Saturday, January 27, 2018
China: US Navy’s reckless operations in South China Sea will only hit a brick wall
On January 17, the U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer the USS Hopper sailed near China’s Huangyan Island without permission from the Chinese government. The Chinese Navy immediately indentified the trespassing U.S. warship and warned it leave Chinese waters. The reckless provocation ended in disgrace for the U.S. Navy.
The provocative move comes on the heels of the release of the U.S. National Defense Strategy for 2018, which laid out an aggressive strategy against “strategic competitors” and “revisionist powers.”
Some US officials had pointed an accusing finger at China for the “militarization” of the South China Sea.
China’s sovereignty over Huangyan Island and its adjacent waters is indisputable. Aggressive acts by U.S. warships in the South China Sea undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, and threaten the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel engaged in normal activities, violating the basic norms of international relations and harming relations between the two countries and their militaries.
Shows of strength in the name of “freedom of navigation” operations go against the common interests of all parties in the South China Sea to enhance peaceful cooperation. In fact, the situation in the South China Sea is not as bad as some make it out to be. For example, China and ASEAN have adopted the framework of the “Code of Conduct for the South China Sea,” and China is working with ASEAN to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation for the benefit of all.
USS Hopper (DDG 70) Photo from navy.mil
The U.S. decision to stir up trouble reveals who is behind the “militarization” of the South China Sea. For its part, China has established a consultation mechanism with the Philippines, and the two countries are discussing ways to foster maritime cooperation. In addition, China and ASEAN are expected to further expand maritime cooperation, and the two have already agreed to conduct a joint maritime exercise in 2018. It is against this backdrop of peace and cooperation that a U.S. warship ran rampant through Chinese waters.
Such reckless behavior will only hit a brick wall.
As a commentary in the People’s Daily newspaper on January 22 pointed out, if the U.S. keeps stirring up trouble and creating tension in the South China Sea, China will be forced to come to the conclusion that it is indeed necessary to strengthen and speed up the building of its capabilities in the South China Sea so as to safeguard regional peace and stability.
While the anti-China theme does grab attention, the reality of the situation is that China plays a positive role in regional cooperation, and the rapid growth of China has benefited all of ASEAN. If the United States hopes to have a long-term role in East Asia, then it should get with the program and participate in regional affairs in a constructive manner and work for the benefit of common interests rather than its own selfish interests.
Russian economy under Putin: Quality of life tripled, foreign debt fell 75%
Vladimir Putin was first elected as Russian President in 2000. Here’s how the Russian economy has transformed in the intervening years by numbers.
Quality of life
Before Putin’s election, Russia had a $9,889 GDP per capita by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The figure had almost tripled by 2017, and has now reached $27,900. Russia has the highest GDP per capita among its fellow BRICS countries, with the next-highest, China, having just $16,624. The PPP takes into account the relative cost of living and the inflation rates of countries in order to compare living standards in different nations.
The average nominal monthly wage has grown almost 11-fold from $61 to $652. Unemployment has contracted from 13 percent to 5.2 percent. Pensions have grown over 1,000 percent in the same period from $20 to $221.
Economy performance
Russia is the sixth-largest economy in the world by PPP, with a $4-trillion GDP. PwC has predicted that, by 2050, the country will become the largest economy in Europe by this measure, leaving behind Germany and the United Kingdom.
Back in 1999, the Russian economy by PPP was worth only $620 billion. So, in the last 18 years, Russian economic output in these terms has increased by 600 percent.
Inflation rates have decreased from 36.5 percent to 2.5 percent by the end of 2017. The total value of assets of the Russian banking system has risen 24-fold to $1.43 trillion. Capitalization of the Russian Stock Market has grown more than 15-fold to $621 billion.
Public debt & foreign reserves
When Putin was elected in 2000, Russia had just $12 billion in reserves, accompanied by a public debt, which was almost equal to the country’s economic output at 92.1 percent.
Things have changed markedly in 18 years, as Russia’s public debt has now shrunk to 17.4 percent of GDP and reserves have increased to $356 billion. Low debt and growing reserves helped the country to live through the economic crisis of 2008 and the recession of 2014-2016, caused by a fall in oil prices and Western sanctions.
Russian gold reserves have increased by more than 500 percent since 2000. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) added 9.3 tons of gold to its reserves in December, bringing the total yearly holdings to a record 1,838.211 tons – worth over $76 billion in monetary terms.
The World Gold Council shows that Russia is the largest buyer of gold and is the world's third-biggest producer, with the Central Bank purchasing from domestic miners through commercial banks.
Agriculture
While the Russian economy remains dominated by oil and gas revenues, its agriculture sector has boomed in recent years. Russian farmers produced their largest ever crop in the 2017 agricultural year, breaking the 40-year-old Soviet record, and harvesting more than 130 million tons.
In 2016, Russia became the world’s leader in wheat exports. Since the early 2000s, the Russian share of the world wheat market has quadrupled, from four to 16 percent.
Although agriculture still remains far behind the energy sector, it surpassed arms sales and became the country's second-largest export.
Russia started exporting grain in 2002, selling a little over seven million tons. In 2017, Russia wanted to sell 45 million tons – an increase of more than 600 percent.
Saudi accused of rights abuses in Yemen civilian deaths
The United Nations panel examined 10 air attacks in 2017 that killed 157 people, and found that the targets included a migrant boat, a night market, five residential buildings, a motel, a vehicle and government forces, according to a copy of the report shown to Al Jazeera.
The United Nations panel examined 10 air attacks in 2017 that killed 157 people, and found that the targets included a migrant boat, a night market, five residential buildings, a motel, a vehicle and government forces, according to a copy of the report shown to Al Jazeera.
"This is a report to the UN Security Council that has not been made public, but I've been allowed to read a copy. It's very hard hitting and very critical of all of the parties in the war in Yemen," Al Jazeera diplomatic editor James Bays said.
The panel said it requested information from the Saudi-led coalition for the rationale behind such attacks, but did not receive a response. The attacks were carried out by precision-guided munitions, so it is likely these were the intended targets, the report points out.
"Even if in some cases, the Saudi-led coalition had targeted legitimate military objectives, the panel finds it highly unlikely that the IHL [International Humanitarian Law] principles of proportionality, and precautions in attack were met," the report stated.
The report also cited a "widespread and systematic" pattern of "arbitrary arrests, deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances". It was particularly scathing about UAE camps, where it says torture has been taking place.
"The report talks about beatings, electrocutions, constrained suspension, and it talks about something called the cage which is confinement in a cage in the sunlight and the denial of medical treatment," James Bays said.
"Working with the gov of Yemen gives the UAE plausible deniability," he added.
'Threat to peace'
Proxy forces funded and armed by the coalition "pose a threat to peace, security and stability of Yemen", the panel said, and "will do more to further the fragility of Yemen than they will do to hold the state together".
The report also said that southern secession in Yemen has become a genuine possibility, due in part to the length of the war, the lack of military progress and divisions that have emerged in the country.
According to Bays, the report wonders if Yemen can remain one country.
"People in the south are displaying the old flag of South Yemen and they are not loyal to President Hadi even though they are under his command," Bays said.
The report is also critical of Iran's role in the conflict, focussing specifically on supporting Houthi rebels, who stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014 and captured large expanses of the country,with military equipment.
"The report says there have been military equipment and drones that were of Iranian origin and that were introduced into Yemen after the Security Council adopted an arms embargo," Al Jazeera correspondent Bays said.
Since the beginning of Yemen's war, more than 10,000 people have been killed, according to the UN.
In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a large aerial campaign against the Houthis, aimed at restoring the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
A majority of the more than 5,000 civilian deaths were caused by the Saudi-led coalition, of which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a member, the UN has previously said.
The UN's top human rights official, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, had called for an independent inquiry into atrocities in Yemen for three years before the international community agreed in 2017.
In September, the Netherlands and Canada debuted a draft resolution that would establish an international commission of inquiry to make sure "perpetrators of violations and abuses, including those that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, are held accountable".
The resolution was approved after China signalled its support later that month.
#Yemen: ‘Heart-breaking’ mass drowning a symptom of devastating conflict and humanitarian crisis
Responding to reports that at least 30 Somali and Ethiopian refugees and migrants drowned after leaving the coast of south-western Yemen to flee back to Africa, Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International, said:
“This heart-breaking tragedy underscores, yet again, just how devastating Yemen’s conflict continues to be for civilians. Amid ongoing hostilities and crushing restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, many people who came to Yemen to flee conflict and repression elsewhere are now being forced yet again to flee in search of safety. Some are dying in the process.
“This heart-breaking tragedy underscores, yet again, just how devastating Yemen’s conflict continues to be for civilians. Amid ongoing hostilities and crushing restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, many people who came to Yemen to flee conflict and repression elsewhere are now being forced yet again to flee in search of safety. Some are dying in the process.
This heart-breaking tragedy underscores, yet again, just how devastating Yemen’s conflict continues to be for civilians.
“During almost three years of Yemen’s conflict, all parties have flagrantly flouted international law. Civilian lives have been devastated by indiscriminate bombing and shelling, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and a spiralling humanitarian crisis that has made more than 22 million people reliant on aid to survive.
“The international community must halt arms transfers that could be used in the conflict, cooperate to ensure accountability for war crimes and other serious violations, and pressure the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to fully lift the restrictions on aid and commercial imports of essential goods which are exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.”
Reports of gunfire on overcrowded boat
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Yemen, at least 152 Somali and Ethiopian refugees and migrants left the Yemeni port of Aden on an overcrowded boat with people smugglers on 23 January. The boat never made it to its destination in Djibouti after it capsized amid reports of guns being fired on board.
UN agencies and the Yemeni coast guard are working to establish more information about the incident.
In a report published earlier this month, UNHCR stated that there are 2,014,026 internally displaced persons in Yemen, while an estimated 1,457 families have been forced to flee since December due to the latest escalation in western Yemen. There are currently more than 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers from other countries in Yemen.
“The international community must halt arms transfers that could be used in the conflict, cooperate to ensure accountability for war crimes and other serious violations, and pressure the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to fully lift the restrictions on aid and commercial imports of essential goods which are exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.”
Reports of gunfire on overcrowded boat
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Yemen, at least 152 Somali and Ethiopian refugees and migrants left the Yemeni port of Aden on an overcrowded boat with people smugglers on 23 January. The boat never made it to its destination in Djibouti after it capsized amid reports of guns being fired on board.
UN agencies and the Yemeni coast guard are working to establish more information about the incident.
In a report published earlier this month, UNHCR stated that there are 2,014,026 internally displaced persons in Yemen, while an estimated 1,457 families have been forced to flee since December due to the latest escalation in western Yemen. There are currently more than 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers from other countries in Yemen.
Canada Should Follow Germany’s Example and Halt Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges the Canadian government to follow the example of the German government vis-à-vis relations with Saudi Arabia. On January 19th, the German government announced that it will be suspending all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, due to the Saudi documented human rights violations in Yemen. CJPME applauds Germany’s principled position, and calls on the Canadian government to likewise suspend all arms sales to the Saudis.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly ignored international condemnation of its military campaign in Yemen. Over the past two years, Saudi-led coalition strikes have killed over 4,000 Yemeni civilians, demonstrating reckless disregard for civilian casualties. Worse, a Saudi-led blockade of Yemen has restricted the flow of fuel, food, and basic medicine into Yemen, where over a million Yemenis are suffering from the outbreak of cholera. The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids the obstruction of medicines and supplies to civilians during times of armed conflict. The World Health Organization claims that 20 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian assistance that is being restricted by the Saudi blockade. The UN, alongside multiple human rights organizations, has accused Saudi Arabia of committing breaches of international law, and even war crimes in Yemen.
CJPME calls on the Canadian government to cease arms sales to the Saudi Kingdom, and stand up for human rights. CJPME finds Canada’s decision to pledge $12 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen to be particularly cynical, given that Canada is profiting from $15 billion sales of light armoured vehicles to the Saudis. CJPME President Thomas Woodley argues,
“Aid to Yemen is fine, but the only way Canada can truly impact the situation in Yemen, is to stem the flow of arms to Saudi Arabia, and pressure the Kingdom to end its blockade.”
For years, CJPME and other human rights organizations have consistently called on the Canadian government to halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia. Even without the Saudi abuses in Yemen, CJPME was concerned by the video and photographic evidence showing Canadian-made light armoured vehicles committing human rights abuses against Saudi civilians. With Saudi Arabia’s track record as one of the world’s greatest human rights violators, CJPME urges the Canadians government to follow Germany’s lead and stop all weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
KERRY TO ABBAS CONFIDANTE: 'STAY STRONG AND DO NOT GIVE IN TO TRUMP'
While the White House has confirmed that since the Jerusalem Declaration there has been a complete disconnect between the Palestinian Authority and the Trump administration, it turns out that the previous administration has maintained contact with PA officials. Maariv reported that former US secretary of state John Kerry met in London with a close associate of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Hussein Agha, for a long and open conversation about a variety of topics. Agha apparently reported details of the conversation to senior PA officials in Ramallah. A senior PA official confirmed to Maariv that the meeting took place.
The former US Secretary of State also surprised his interlocutor by saying he was seriously considering running for president in 2020.
Then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a bilateral meeting at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan on September 19, 2016. .
While the White House has confirmed that since the Jerusalem Declaration there has been a complete disconnect between the Palestinian Authority and the Trump administration, it turns out that the previous administration has maintained contact with PA officials. Maariv reported that former US secretary of state John Kerry met in London with a close associate of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Hussein Agha, for a long and open conversation about a variety of topics. Agha apparently reported details of the conversation to senior PA officials in Ramallah. A senior PA official confirmed to Maariv that the meeting took place.
Agha is one of Abbas’s closest associates and one of the veteran peacemakers with Israel. He conducted the “London Track,” secret negotiations held from 2010 to 2013 between the emissaries of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attorney Yitzhak Molcho and Brig.-Gen. Mike Herzog, under the supervision and presence of Dennis Ross. Agha also authored with Yossi Beilin the Beilin-Abbas agreement in the 1990s. He is considered a staunch supporter of the peace process, very close to Abbas, and maintains an extensive network of contacts, including Israelis.
During the conversation, according to the report, Kerry asked Agha to convey a message to Abbas and ask him to “hold on and be strong.” Tell him, he told Agha, “that he should stay strong in his spirit and play for time, that he will not break and will not yield to President [Donald] Trump’s demands.”
According to Kerry, Trump will not remain in office for a long time. It was reported that Kerry said that within a year there was a good chance that Trump would not be in the White House.
Kerry offered his help to the Palestinians in an effort to advance the peace process and recommended that Abbas present his own peace plan. “Maybe it is time for the Palestinians to define their peace principles and present a positive plan,” Kerry suggested.
He promised to use all his contacts and all his abilities to get support for such a plan.
He asked Abbas, through Agha, not to attack the US or the Trump administration, but to concentrate on personal attacks on Trump himself, whom Kerry says is solely and directly responsible for the situation.
According to the report, when referring to the president, Kerry used highly derogatory terms. Kerry offered to help create an alternative peace initiative and promised to help garner international support from Europeans, Arab states and the international community.
Kerry hinted that many in the American establishment, as well as in American intelligence, are dissatisfied with Trump’s performance and the way he leads their country.
He surprised his interlocutor by saying he was seriously considering running for president in 2020. When asked about his advanced age, he said he was not much older than Trump and would not have an age problem.
Kerry explained, according to the report, that even in the Republican Party they do not know what to do with Trump and are very dissatisfied with him and that patience and breathing time are needed to get through this difficult period.
In a report on the conversation, Agha said that Kerry appears to be “crazy about things,” very energetic, and someone who is yearning to help realize the dream of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
It is reasonable to assume that the Netanyahu government will use the details of this conversation to claim that Kerry is “obsessed and messianic” and pro-Palestinian. It is not certain that this thesis stands the test of reality.
It should be remembered that Kerry is an old friend of Netanyahu and has been a consistent supporter of Israel for decades. He believes that a genuine peace process is essential for both sides and for the survival of the State of Israel, and that the two-state solution is the only realistic option that will enable Israel to continue to maintain its character as a Jewish democratic state.
It is indeed obsessive on Kerry’s part. This “obsession” was once permitted, but has recently become almost illegitimate and post-Zionist.
Agha preferred not to respond. Kerry’s response could not be obtained.
He promised to use all his contacts and all his abilities to get support for such a plan.
He asked Abbas, through Agha, not to attack the US or the Trump administration, but to concentrate on personal attacks on Trump himself, whom Kerry says is solely and directly responsible for the situation.
According to the report, when referring to the president, Kerry used highly derogatory terms. Kerry offered to help create an alternative peace initiative and promised to help garner international support from Europeans, Arab states and the international community.
Kerry hinted that many in the American establishment, as well as in American intelligence, are dissatisfied with Trump’s performance and the way he leads their country.
He surprised his interlocutor by saying he was seriously considering running for president in 2020. When asked about his advanced age, he said he was not much older than Trump and would not have an age problem.
Kerry explained, according to the report, that even in the Republican Party they do not know what to do with Trump and are very dissatisfied with him and that patience and breathing time are needed to get through this difficult period.
In a report on the conversation, Agha said that Kerry appears to be “crazy about things,” very energetic, and someone who is yearning to help realize the dream of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
It is reasonable to assume that the Netanyahu government will use the details of this conversation to claim that Kerry is “obsessed and messianic” and pro-Palestinian. It is not certain that this thesis stands the test of reality.
It should be remembered that Kerry is an old friend of Netanyahu and has been a consistent supporter of Israel for decades. He believes that a genuine peace process is essential for both sides and for the survival of the State of Israel, and that the two-state solution is the only realistic option that will enable Israel to continue to maintain its character as a Jewish democratic state.
It is indeed obsessive on Kerry’s part. This “obsession” was once permitted, but has recently become almost illegitimate and post-Zionist.
Agha preferred not to respond. Kerry’s response could not be obtained.
DISAPPEARED CHINESE ENGINEER HOLDS TIES WITH PAKISTAN HOSTAGE
Amid a breakdown in relations with the US and questions over China’s commitment to its Belt and Road investments, the suspected kidnapping of Pingzhi Liu could not have come at a worse time for Islamabad.
Chinese engineer Pingzhi Liu went missing almost a month ago. It took Pakistani authorities three weeks to classify Liu’s disappearance as a probable kidnapping that could have significant political and economic consequences. Identifying the mysterious disappearance as a kidnapping is not only embarrassing because Liu was one of thousands of Chinese working in Pakistan who are guarded by a specially created 15,000-man Pakistani military unit. It is also awkward because it coincides with apparent Chinese questioning of aspects of the US$56 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crown jewel of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, and increasingly strained relations between Pakistan and the United States.
Liu, 36, was accorded military protection even though his project, the Karot Hydropower Plant, located near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, is not part of CPEC. Karot was the first project financed by China’s state-owned US$40 billion Silk Road fund, established in 2014 by President Xi Jinping to foster increased investment in Eurasia. Liu went missing on December 20 while on night duty. He was last seen walking out of a tunnel at about 3.30am while talking on his phone. No claim for his potential kidnapping or ransom has been made.
The Karot Hydropower Plant, the first project financed by China’s Silk Road fund. Photo: Karot Power
That Liu was working on a project in Punjab rather than Balochistan, a troubled region with a history of attacks on Chinese personnel, has set alarm bells ringing.
China last month warned its nationals in Pakistan, a country plagued by religious and ethnic militancy, of plans for a series of imminent terrorist attacks on Chinese targets.
“It is understood that terrorists plan in the near term to launch a series of attacks against Chinese organisations and personnel in Pakistan,” the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said on its website. The embassy warned all “Chinese-invested organisations and Chinese citizens to increase security awareness, strengthen internal precautions, reduce trips outside as much as possible, and avoid crowded public spaces”.
Pakistan’s stance on militants alienated the US. Is China next?
Police have twice detained for interrogation Chinese and Pakistani workers associated with the Karot project. They are also introducing security and vetting measures for Pakistani nationals working with Chinese personnel.
If proven to be a kidnapping, Liu’s disappearance could not have come at a more awkward moment. China has signalled that it is considering freezing further CPEC-related investment until the country’s domestic situation stabilises. China is believed to have so far invested US$29 billion of the US$56 billion committed.
Pakistani railway employees prepare a float decorated to mark the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as part of Independence Day celebrations in Islamabad. Photo: AFP
China had earlier decided to redevelop criteria for the funding of CPEC-related infrastructure projects in an apparent effort to enhance the Pakistani military’s stake in the country’s economy at a time the armed forces are flexing their political muscle.
The Chinese decision that reportedly led to the suspension of funding for three major road projects valued at a total of US$850 million – the upgrading of the Dera Ismail Khan-Zhob motorway and the Karakorum highway as well as construction of a 110km road linking Khuzdar and Basima – suggested that Beijing was not averse to exploiting its massive investment in the Belt and Road to shape the political environment in key countries in its authoritarian mould.
The possible investment freeze threw into doubt China’s reliability as Pakistan’s all-weather friend at the very moment the Donald Trump administration announced it was cutting almost all security aid to Pakistan, believed to total more than US$1 billion, until it deals with militant networks operating on its soil.
Pakistan, in response and in advance of a visit by a United Nations Security Council team to evaluate Pakistani compliance with its resolutions, has sought to crack down on the fundraising and political activities of Muhammad Hafez Saeed, an internationally designated terrorist accused of having masterminded the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
Pakistan’s predicament could worsen if Trump, who has targeted Pakistan in blunt tweets in the past month, decides to tighten the screws beyond cutting aid by taking further punitive action such as sanctioning Pakistani military officials, revoking Pakistan’s non-NATO ally status; increasing drone strikes beyond Pakistan’s tribal areas; designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror, and/or pressuring international financial institutions to blacklist Pakistan.
The sensitivity of the timing of Liu’s disappearance was heightened by the fact some in Pakistan doubt CPEC can be the magic wand for Pakistan’s economy and regional geopolitical position that Pakistani and Chinese leaders make it out to be.
What do you get if you cross Pakistan’s Game of Thrones and China’s Belt and Road?
Criticism of CPEC has focused on doubts about the financial viability of various projects, Pakistan’s ability to repay debts, a lack of transparency, and claims that Chinese nationals were usurping Pakistani jobs.
In a rare challenging of Chinese commercial terms, Pakistan recently withdrew from a Chinese-funded dam project.
Pakistani Water and Power Development Authority chairman Muzammil Hussain charged that “Chinese conditions for financing the Diamer-Bhasha Dam were not doable and against our interests.”
China and Pakistan were recently at odds over ownership of the dam, a US$14 billion, 4,500 megawatt hydropower project on the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan near disputed Kashmir. Pakistan dropped a bid to have the dam financed under the CPEC framework in November. Earlier, a State Bank of Pakistan study concluded that exports of marble to China, Pakistan’s foremost rough-hewn, freshly-excavated marble export market, and the re-export to Pakistan of Pakistani semi-processed marble was “hurting Pakistan’s marble industry to a significant extent”.
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Pakistan. Photo: Handout
A report by the Pakistani Senate, that has repeatedly criticised CPEC’s lack of transparency and Chinese commercial policies, concluded China would for the next four decades get 91 per cent of the revenues generated by the port of Gwadar.
If you doubt who is in charge in Pakistan …
The vanishing of Liu, if proven to be a criminally – or politically – motivated kidnapping, threatens to put Pakistan between a rock and a hard place. Its relationship with its traditional ally, the US, is on the rocks while its ties to China are proving to be more complex than Pakistan had envisioned.
Amid domestic political instability, anti-government protests, and pressure to come clean in its getting a grip on militancy, Pakistani democracy may be saddled with the bill. While neither the US nor China can afford a complete rupture, neither has a clear strategy to help Pakistan stabilise.
China’s solution appears to be tacitly supporting a greater role of the military in Pakistani politics – a formula that has in the past failed to produce results and is more part of the problem than part of the solution. ■
#ZainabMurderCase #JusticeForZainab - Pakistan’s hapless internal security situation
By Farhan Bokhari
Zainab’s death shows that no large-scale change is possible unless formidable firewalls are created around the police force, keeping it completely insulated from outside influence.
The arrest of an alleged serial child rapist in central Pakistan last week has been widely celebrated by the ruling elite in the country as a major breakthrough against criminality.
And yet, in addition to the obvious matter of this event exposing some uncomfortable truths about worsening social norms across the south Asian country, the case has vividly highlighted the powerful reality of a ruling structure that remains too detached from the country’s mainstream.
The hunt for the alleged rapist, known as Imran, was triggered following a widespread outcry over the discovery of the mutilated body of seven-year-old Zainab Ameen from a trash dump in Kasur, a densely populated city in central Pakistan. Unlike the past when many similar cases were quickly hushed up, the public outcry over this particular heinous crime was probably a reflection of the changing times in and around Pakistan. The matter quickly became known to just about every household all over the country.
It was therefore hardly surprising that “justice for Zainab” — the social media campaign — became a lightening rod for a range of activists, right from the media to members of Pakistan’s increasingly vocal civil society and even politicians. All were united in their demand of thorough investigation. In spite of Imran’s arrest, the case has also highlighted a downside to Pakistan’s present-day evolution.
Zainab became the eighth victim of Imran adding to a string of children who were all abducted from Kasur in the past three years, subsequently raped, killed and mutilated.
The sense of urgency to promptly investigate the case came from key officials, notably Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, as it became clear that public protests in Kasur against Zainab’s killing were ready to spread.
Looking back at the events driven by the reaction, its now clear that the authorities in Punjab were forced to act quickly and decisively as a huge political cost stared right at face of the establishment. Going forward, there are two equally important lessons to be drawn from what will be remembered as a memorable week, though for a very tragic reason.
As Pakistan has confronted unending security challenges from militants along the border with Afghanistan, the country’s resolve to also tackle many of its internal security challenges appears to remain weak. Anecdotal evidence from large cities clearly suggests that the reforms that ought to have been made in the policing network are far from having even begun in the first place. Scores of policemen deployed to serve the elite, notably ruling politicians and high officials, stand out as a rather uneasy sight. And yet, there is very little evidence of a qualitative or quantitative rise in deployments across individual neighbourhoods to protect the common people.
Meanwhile, archaic methods still govern the ways in which police works across Pakistan, suggesting that this fundamental pillar of governance remains out of date and even out of shape. For ordinary Pakistanis, an oft witnessed daily sight is that of traffic policemen standing on roadsides and stopping vehicles driving by. Typically, top of the line limousines such as Mercedes, BMWs and SUVs are almost never in the line-up of those subjected to routine checks. Its abundantly clear that in such routine checks, the police is determined to focus just on those who have little or no financial or political clout.
Meanwhile, a recent investigation into the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi, earlier this month, in an encounter with the police, simply serves as an eye-opener on the issue of worsening public safety. Contrary to claims by Karachi Police officials that Mehsud was connected to Taliban militants, his friends and family members have described him as an aspiring young model who loved to dress up. Rao Anwar, a prominent Karachi police officer with alleged links to powerful politicians, is suspected to have ordered the killing. The case has highlighted the stark reality of the impunity surrounding Pakistan’s police force.
Reversing criminality across Pakistan urgently requires decisive action on a number of fronts with the end objective of reforming the way individual neighbourhoods are policed. But key reforms must be preceded by a change in the mindsets of the elite, long obsessed with treating policemen as no more than their personal employees for security duties. Once that change comes about, the way forward will have to be driven by two equally vital changes. On the one hand, its vital that police reforms are put in place to lift the capacity of policing to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This should include action in key areas such as providing Pakistan’s police force with modern-day training and equipping it with advanced weapons to tackle contemporary issues.
On the other hand, independence of the police force will not only have to be ensured, but zealously guarded, too. In a nutshell, Pakistan’s internal security needs can just not be met unless formidable firewalls are created around the police force, keeping it completely insulated from outside influence.
Meanwhile, given the current mood of the public over Zainab’s death, the hanging of the accused, if proven guilty, may help quell some of the anger. However, that alone will not be enough as ordinary Pakistanis remain exposed to criminality across the country. A hanging, even public, may produce powerful images for the cameras, but that cannot be a substitute for reforms that are long overdue.
#ZainabMurderCase #JusticeForZainab - In #Pakistan, One Girl's Death Could Lead To Changes In Country's Culture
By DIAA HADID
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
To Pakistan next, where people are clamoring for the public hanging of an alleged serial killer. A warning - there are details coming over these next four minutes or so that could disturb some listeners. This story begins with a little girl. She was found in a trash heap after being raped and killed. It is an awful story. And among the many questions it's raising is whether her death might lead to changes in Pakistan. NPR's Diaa Hadid visited her hometown today, and Diaa joins me now. Hi.
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: Hey there, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Tell us what this little girl's name was and what you found when you visited her town.
HADID: So this little girl - her name was Zainab Amin. She was 7 years old. And she was from a provincial cotton mill town called Kasur. It's about an hour from where I am. And it could be anywhere in Pakistan except for this. Just about every kid I saw was escorted. And when I asked their parents, their grandparents and their older siblings why these kids weren't running around freely like they are anywhere else in Pakistan, they said it was because they were afraid of letting them out alone. One of the people I spoke to is a human rights lawyer called Waqas Abid, and here's what he had to say. He really echoes what residents were feeling.
WAQAS ABID: This is very painful for me. Whenever they go to the school, I try to drop them myself. And we - all family members are very much careful. It's very painful when I think that - what happened with the innocent children in our city.
HADID: So when he says the innocent children in our city, what he's talking about is that activists count here that 13 children were raped and killed over the past two years here. The 13th child was Zainab.
KELLY: Now, police believe they have found the alleged killer. He's been arrested. Is that right?
HADID: That's right. He's a 23-year-old construction worker, and he lived about a minute's walk from where Zainab lived. And I spoke to his neighbors today, and they said he'd like to go to the roof of their building to watch the girls in the pink-painted primary school that's just across the narrow alleyway.
KELLY: To look down at the girls school - it's awful. It sends chills up your spine.
HADID: Yeah.
KELLY: Let me ask you this. He's been caught, but you said people are still scared of letting their children out to run around freely. Why?
HADID: Because people worry that there might be another murderer. And it really just - it just gets to the heart of the problem in Kasur and generally in Pakistan - is that people don't trust the police. They don't trust the government. They see their officials as corrupt, inept, inefficient. And they see them as being subservient to the rich and contemptuous of the poor. And most of the families whose children were killed here are quite poor.
KELLY: So Diaa, people are furious, I gather. There have been riots. There have been calls for this suspect to be hanged if he's found guilty. People have attacked the police station where he was being held. Do we know yet what the lasting impact might be, what changes this might result in going forward?
HADID: So when I was in Kasur today, I went to the police station which still reeks of smoke from when residents tried to burn it down. And there was still smashed cars in the yard. And police said that the furor around this case really changed things, and it forced the state government to throw more resources and money at this case, which is why they were able to solve it. And so that's one important change that we might see looking forward - is that the government will be reluctant to let these cases drag on like they did in the past.
KELLY: I also wonder, Diaa. Is it significant just that this is - we are talking about this girl by name. Her family has come forward. The national press is all over this story. Are there more cases coming to light as a result of what happened to her?
HADID: Yeah, there are. I spoke to one NGO worker who said that he counted 100 more cases that had come forward after Zainab's death created this...
KELLY: One hundred - wow.
HADID: ...Enormous response in the media. One hundred - and those aren't cases that happened after she was killed. They're families who were reluctant to say what had happened to their children, who found the courage to come forward. That in itself is a pretty big deal here.
KELLY: That's NPR's Diaa Hadid reporting from Lahore. Diaa, thank you.
HADID: Thank you, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR
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