Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced that parliament should be dissolved in order to pave the way for the 11th general elections. At a press conference, PM announced the King’s approval to dissolve the parliament with immediate effect to allow elections to be held. PM further added that he had advised all the states to dissolve the state assemblies with immediate effect. PM Abdullah had indicated that he did not expect a repeat of the 2004 landslide where the Barisan Nasional coalition seized almost about 90% of the parliamentary seats. However, the polling date was yet to be decided by the Election Commission. Rumours say that it would probably be fixed for 20 or 21 March. PM Abdullah was also hopeful that he would be reelected as PM with two thirds of votes going to him. Expect this situation to get heated up during the next 30 days with mind games being played among politicians involved. 
There would be war of words, war of flags. But this is exactly what makes Malaysia politically special. People are so enthusiastic about their respective beliefs. Voting has to be take place within 60 days of dissolving parliament. According to intelligence agency reports, the 12th General Election will be the first election in Malaysian history where voters will vote based on candidates rather than parties. As much as the right candidate will be crucial in determining who gets voted in, the party the candidate represents will also have a bearing on who wins and who gets ousted. As much as that candidate could be a suitable candidate, but in the wrong constituency it would be disastrous. Image Credit: Malaxi Via The Australian News
Malaysia dissolves Parliament, pays way for early general elections
Beijing Olympics under Darfur shadow
Following Steven Spielberg’s withdrawal as an artistic adviser from the Beijing Olympics yesterday, China is now being pressurized by the international community to use its influence on ally Sudan to stop atrocities in the Darfur region. This August’s showpiece event is set to be overshadowed by China’s overall human rights records and Beijing’s alliance with Sudan that is behind the horrifying atrocities in Darfur. A letter of protest, organised by a group of Nobel laureates and international athletes, criticises the Chinese President Hu Jintao for providing unnecessary economical, political and military support to a government ‘that continues to carry out atrocities against its own people’. Many human rights activists have proposed a boycott of the Games, which to me is personally a bit too far ahead, yet, the 2008 Olympics should be used a background to highlight China’s complicity with a genocide that is unfolding in the deserts of Darfur. Sudan is an important trading partner for communist China, supplying arms and ammunitions and buying oil in return. Beijing has also threatened to veto United Nations security council resolutions imposing sanctions on Khartoum. Analysts feel any international arms and economic embargo on Sudan would be a setback for the Chinese economically as the Asian giant buys two-thirds of Sudanese oil exports mostly at highly subsidised rates.
Although China is not going to be bothered by this sort of intellectual protests, there is an indication that Beijing is concerned that the Games could be under threat from international activists who could politicise the planet’s most high-profile sporting event in August. To prevent any diplomatic mishandling, the Chinese government has appointed a special envoy to deal with Sudan and has, on occasions pressurised the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to accept an international peacekeeping force in the region. Darfur is not the only concern for Beijing. The preparation for the Olympics have already been hampered with some leading athletes and countries voicing their concerns about the quality of Beijing’s air pollution. But what could severely dent the mighty Asian nation’s reputation is a host of negative human rights records that the state is accused of. It is under fire over its imprisonment of dissidents, lawyers, journalists, excessive state control over the internet and persecution of unapproved religious groups. It remains to be seen what the diplomatic stance the Chinese take over a growing opposition to the Beijing’s role in Darfur and other controversial regional matters. But the world, no doubt, would want to see a successful Olympics in the Chinese capital and maybe the Games could bring a change of heart in Chinese diplomacy in the world. Source Link: The Independent Image Link: Beijing2008
President Musharraf’s unpopularity grows ahead of February 18 elections
Pakistani President Parvez Musharraf faces an unprecedented opposition in his country ahead of the National Assembly elections on Monday. Although this is not a Presidential election, President Musharraf’s fate probably rests on the results of the elections. An opposition victory in the provincial assemblies and the National Assembly could pit the former army chief against a very hostile parliament which would then pressurise him to step down from his post. There have been media reports that the pro-Musharraf party Pakistan Muslim League-Q(PML-Q)is taking all the necessary steps, fair and foul, to maintain its supremacy in the provincial assemblies. PML-Q’s rivals are the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League-N(PML-N) but both the opposition parties allege that President Musharraf would not allow a free and fair poll to take place come Monday. Opinion polls suggest that the PML-Q, which was created by President Musharraf to back his military rule, is facing a lack of support in all the provinces that would go to vote on February 18. The Independent reveals that the support for the PML-Q stands as low as 12% as the opposition cashes in on the President’s increasing unpopularity. Months of political turmoil and military violence have made the nuclear-armed US ally very volatile and the ordinary people are fed up of daily violence, inflation, power shortages and widespread corruption. President Musharraf has already called Monday’s vote as ‘mother of all elections’ and has urged international opinion poll firms not to pre-judge results which could incite violence in the country. If the polls are fair, which many do not expect to be, there is every chance that the PPP would gain a massive sympathy vote to win the elections. The assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is still fresh in the minds of the people and it remains to be seen whether the sympathy votes have enough strength to provide a major blow to President Musharraf’s political ambitions. What could hurt the opposition surge is the fact that extremism has proved to be a major stumbling block in path of election campaigning and low turnout is expected on Monday too as people are very much concerned about their security in voting queues. Among the four provinces that would go to the polls, Punjab and Sindh are the key and analysts believe that the PPP would gain immensely amidst a sympathy vote. With Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N also likely to make significant inroads, there is every possibility that the PPP and the PML-N would form a coalition government to put pressure on Musharraf. But it must not be forgotten that President Musharraf’s allies are very powerful and have the support of strong families in the countryside which could turn the contest on its head in a matter of moment. Whatever be the outcome, the international community hopes that Pakistan returns to normalcy and a democratic transition takes centrestage to eliminate the radical extremists. Source: Independent
Vested interests and politics harming Afghan cause
The statement by Michael Semple, a UN official arrested by the Afghan government on Christmas Day last year, brings to the fore many vital aspects of the conflict in Afghanistan. First and foremost is that there are many Afghan leaders, not only in Kabul, but all over the country, who have vested interests in maintaining status quo. Though western objectives in the country have not been met (a worried US is asking its allies to send in more troops), these Afghans are enjoying the clout and money in the present regime. They do not have to do the fighting; NATO is doing it and keeping the Taliban at bay. Moreover they are keen that Taliban is not brought into the mainstream of Afghan politics, as it would mean loss of their clout. Semple firmly believes that some elements of the Taliban could be coaxed to join the national government in Kabul and to stop fighting the US and NATO forces. There have long been suggestions of trying to pull in the ‘good’ elements of the Taliban. ‘Good’ meaning the moderate elements in the group. The problem the US hasn’t the faintest idea of how to go about it. In fact political games played by the status-quoist elements in the Afghan polity will continue to hinder any moves in this direction. Semple brought to light another disturbing fact; that personal enmities are being settled by labeling a person as a Taliban sympathizer. The western forces, ignorant of the local situation, then go after those thus branded, ultimately driving them into the arms of Taliban. These revelations bring into sharp focus the fact that Karzai’s government has no say in large parts of Afghanistan. It has failed to establish its sway over these areas, and I do not mean only militarily. Unscrupulous elements and Taliban have filled this vacuum. US still has a long way to go in Afghanistan. Image Source: Guardian
New face of violence: Suicide Bombers
The new face of violence in Afghanistan seems to be the suicide bombers who have become a gruesome reality in the region which has constantly battled long for stability and levelling. One of the recent features that the desperate government and the military have introduced is the strategy of raids which they assume would enable them to curb and monitor terrorist activities in the region. Taliban, which has its dominant roots in the region has started to use and employ suicide bombers as a means of fighting and asserting their influence just as the Iraqi violence has surged in Iraq. Gereshk and Helmand are the two main provinces in Afghanistan which have been the hub of the terrorist activities especially of suicide bombings. These suicide attacks have increased in the present and is being the newest feature if the marked violence in the regions. As more and more instability is being credited to Afghanistan, the human factor has taken on as the means to an end and also as the most dangerous of all the violence caused as more and more young men and women are falling prey to the brainwashing of the militants and terrorists for the sole purpose of becoming suicide bombers. What the government seeks to initiate is a strategy which is full of doubts and fissures as they themselves cannot apply these strategies to the core. These raid operations seem to limited as a Major Crispin d’Apice of the Coldstream Guards says: We cannot frankly justify going into peoples’ homes in a situation like this, kicking down doors, all guns blazing. That would be simply counter-productive. Although in the pretext of these raids, men have been detained and the weapons seized, ammunitions found and other activities have been uncovered, there are limitations to it as residents and people living in these areas are puzzled and stupefied because of these sudden and incongruous military operations. But it is about time we see how Afghanistan is going to unleash the terrorists who are living in the shelter of protection of the civilians including those who are not a part of the terrorist activities. Source: Independant Image
Can anti-Musharraf parties run Pakistan successfully?
The result of much awaited elections in Pakistan are about to be revealed and the supporters of Pakistan Peoples Party whose leader, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated on Dec. 27, and the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the faction led by Nawaz Sharif have started to celebrate the end of military rule. Pakistan’s opposition parties have won parliamentary elections, keeping Musharraf government and its allied parties out of office. But do you really think, government either formed by PPP alone or with alliance with other party like Pakistan Muslim League- N will bring any drastic change in Pakistan? Do you believe the opposition government will be able to create happiness, employment, prosperity, justice at all front, foreign investment, gender equality, security, and terror free nation? I doubt that. Pakistan, which has been witness of many major bomb explosions merely before 40 days of upcoming elections, is still socially and politically unstable. This election is for 272 seat in Pakistan’s Lower House and some regional offices. It is more a referendum between ‘Islam first, Pakistan second’ supporters and the ‘Pakistan first, Islam second’ advocates. Bhutto’s widower (and defacto head of the PPP) recently stated that he believes Al-Qaeda and Baitullah Mehsud (the Taliban leader who the Pakistani, US and British governments have identified as the most likely suspect in the Bhutto Assassination) was not responsible for his wife’s death. Any way I hope, the Feb. 18 elections would be yet another blow to the freedom of expression, civil liberties, constitution, societal tolerance, and the people’s participation in the state affairs in Pakistan. Via: NY Times
Asif Zardari appears confused on militants issue
It is pretty much clear as to who is going to come to power in Pakistan. It is going to be the PPP-PML(Nawaz) combine. The deputy chief of PPP, Makhdoom Amin Fahim will be probably the new Premier as he is experienced. But the real power will lie in the hands of Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. They will be the real players, albeit behind the scenes. The biggest concern for the US will be how the new government deals with the rising militancy problem. Some inkling has been provided by Asif Zardari in that regard. But Zardari is a novice in governance. What he has said reflects his confusion and the lack of cohesion in his thinking on the militancy issue. On the one hand he says the new government favours talks with the militants. This is hardly going to go well with the US. Musharraf tried it once and failed. The Taliban/Al Qaeda only strengthened during the period of truce that Musharraf had agreed upon with the tribal elders. The US is not going to allow the new regime to go in the same direction. Zardari than says slightly juvenile things like using the police against the militants and saving the army only for emergencies. He knows that it was only after the Frontier Corps failed that the army was sent in by Musharraf. The army too has had mixed results in the campaign. Perhaps when he talks of using the police, Zardari refers to an invigorated Frontier Corps. The US has announced that it will finance and train the body to make it more effective. If Zardari is speaking of talks with the militants only for political consumption, then it is acceptable. If he really means what he is saying then either he has not understood fully the actual situation on the ground in the tribal areas or he is extremely naive in the matter. One hopes wiser counsel from Nawaz Sharif and Fahim will prevail and the Pakistani government will not make the same mistake that Musharraf made about the militants in the tribal areas. Source: IHT Image
A new incident of rape increases security threat to Okinawa from the US Marines
The US military base at Okinawa in Japan is proving to be a great threat to the local people of the island. The US Marines have become a security threat to the residents of the region. In a recent incident of misdemeanor, a US Marine Tyrone Hadnott has been accused of raping a 14-year old Japanese girl. This incident has brought back memories of a similar brutal occurrence in Okinawa in 1995. However, the US administration was quick to take action against the guilty and a US envoy expressed regret but the people of Japan are unlikely to forgive the US Marines whose misconducts are continuing unabated. Okinawa had been converted to a US military base following the Japan-US Security Treaty after the end of the Second World War. The US military base had significantly changed the economy of the island whose residents mainly survived on agriculture as their chief mean of livelihood. With construction of bases, the main employment of the island changed to base work. The residents also earn money by leasing their lands to the US soldiers. However, with improvement in livelihood the residents of Okinawa, especially women, faced harrowing incidents of crime perpetrated by the US Marines. In 1996 the then Governor of Okinawa tried to urge the government of Japan to remove the US military base in the region by organizing a referendum. However, despite the threats the people of Okinawa faced from the Marines they were divided on the issue of removal of the US military base from the region for financial reasons. Until and unless the governments of Japan and USA decide on whether they would take stringent measures against the misbehaving US soldiers the problems of the residents of Okinawa will not be resolved. Via: Yahoo
US wants Musharraf to stay for now
Anti-Musharraf forces have won the elections in Pakistan. Both Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have been at the receiving end of Musharraf’s political games. One was thrown into prison, the other was exiled. One can hardly blame them if they now desire to clip the wings of the wily ex-general. Nawaz Sharif has publicly declared that the judges (Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury and co.) who had refused to fall in line at Musharraf’s whims must be re-instated immediately. The country’s powerful lawyers’ lobby has been making a similar demand. The spoilsport is turning out to be the usual favourite whipping boy in Pakistan, the US (and Britain). Both countries are frowning at such demands. Private meetings have taken place to try and persuade anti-Musharraf forces to drop their demands. The Washington Post attributes this US action due a fossilized mind-set in the Bush administration, which is failing to accept new realities. The real answer is more obvious and rooted in reality. The US does not want to rock the Musharraf boat till it finds an alternative to him. In the present situation of flux in Pakistan, things are far from clear yet. Zardari and Sharif may have won the elections, but the real power base in the country lies in the army. The man to watch now is Pakistan military chief, General Kayani. He has adopted a low profile till now. Musharraf had attempted to rig the recent elections so that his favored party, PML (Q), would come back to power, but Kayani had become alarmed at the strong unpopularity of Musharraf and desisted from lending the army for rigging purposes. The US will wait and watch till the situation crystallizes. The moment it finds that Kayani is willing to play ball and accepts the PPP-PML (Nawaz) government and is also amenable to US advice on policy matters, Musharraf will be dropped. Source: Independent Image
Miseries of Afghan women continue even after ousting the Taliban
Despite of the ‘war against terror’ being the moot cause for invading Afghanistan in 2002 by the United States of America and its NATO allies, amongst the litany of criticisms against the Taliban was the social injustice carried out on the women of Afghanistan. Now after six years of occupation of Afghanistan by the allied forces and a democratic Afghan government in control over the greater part of the domain, the plight of the Afghan women has not improved. According to the revelations made in the study titled ‘Womankind, Afghan Women and Girls Seven Years On’, 87% Afghan women complained of violent attacks, largely domestic, half of which were sexual abuse. More than 60% of the women in Afghanistan are forced into marriages. Despite of a 2007 law banning marriages under 16, there is rise in child marriages with girls as young as 6 years of age forced into a life of sexual slavery. An economy ravaged by war, rising corruption in the Afghan administration with the aids from international aids agencies being diverted away from developmental projects there has been no improvement in the financial condition of the common Afghans. Grinding poverty is the primary cause of the brutal practice of forced child marriages and denying women right to education and health care. The violation of human rights is not only concentrated on Afghan women belonging to the impoverished class of the society but the minority educated upper class Afghan women are not free from political and social threats. A number of women MPs in Afghanistan have been receiving letters from the government warning them of possible security threats to their lives for speaking against the country’s warlords, the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Despite of the country having a constitution and courts of law, Jirgas or the tribal councils are still deciding the fate of the women in rural areas. With the rise in atrocities, more and more women are committing suicides by either setting themselves on fire or by consuming poison. With the Taliban, country being the hotbed of poppy cultivation a large number of women in the countryside is becoming addicted to drugs as a means of relieving themselves of the regular pain and agony. The paradox of the Afghan women is that in spite of the constitution of the country guaranteeing them rights equivalent to most civilized societies of the world but a male-dominated Afghan society is not allowing them enjoyment of these rights. Via: Independent