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DNA ; Kingfisher scam: Now banks, CBI team up to tackle frauds
Banks and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are coming
together to form a permanent working group having representations from both
banks and the investigation agency. Banks have also asked the CBI for direct
access to the
passport website in order to quickly verify the authenticity of
documents. The working group will look at ways to tackle the growing menace of
frauds in the banking system.
Banks and the CBI may also work together towards getting Vijay
Mallya arrested and staking claim to the $75 million that Diageo has promised
to pay him for walking away from United Spirits, according to bankers.
This comes a day after banks
and the CBI were at loggerheads about
the treatment of financial scam cases. While the CBI attempted to point fingers
towards banks for not reporting the cases earlier, banks hit back saying that
even reporting to the CBI hasn't had any dramatic effect on the cases.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and CBI are also jointly
working on a portal where the regulator and the investigating agency will share
data and information so that they can jointly act on the fraudulent cases.
Bankers will also be trained in the CBI training centre at Ghaziabad so that
they can tackle fraudulent cases with ease.
On Wednesday, top bankers from both public sector and private
banks, officials from the stock market regulator Sebi and the RBI brainstormed
with the CBI top brass on various issues that create hurdles for taking action
against willful defaulters. Top executives from all public sector banks and
private sector banks participated in the deliberation where bankers were
divided into 11 groups to discuss and present their key points.
United Bank of India was one of the first banks to declare
Kingfisher as a wilful defaulter. But the bank's credit committee decision was
quashed by the Calcutta High Court on technical grounds. The legal restrictions
also stand in the way of getting justice in several cases. When recovery
notices are sent to borrowers, they move the court to get a stay on the bank's
efforts, bankers told the CBI officials.
Even in the Kingfisher case, the banks so far have been able
to auction only one property – the Kingfishe House in Mumbai. Mallya's Goa
villa is yet to be attached by banks because it is embroiled in legal issues.
The only recovery was through the sale of the shares of United Spirits that
were pledged with banks.
A senior banker who was part of the deliberations said that
the chairman of a large public sector bank raised the issue of fear psychosis
among bankers who are treated by investigating agencies as perpetrators of the
fraud rather than being treated as victims.
Some foreign and private sector bankers raised the issue of
cross border transactions where companies and promoters form special purpose
vehicles (SPVs) to transfer money from domestic markets to overseas locations.
The RBI representative also raised the issue of the SPV being the conduit for
money leaving India and then lenders and investigating agencies loosing track
of the money trail.
The CBI has assured the bankers that they need not fear to
report cases to the investigating agency and that bankers would be given an
impartial hearing.
tack·le
The equipment required for a task or sport.
men·ace
A person or thing that is likely to cause harm;
a threat or danger.
At loggerheads
to strongly disagree (with someone):
quash
Reject or void, especially by legal procedure.
em·broil
Involve (someone) deeply in an argument,
conflict, or difficult situation.
perpetrators
(perpetrate) perform an act, usually with a
negative connotation; "perpetrate a crime"; "pull a bank
robbery"
im·par·tial
Treating all rivals or disputants equally; fair
and just.
Indian Express: Aadhaar’s basis
In the course of his budget speech, the finance
minister had alluded to the government’s resolve to extend statutory backing to
Aadhaar and, within the week, it has tabled the requisite bill in the Lok Sabha. This is what the UPA government should have done
right in the beginning, when it appointed Nandan Nilekani to create the
technology framework for a biometric ID. Nilekani himself should have requested
legislation instead of insisting that data security could be assured
technologically. A law defining biometric IDs and the parameters within which
they can be legally used would have annulled the first argument against the
project, concerning privacy. There is little disagreement about its utility and
appropriateness for promoting financial inclusion and leakproofing direct
benefit transfers from government, and the NDA has rightly forged ahead to give
Aadhaar a statutory basis as an opt-in system for securing benefits.
The government has prudently moved a money bill,
which means that its lack of numbers in the Upper House will not be an
impediment. The Rajya Sabha’s role is limited to returning the Aadhaar Bill to
the Lok Sabha with recommendations within a set timeframe. It cannot block or
alter the legislation, but can sound warnings. If it does, the government
should pay heed, or it would run the risk of detracting from the perceived
legitimacy of Aadhaar. While pushing Aadhaar through as a money bill is
tactically sound, for it will be signed into law, the government must know that
it is sidestepping extended parliamentary debate. In the legislature,
discussion confers credibility more surely than numbers, and being responsive to
objections about Aadhaar would strengthen the ID. Resistance to Aadhaar partly
owes to the perception that it was neither secure nor voluntary, and activism
and lawsuits retarding its deployment resulted.
The bill goes into privacy issues, but it cannot be
assumed that matters on these questions pending before a Constitution bench of
the Supreme Court will melt away. However, the bill is a decisive step towards
a leakproof subsidy regime and, eventually, a cashless economy. The latter
should be the political goal of Aadhaar — a financial system where money is
dematerialised, value is transferred electronically and the lack of cash makes
corruption unrewarding. Politically, that is a target worth shooting for.
al·lude
Suggest or call attention to indirectly; hint
at.
an·nul
Declare invalid (an official agreement,
decision, or result).
pru·dent
Acting with or showing care and thought for the
future.
im·ped·i·ment
A hindrance or obstruction in doing something.
heed
Pay attention to; take notice of.
de·tract
Reduce or take away the worth or value of.
per·ceive
Become aware or conscious of (something); come
to realize or understand.
re·tard
Delay or hold back in terms of progress,
development, or accomplishment.
deployment
The distribution of forces in preparation for
battle or work
Business Standard:
The Ishrat issue
The controversy over the 2004
killing by police of the student Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat, brought once again
into the limelight during the court deposition of double agent David Headley,
refuses to go away. In the most recent developments, former Union home ministry
officials including former Home Secretary G K Pillai said that then Home
Minister P Chidambaram had recalled an affidavit sent to the Supreme Court on
the killing of Jahan, removed statements regarding reports of confirmed links
to Pakistan-based terrorists, and only then sent it to his bureaucrats for
approval. Mr Chidambaram has agreed with this version of events, adding that
the second affidavit "speaks for itself". While David Headley's
testimony about Jahan was not of the sort to inspire confidence, a home
minister's direct intervention in such a politically salient case - the current
prime minister, during his re-election campaign in Gujarat, had made an issue
of the threats to his life and to peace in the state from Pakistan-based terror
groups - can raise many eyebrows.
What, however, is unfortunate is that the decision by the Union government to alter its affidavit to the Court seems to have overshadowed the actual central question of the case. Whether or not Jahan was a suspected terrorist is not the point; the point is: was she murdered in a staged encounter? It needs to be emphasised that, at the point at which she died, Jahan was innocent. She was innocent because she had not been proved guilty in a court of law, and until then she remains innocent, whatever the later-revealed suspicions of officers. In fact, there is not even any charge against Jahan for prior terrorist activity. In other words, what is being asked here is to defend not even the shooting of a person suspected to be guilty of terrorism, but of someone suspected of terrorist leanings. This is outrageous in any liberal society, and this is what should be the focus of any enquiry.
Multiple authorities, including court-appointed and monitored investigations, have indicated that the encounter in which Jahan and others were killed was staged. While fake encounters are not new in India, especially in areas where insurgencies are ongoing, this one came in a largely peaceful state and had major implications for political stability and harmony. Investigations are needed primarily to ensure that the rule of law cannot be upended with impunity. The questions remain: which police officers staged the encounter? Did they do so with political assent, or was there a cover-up subsequently? It should go without saying that even a terrorist has a right to a proper trial before sentence is passed - if officers of the state start shooting people on mere suspicion of associating with those who might have terrorist leanings, then the rule of law will break down swiftly. Whether or not Mr Chidambaram's change of the Union government's affidavit was necessary or justified is far less important, and the allegations against him should not be used to whitewash a staged encounter.
What, however, is unfortunate is that the decision by the Union government to alter its affidavit to the Court seems to have overshadowed the actual central question of the case. Whether or not Jahan was a suspected terrorist is not the point; the point is: was she murdered in a staged encounter? It needs to be emphasised that, at the point at which she died, Jahan was innocent. She was innocent because she had not been proved guilty in a court of law, and until then she remains innocent, whatever the later-revealed suspicions of officers. In fact, there is not even any charge against Jahan for prior terrorist activity. In other words, what is being asked here is to defend not even the shooting of a person suspected to be guilty of terrorism, but of someone suspected of terrorist leanings. This is outrageous in any liberal society, and this is what should be the focus of any enquiry.
Multiple authorities, including court-appointed and monitored investigations, have indicated that the encounter in which Jahan and others were killed was staged. While fake encounters are not new in India, especially in areas where insurgencies are ongoing, this one came in a largely peaceful state and had major implications for political stability and harmony. Investigations are needed primarily to ensure that the rule of law cannot be upended with impunity. The questions remain: which police officers staged the encounter? Did they do so with political assent, or was there a cover-up subsequently? It should go without saying that even a terrorist has a right to a proper trial before sentence is passed - if officers of the state start shooting people on mere suspicion of associating with those who might have terrorist leanings, then the rule of law will break down swiftly. Whether or not Mr Chidambaram's change of the Union government's affidavit was necessary or justified is far less important, and the allegations against him should not be used to whitewash a staged encounter.
lime·light
Intense white light obtained by heating a
cylinder of lime, formerly used in theaters.
dep·o·si·tion
The action of deposing someone, especially a
monarch.
sa·li·ent
Most noticeable or important.
al·ter
Change or cause to change in character or
composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way.
o·ver·shad·ow
Tower above and cast a shadow over
lean·ing
A tendency or partiality of a particular kind.
out·ra·geous
Shockingly bad or excessive.
insurgencies
(insurgency) an organized rebellion aimed at
overthrowing a constituted government through the use of subversion and armed
conflict
up·end
Set or turn (something) on its end or upside
down.
im·pu·ni·ty
Exemption from punishment or freedom from the
injurious consequences of an action.
white·wash
A solution of lime and water or of whiting,
size, and water, used for painting walls white.
The
Hindu: Welcome release, strange remarks
The Delhi High Court order releasing
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar on interim bail for six months is the only welcome
news to come out of the three-week-long ‘sedition’ drama in the national
capital. During thesethree intense weeks, the Delhi police embarked on
an unwarranted investigation into a meeting organised by a small group of
students on the campus on February 9, dubbing the speeches and slogans made
there as ‘anti-national’. Mr. Kumar was arrested on February 12, and later, two
more surrendered in the case. Mr. Kumar has been charged with sedition, even
though he was neither the organiser nor an active participant in a programme at
which allegedly ‘anti-national’ slogans were raised on February 9.
Unsubstantiated allegations and unreliable video footage containing inaudible
slogans and unclear images were used to put together a legally untenable case
of sedition against some students. It is singularly unfortunate that while
granting Mr. Kumar bail with a time limit, the Delhi High Court chose to make unusual observations
strengthening the police theory that
the entire JNU campus suffers from some unpatriotic and anti-national
infestation that requires cleansing through pro-active policing. The court goes
to the extent of saying that it is releasing Mr. Kumar on bail as a
“conservative method of treatment” for a supposedly serious infection that
would otherwise require surgery.
It is a curious bail order. In many
respects, it accepts the prosecution’s case. It concludes that the activities
at the event were anti-national, but does not say if the essential ingredients
for invoking the sedition charge were present. It declares that Mr. Kumar
cannot invoke the freedom of speech under Article 19(1) (a), and appears to
anchor its decision to grant bail on the sole ground that he should “remain in
the mainstream”. The court’s condition that Mr. Kumar should furnish an
undertaking that he would not actively or passively participate in any activity
that may be termed anti-national is a vague stipulation. In a democracy, the
court should seek to have a restraining influence on the executive, but should
not be seen as contributing to any partisan discourse that pits radical campus
politics against a narrow notion of nationalism. The country is witnessing a
disturbing trend of left-wing students, and liberal intellectuals backing their
right to practise their brand of politics, being dubbed ‘anti-national’, while
the Army and its admirers are placed in patriotic counterposition to them.
Courts should not give the judicial imprimatur to the bogus binary sought to be
created between ‘seditious students’ and ‘selfless soldiers’. Student activists
cannot be portrayed as enemies of the families of martyred soldiers. The
government must see reason and drop its attempts to criminalise contrarian
views, especially when there is no proof of actual incitement to subversive
violence. It should give up the use of Section
124-A, which covers sedition. The provision deserves a place only in history
books, not the statute book.
em·bark
Go on board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle
un·ten·a·ble
(especially of a position or view) not able to
be maintained or defended against attack or objection.
se·di·tion
Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel
against the authority of a state or monarch.
infestation
The state of being invaded or overrun by
parasites
stip·u·la·tion
A condition or requirement that is specified or
demanded as part of an agreement.
re·strain
Prevent (someone or something) from doing
something; keep under control or within limits.
im·pri·ma·tur
An official license by the Roman Catholic
Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book.
con·trar·i·an
A person who opposes or rejects popular
opinion, especially in stock exchange dealing.
The Hindu: Reviving the politics of
remission
The decision of the AIADMK government in
Tamil Nadu to release the
seven life convicts in the
1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and seek the Union government’s view on
the move is a politically partisan attempt to corner Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa’s electoral rivals and place the national parties in a spot ahead
of the Assembly elections to be held this summer. It needs a perverse disregard
for normative politics to convert the humanitarian issue of granting freedom to
prisoners incarcerated for nearly a quarter century into an electoral trump
card. To add perspective, it must be recalled that on February 18, 2014, the
Supreme Court commuted the
death sentences of three conspirators in
the Rajiv Gandhi case to life terms on the ground that there was an
unreasonable delay in the disposal of their mercy petitions. The very next day
theAIADMK government declared that
it would release all seven life convicts in the case and gave a three-day
deadline to the Centre to give its views, marking a dramatic leap from capital
punishment toen masse release,
within 24 hours. The Supreme Court intervened to stay their release after the
Congress-led government of the day challenged
the decision. A Constitution Bench settled
the substantive questions of
law arising from the issue, holding on December 2, 2015, that the Centre had
‘primacy’ in according remission to life convicts in a case that involves
consultation between the Centre and the State. It observed that the remission
law should not be used for the ‘rescue’ of ‘hardened and heartless offenders’.
Commuting death sentence to life
imprisonment is an act of compassion. Releasing the beneficiaries of such
commutation, on the other hand, requires careful consideration on a
case-by-case basis. It can be nobody’s argument that life convicts should be
locked away for life. At the same time, it is noteworthy that lifelong
imprisonment is now seen as an alternative to the death penalty. There may be
instances when the death sentence is deemed excessive, while a regular life
term, which has scope for remission after 14 years, seems inadequate. In such
cases, imprisonment for the rest of one’s natural life may be the appropriate
punishment. Any decision on releasing such convicts will have to be made after
evaluating the gravity of the crime, the probable effect of their release on
society, and the essential inhumanity of prolonged incarceration without even a
sliver of hope of freedom. Some may believe it is time to set free the Rajiv
case prisoners as they were mere accessories in the assassination, while the
masterminds are dead. But there can be no omnibus order covering everyone. With
the Supreme Court saying these convicts should not even be allowed ‘a ray of
hope’, the BJP-led government at the Centre may not respond positively. The
AIADMK regime could have explored the scope for a constitutional remedy such as
invoking the Governor’s clemency power under Article 161. Instead, it has
chosen a legally discredited route for political gains.
re·vive
Restore to life or consciousness.
re·mis·sion
The cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty.
as·sas·si·na·tion
The action of assassinating someone.
per·verse
(of a person or their actions) showing a
deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or
unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences.
dis·re·gard
Pay no attention to; ignore.
nor·ma·tive
Establishing, relating to, or deriving from a
standard or norm, especially of behavior.
com·mute
Travel some distance between one's home and
place of work on a regular basis.
com·pas·sion
Sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings
or misfortunes of others.
pro·longed
Continuing for a long time or longer than
usual; lengthy.
in·car·cer·a·tion
The state of being confined in prison;
imprisonment.
om·ni·bus
A volume containing several novels or other
items previously published separately.
in·voke
Cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an
authority for an action or in support of an argument.
clem·en·cy
Mercy; lenience.
dis·cred·it
Harm the good reputation of (someone or
something).
The Newyork
Times: My Father, the Editor, Under Fire
I scrolled through a series of videos and images. The first
one was titled “Confession,” and featured a newspaper editor being harangued by
a talk-show host. Further down, I saw a photograph of a crowd burning an effigy
of this man. There was another, a Photoshopped image of the man with devil’s
horns affixed to his head. Then there were the news stories, the tally of
lawsuits against him rising to 30, 40, 70 cases. Finally, there was a statement
from the prime minister of Bangladesh: The editor should resign and face
trial.
The editor is my father, Mahfuz Anam, and the newspaper is The
Daily Star, the English-language paper he co-founded 25 years ago.
My father used to joke that one of his ambitions was to open
an ice-cream parlor. Instead, at the age of 41, he left a career at the United
Nations to start a newspaper
I was 15, and we were living in Thailand at the time. Soon, we
had packed up our lives and returned to our hometown, Dhaka. The newspaper was
born in January 1991, just as the eight-year military dictatorship of President
H. M. Ershad ended. With the onset of democracy, my father was able to return
to Bangladesh and fulfill his duty to the country that he, as a freedom
fighter, helped liberate 20 years before.
Within months of taking on the editorship of the paper, my
father criticized the first democratically elected government for its failure
to reach out to the opposition and create a bipartisan consensus. He then
lambasted the opposition for boycotting Parliament and for resorting to general
strikes as a means of protest. In a deeply divided political climate, he set
the tone for independent journalism, meting out criticism for both parties if
they failed to serve the greater good.
The Daily Star became the biggest circulation English-language
daily newspaper in the country, with a sister publication in Bangla called
Prothom Alo. Together, they are a major force in the independent print media
and attest to the relative freedom enjoyed by the press in Bangladesh since the
end of the dictatorship, something to be proud of in a region where journalists
are regularly imprisoned and disappeared.
Yet my father has not been immune from the heavy hand of the
state. He has faced pressure from the government, the intelligence services,
the army, the police — all the institutions from which he has demanded
transparency.
At no point was this greater than in 2007, when an army-backed
caretaker government held power for two years in the run-up to national
elections. During this period, the intelligence services supplied stories to
the press in the form of transcripts, audiotapes and videos in which people
confessed to having bribed government officials, including the Awami League
leader and current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. These reports couldn’t be
independently verified, but The Daily Star, along with other media outlets, ran
the stories anyway.
In July 2007, Ms. Hasina was arrested on charges of
corruption. She was detained in the grounds of the Parliament for 11 months.
Once the military rule ended, the witnesses who had accused
Ms. Hasina recanted, claiming their stories were extracted under duress; these
retractions were reported in The Daily Star. Even so, over time, my father came
to regret his judgment in deciding to run the original story without
corroboration; on Feb. 3, on the occasion of The Daily Star’s 25th anniversary,
he went on a late-night talk show and said as much.
The following morning, the airwaves were awash with his
“confession.” The son of Prime Minister Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed, called for my
father’s arrest on charges of treason, alleging that he was the cause of Ms.
Hasina’s incarceration. Since then, scores of lawsuits charging my father with
criminal defamation and sedition have been lodged in courts all over
Bangladesh.
This is only the latest chapter in the state’s targeting of
The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. In March 2015, The Daily Star published a
photograph of a recruitment poster produced by the banned Islamist group
Hizb-ut-Tahrir with the caption “terrorism rears its ugly head”; Ms. Hasina
told Parliament that the paper had “helped the radical cause” by printing the
photograph and the state would “move against” those who had published it. In
August, a sudden drop in advertising from the telecoms sector was widely
believed to have been ordered by state intelligence.
And now this. Doubtless, the publication of unverifiable
reports based on “confessions” made by people in custody — though a common
media practice in Bangladesh — should be questioned, and this could be an
excellent opportunity to revise journalistic practice. Instead, the state is
exploiting the chance to double down on its suppression of free speech.
When something like this happens to someone you love, it is
difficult not to focus on his immediate safety. Yet the harassment of my father
is not about the government’s ire against one man, but about the stifling of
the independent media in Bangladesh and the general narrowing of critical
space.
Ms. Hasina herself has now gone on the record that she,
too, believes the rumor that my father was behind her arrest. Rather
than investigating the intelligence task force, which coerced the confessions,
or the judicial process that led to the case against Ms. Hasina, or the
officials involved in her arrest, the government has brought down the full
force of the state on a newspaper.
My father sent a text message to me in London the other day.
“I’m being sued for 17 billion dollars,” he wrote. “This is more than the total
budget of the country at independence.” I hear the smile behind the words. I
also feel the sadness behind the smile.
I wonder if this is how he felt in 1958, when his father was
arrested by the Pakistani military dictatorship for being a Bengali
nationalist. My grandfather spent four years in jail, released only when his
health had deteriorated so badly that the authorities were afraid he’d die in
custody.
A year ago, the blogger and free speech activist Avijit Roy
was murdered as he was leaving the Ekushey book fair. Then, we feared the
violent extremists who were murdering our writers on the streets. Now, it is
the state itself that is brutally suppressing political dissent. Caught between
a paranoid government and the threats of violent fringe groups, the free media
is the victim.
Guiltily, I dream of that ice-cream shop, its sweet blandness,
and that other life we might have had. Of course, it was never going to be.
Dissent is in the blood, and now the story must be seen through.
I fear the worst for my father. However things are resolved
for him personally, his beloved country will emerge the poorer for his ordeal
scroll
Move displayed text or graphics in a particular
direction on a computer screen in order to view different parts of them.
ha·rangue
Lecture (someone) at length in an aggressive
and critical manner.
ef·fi·gy
A sculpture or model of a person.
on·set
The beginning of something, especially something
unpleasant.
lam·baste
Criticize (someone or something) harshly.
boy·cott
Withdraw from commercial or social relations
with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest
meting out
to give or order a punishment or make
someone receivecruel or unfair treatment:
im·mune
Resistant to a particular infection or toxin
owing to the presence of specific antibodies or sensitized white blood cells.
re·cant
Say that one no longer holds an opinion or
belief, especially one considered heretical.
ex·tract
Remove or take out, especially by effort or
force.
retractions
(retraction) a disavowal or taking back of a
previous assertion
a·wash
Covered or flooded with water, especially seawater
or rain.
trea·son
The crime of betraying one's country,
especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.
in·car·cer·a·tion
The state of being confined in prison;
imprisonment.
ire
Anger.
sti·fling
(of heat, air, or a room) very hot and causing
difficulties in breathing; suffocating.
co·erce
Persuade (an unwilling person) to do something
by using force or threats.
sup·press
Forcibly put an end to.
dis·sent
Hold or express opinions that are at variance
with those previously, commonly, or officially expressed.
par·a·noid
Of, characterized by, or suffering from the
mental condition of paranoia.
or·deal
A painful or horrific experience, especially a
protracted one.
The Moscow
Times: Why I Want to Enter a Sham Parliament
(Op-Ed)
I
have decided to stand for parliament as a candidate for the
only party devoted to protecting private business.
People
tell me it is an exercise in futility; that this new party will also
fall under the control of the authorities; and that
the State Duma itself is held on a tight leash by those
in power.
I
agree.
I
have always said that there is only one party in Russia, and that is
the presidential administration. Russians live in a feudal system,
and we see on a daily basis how so-called "officials" behave
toward the business community. I understand all of that perfectly
well.
But
I have a simple choice. I could tell myself that this whole system is dead
in the water, that we are all feudal peasants, and that I should just
crawl quietly back into the kitchen and mind my own business —
literally.
Or
I could take a second approach, and this is the one I prefer.
I
am not a businessman — I am an entrepreneur, a word taken
from the French "entreprendre" that means to undertake,
initiate or start something. I have long taken action, and now I am trying
to help create one more small mechanism of influence that would
enable the business community to convey its demands
and aspirations to those who make the decisions.
I
sometimes ask my fellow businessmen why I am the only one raising
a ruckus. After all, almost all of us have grounds
for complaint. The authorities are either bulldozing our shops or
seizing our businesses outright. So why aren't any of them coming forward?
Folks, the authorities are chopping your legs off and you can't even
muster the courage to say it hurts! I feel as if I am crying alone
in the wilderness.
We
constantly take abuse from the law enforcement agencies, the Federal
Tax Service, local fire departments, and so on. When the Tax Service
reports that it collects more taxes each year even while the number
of businesses declines, it means that ever fewer businesses are paying
ever higher taxes.
And what
are taxes? They are payments businesses make in return for certain
government services. But those services never appear and tax collectors
keep demanding more. That shows the inherent flaw in the logic
of how the national budget is formed.
The current
dialogue between the state and the business community is like that
between a butcher and a cow. I am in favor of doing
something to change that, and not just fretting about it in my
kitchen or on social networks.
Here
is a simple example: Russian truckers have parked their vehicles outside
Moscow for the last four months in protest for their rights. They
have gathered at Khimki and Tyoply Stan and are going hungry. If
just one out of every 10 local shop owners who sell the goods those
men truck in would bring them a little food to eat or a few
rubles to live on, those protestors could go on fighting for their
rights and ours.
Yes,
the Duma is the Kremlin's lapdog, but what good does it do
to just blabber about it? Get up off your backside and do something
about it!
I
have a clear goal in taking part in these parliamentary
elections — to promote the rights of small and medium
businesses. My task is to gather the demands and aspirations
of ordinary businesspeople and convey them to the power-brokers
at the top.
I
know that others, both in parliament and elsewhere, are also trying
to do something to effect change.
I
am also well aware that even if our party wins five Duma seats, we can't put
an immediate end to this problem.
But,
at least, if we do win something, our voice will be louder than it was
before.
fu·til·i·ty
Pointlessness or uselessness.
feu·dal
According to, resembling, or denoting the
system of feudalism.
dead in the water
If something is dead in the water, it has failed and it seemsimpossible that it
will be successful in the future:
peas·ant
A poor farmer of low social status who owns or
rents a small piece of land for cultivation (chiefly in historical use or with
reference to subsistence farming in poorer countries).
crawl
(of a person) move forward on the hands and
knees or by dragging the body close to the ground.
ruck·us
A disturbance or commotion
bull·doze
Clear (ground) or destroy (buildings, trees,
etc.) with a bulldozer.
Chop
something off
to cut off part of
something with a sharp tool
fret
Be constantly or visibly worried or anxious.
lap·dog
A small dog kept as a pet.
blab·ber
Talk foolishly, mindlessly, or excessively.
The
Dawn: Pak-US ties: a familiar pattern
THE Pakistan-US
Strategic Dialogue was conceived at a time when bilateral ties were in trouble
and the two states were trying to reset their relationship and its tone in
order to address regional security issues.
Six years on,
including a three-year hiatus between 2010 and 2013, and six meetings later,
the strategic dialogue has settled into a pattern. That pattern is of
signalling stability in the broader Pakistan-US relationship — including
incremental progress on soft-power items and projects — in order to focus on
the security aspects of the relationship.
The sixth
meeting has continued the pattern. A lengthy joint statement issued in
Washington, D.C. covered topics ranging from ‘expanding trade and accelerating
economic growth’ to ‘education, science and technology’ and from reaffirming US
support for democracy in Pakistan to ‘continued cooperation in energy’.
Several of the
items in the dialogue baskets can have significant marginal benefits for
Pakistan. US assistance in the electricity sector, for example, can add to the
production of more efficient and relatively cheaper power.
Similarly,
cooperation in the education sector, particularly if the Pakistani government
desires to see 10,000 PhDs trained in the US by 2025, could significantly
change the higher education landscape in the country.
Yet, it is
difficult to avoid the conclusion that the strategic dialogue exists in order for
the US to signal that it is committed to engaging Pakistan over the medium and
long term — a signal that allows work to be done in the core areas of
counter-terrorism, nuclear issues and regional peace processes. Indeed, reading
the joint statement in reverse chronology gives a better sense of the key
issues in the bilateral relationship: regional cooperation; defence and
security cooperation; continued cooperation on law enforcement and countering
terrorism; and strategic stability.
Perhaps the
greatest convergence in the American and Pakistani positions in the security
realm is on the Afghanistan issue.
This may be
less because Pakistan has convinced the US of the wisdom of its approach to
Afghanistan and more because the Obama administration appears to have no real
interest in or policy for Afghanistan anymore.
Anything that
prevents a meltdown in Afghanistan before the end of the Obama administration
next January appears to be the American baseline.
On Pakistan’s
internal fight against militancy there seems mostly positive support, though
suggestions continue about Pakistan’s need to broaden the fight to include
anti-India and anti-Afghanistan militants.
On the nuclear
issue, the US is still pushing for change in the Pakistani posture, but perhaps
recognises that the India-specificness of Pakistan’s nuclear programme makes
changes unlikely and extremely difficult.
Overall, the
sixth strategic dialogue confirms a familiar understanding of Pakistan-US ties:
neither the US nor Pakistan is truly looking for a strategic partnership, but
both sides understand the need to build and sustain a significant,
security-centric relationship.
con·ceive
Become pregnant with (a child).
hiatus
a short pause in which
nothing happens or is said, or a space where something is missing
con·ver·gence
The process or state of converging.
realm
A kingdom.
The Guardian view on Iran’s
elections: the people make their views very clear
Whenever Iranians are given the chance to express
their views in elections they nearly always vote for the most moderate
candidates available. When the authorities contrive to prevent moderates
standing, the voters choose the least conservative candidates, and if those
results are rigged they come back to the polling booths next time and
obstinately choose moderates again. That democratic determination was
demonstrated anew over the weekend in the
elections for the majlis, or parliament, and for the assembly of experts, which
has a number of key constitutional roles.
Candidates linked to President Hassan Rouhani swept the board in Tehran and did well
in other large cities. Conservatives did better in small towns. Because of the
way constituencies are organised so that big cities other than Tehran are
underrepresented, conservatives will remain a major force in the majlis, but it
is probable that a majority of Iranians, in population terms, voted for the
moderate and reformist camp.
Given the obstacles that were put in their way,
this is quite an achievement. The Iranian conservatives, sometimes known as
principlists, had combed through the candidate lists for both parliament and
assembly, removing every centrist
and liberal they could. They used state
TV and radio ruthlessly and
leaned on what semi-independent media exist. They warned and lectured and fulminated. The result was an election
that was stage-managed in almost every way, but this was nevertheless a play
that did not end in the manner conservatives wanted. It is an old story in
Iranian politics. Time and again conservative candidates for office have
failed, sometimes miserably, and moderates, including outsiders, have
succeeded.
The reason is that two broad forces contend in
Iran. Conservatives – religiously strict, suspicious of the outside world,
guardians of the revolutionary heritage (or of their version of it),
instinctively authoritarian, and with old-fashioned views on gender – hold most
of the levers of power. But Iran has been autonomously modernising for decades.
It is plugged in to the latest developments in the west and to the Iranian
diaspora, and wants to engage the world rather than keep it at arm’s length.
Women flood into higher education in
spite of restrictions and are in the
workforce in large numbers; marriage is more equal. When Iranians vote for
moderates they are saying they want a political system congruent with society
as it exists. They don’t get it, but they keep open the possibility that one
day it will come.
President Rouhani led the way, first of all by his
own election in 2013 as a centrist endorsed by moderates, and then by steering
the nuclear negotiations with the west to a successful conclusion.
Conservatives did not want the nuclear deal, distrusting the United States as
they do, and also seeing the deal as likely to reduce in time the influence of
the giant military-industrial complex controlled by the Revolutionary Guards,
ultimate bastion of the Iranian right. Most ordinary people, by contrast,
wanted to see an end to sanctions and to an era of hostile relations with
countries with which they feel they have a lot in common. President Rouhani
will rightly see these elections as a
personal triumph, but he will
have to tread carefully. His new supporters in the majlis include many who are
moderates only in name. He must maintain good relations with the supreme
leader, Ali Khamenei, part of the conservative camp if not its formal chief. He
must also prepare the way for a difficult transition if a new supreme leader
has to be chosen.
He will not lean too far in the reformist
direction, and probably is at one with many of those who voted for him, who
want a middle way. Those who expect rapid movement on human rights, or in
foreign policy, are likely to be disappointed. But his hand has been
strengthened, and the Iranian people have signalled very clearly in what
direction they wish their society to go.
con·trive
Create or bring about (an object or a
situation) by deliberate use of skill and artifice.
obstinately
Stubbornly: in a stubborn unregenerate manner;
"she remained stubbornly in the same position"
maj·lis
The parliament of various North African and
Middle Eastern countries, especially Iran.
con·gru·ent
In agreement or harmony
bas·tion
A projecting part of a fortification built at
an angle to the line of a wall, so as to allow defensive fire in several
directions.
tread
Walk in a specified way.
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