independents, the 41-year old Nai has the most direct links to Umno-BN. He quit as Gerakan Youth chief of Teluk Wang branch on May 19 just so that he could contest as an Independent. “Contesting in Penanti is like cat fighting a tiger. But I am not afraid,” he said.
Another aspirant Mohd Saberi Othman was formerly an aide to Abdullah Badawi, the previous Umno president and premier. But as the heat of speculation grew that he was a front for Umno, his candidacy was suddenly pulled back for ‘technical errors’, sparking talk that his case had become too obvious and would embarrass Umno.
As for Kamarul, president of unknown Parti Iman Semalaysia, this is his second outing as an Independent in as many months. In April, he secured only 62 votes in the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election, eventually won by Pakatan Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin.
Said Kamarul: “I want to promote the system of sekolah pondok (a religious primary schooling system) to the world and hope that private sector and individuals can help to develop this pondok in Penanti.”
Kamarul admits that to participate in any by-election, a candidate would need to stump out at least RM30,000 to RM40,000.
Said Saifuddin Nasution, PKR election director: “We cannot sit on our laurels thinking that a win is a mere formality. We have to work for it.”
Police quick to end fast
THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
Police in control of fast site, as their personnel sit inside the tent intended for the fasters today. – Picture by Shannon Teoh
By Shannon TeohIPOH, May 26 — The police here “stopped” the planned Pakatan Rakyat (PR) hunger strike by arresting five workers and taking over the tent where the fast was to take place.
The light strike officers moved in at 7am arrested two locals and three Burmese workers from an event management company who were putting up the tent and a giant balloon — which was confiscated by the police.
They are now occupying the canopy to block PR from continuing with their fast which was meant to be part of a move to press for fresh state elections.
As at 9.30am, the riot police are still under the tent just outside the DAP headquarters here and having breakfast.
A total of 40 policemen, two jeeps, four police cars, two vans and seven trucks are in attendance but no PR leaders except for Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran have arrived.
Ousted mentri besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin and dumped speaker V. Sivakumar are due to launch the event at 11am.
The balloon has also been confiscated by the authorities.
THE LAST DAYS OF VELLUPILLAI PRABHAKARAN
The Mighty Pen website requests all readers to read this article.
The last days of Thiruvenkadam Veluppillai Prabhakaran
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Thiruvenkadam Veluppillai Prabhakaran is no more!
The body of the 54 year old supreme leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) was found on Tuesday May 19th near the Mullaitheevu lagoon known as “Nanthikkadal” (sea of conches). He had gunshot wounds in the head and forehead.
[Thiruvenkadam Veluppillai Prabhakaran]
Thus ended the life of the man who was once described by the LTTE’s political strategist, Anton Stanislaus Balasingham, as both “the president and prime minister of Tamil Eelam”. Army commander Sarath Fonseka announced the death officially at 12.15 pm on the 19th.
SOORIYATHEVAN
The ephemeral nature of power was illustrated vividly by the death of Prabhakaran who controlled what was perhaps the most powerful guerilla organization in the world and was raised to divine status as “Sooriyathevan” (Sun God) by his sycophantic followers.
The circumstances of his death were , just as in life , mired in controversy.His demise was anticipated before it happened. The discovery of his corpse was revealed in sections of the media even before it was found.Then the LTTE’s chief of International relations , Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP issued a denial of the death of his leader. This has resulted in a bizarre situation where the Tamil diaspora remains overtly calm and cool while the media in Sri Lanka and abroad are going to town with news of his death as well as obituaries .
What is worse , there seems to be division among LTTE and pro-LTTE ranks overseas about how to respond to the leader’s death. One faction wants to acknowledge it , pay homage to Prabhakaran and proceed from there.
The others want to deny it and perpetuate the myth that the LTTE leader is alive. Elaborate efforts are on to circulate doctored images of Prabhakaran and also audio cassettes. The idea is to project an impression that Prabhakaran is safe in the north-eastern jungles leading a guerilla campaign with the participation of remaining cadres.
It remains to be seen as to how this charade will be played out in the future. At the heart of this diaspora dilemma is the fact that fund-raising will dwindle if the people realize that Prabhakaran is dead. Also there are many money-making concerns run by “front” persons on behalf of the enemy. Let us also remember that the “Mafia” had its roots in the freedom movement of Sicily.
Furthermore there is also the “cold war” going on between LTTE factions. The overseas branch officials are the loyalists of Castro who was in charge of Overseas administration. They resent the appointment of Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP as the new global tiger chief.
In addition the intelligence chief Pottu Amman has also established his own network of operatives and spies. At present the Castro and Pottu factions are ganging up to dislodge and undermine KP whose “strength” was his closeness to Prabhakaran.
While these sinister games are on the departed LTTE leader is being denied his due after death. Given the sycophantic praise showered on Prabhakaran by diaspora and Tamil Nadu acolytes during his lifetime one would expect a series of ceremonies worldwide to honour the memory of the man who fought for his cause for more than 30 years. But with the tiger camp divided there seems to be no indication about any of his supporters trying to write or talk about Prabhakaran’s death let alone paying tribute .
It is against this backdrop that I write this piece. It is neither a biography nor an eulogy. It is not even a critique or analysis. What I hope to do is to try and shed some light at least on the circumstances leading to Prabhakaran’s death. I have attempted to piece together the events preceding his demise and compile a brief account of his last days from various “informed” sources on either side of the ethnic divide.
To read more please go to : http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/the-last-days-of-vellupillai-prabhakaran/
Selfish, ignorant Malaysians
MALAYSIAKINI
Charles Hector and Pranom Somwong
We are alarmed to hear that Sa La Hin, 26, and Thang Hoih Ping, 21, two Burmese migrants, have died in Malaysia’s Juru Immigration Detention Centre from Leptospirosis. This is a disease that is usually caused by exposure to water contaminated by the urine of infected animals such as rodents, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs and wild animals. The fact that two persons are dead and others have been infected by this disease, again highlights the state of hygiene, cleanliness and healthcare at Malaysian detention centres.
We recall that it was reported in the media in December 2008 that about 1,300 illegal foreigners have died during detention in the past six years, Malaysia Nanban quoted Malaysian Human Rights (Suhakam) commissioner N. Siva Subramaniam as saying. He said many of them died in immigration detention centres, prisons and police lockups because they were denied medical treatment at the right time.
Now, Sa La Hin and Thang Hoih Ping may just be the latest additions to that list of detainees that died due to similar reasons.
We also recall the words of Suhakam, in their response to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) dated 13 January 2009 stated that: “… SUHAKAM views the denial of medical attention to the point of endangering one’s life as a serious violation of that person’s right to life….”
These deaths may have been avoided if medical attention was provided promptly, and we call for an independent public inquiry to determine whether there was such negligence on the part of the Ikatan Relawan Rakyat or better known as RELA (a people’s volunteer corps), and the Immigration officers, who are currently responsible for Immigration detention centres in Malaysia.
We do appreciate the fact that the Director General of Immigration has now decided that ‘cleanliness and hygiene at immigration depots nationwide are to be stepped-up to ensure safety of staff and inmates there against contracting infectious diseases’.
We hope that this is not merely a knee-jerk response, which is temporary in nature, but a new and permanent commitment by Malaysia to improve standards and conditions of detention centres and other places of detention.
The current once a week visit by a medical officer to the detention centres is certainly inadequate. There should be, at the very least, a permanent clinic/dispensary manned by a medical assistant with a doctor visiting detainees for several hours at least once every two days or more frequently.
New users of the Detention facility should also be determined free from easily transmittable diseases like tuberculosis and the A(H1N1) flu before being introduced to the general population of detention places.
There should also be regular visits by health officer, who shall monitor the condition, including of the living and sleeping environment, of the detention centre to ensure that it meets the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness.
The foods, and all aspects of food preparation, also need to be monitored by the Health Department especially since there is a possibility that the fault in the recent deaths could be the current caterer of food and drink.
With regard to those who have died, we are of the opinion that their family and/or dependents should be given adequate compensation by the persons responsible, the detaining authority and the Malaysian government.
Officers and persons responsible for the acts or omissions that resulted in death and suffering should be charged and prosecuted for these crimes. They should not be permitted to hide behind safeguards provided to public servants and/or the RELA volunteers, which unfortunately only promotes culture of impunity with no sense of responsibility and respect for human life.
We call on the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) to immediately commence a public inquiry into these deaths and detention places generally, and come up with concrete recommendations which could be implemented that will improve state of cleanliness, hygiene and healthcare of all detention places in Malaysia.
We also call upon the Ministry of Health and the government of Malaysia to take necessary steps to ensure proper steps be taken to ensure that such disregard for life does not happen again.
We reiterate the call for the abolition of RELA, and restate our position that law enforcement, and management of detention places should be done by professionally trained full-time public servants, not volunteers.
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