EU launches Erasmus Mundus Program for 2009-13

Brussels, 18 February (9am to 5.30pm): Info day (open to all)
Registration online / Live webstreaming at:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/en/mundus/infoday_2009_en.htm

EU Commissioner for education, and culture, Jan Figel, launched here
Monday evening the new EU scholarship programme for non-EU countries,
Erasmus Mundus II, for the period 2009-2013.

The Earsmus Mundus programme offers the opportunity to third-country
students to obtain a degree in Europe, and to academics to share
know-how and to contribute to study programmes through teaching or
research activities whilst avoiding the brain drain and favouring
vulnerable groups

In 2009-13, the EU will increase its support to the most
highly-talented students and professors from countries outside the EU
with grants to take part in joint programmes in Europe.

It will also extend the scope of the programme to the doctoral level
and give more financial support to European students.

The expected budget for Erasmus Mundus II will be an indicative amount
of 950 million Euro.

The Erasmus Mundus I from 2004 - 2008 offered more than 10,000
scholarships to students and academics from all over the world, with a
combined budget of 609 million Euro.

It contributed 33 million Euro (2005-2009) for scholarships to Indian
post-graduate students .

Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 is a cooperation and mobility programme in
the field of higher education that aims to enhance the quality of
European higher education and to promote dialogue and understanding
between people and cultures through cooperation with third countries.

The Erasmus Mundus programmes provides support to:

higher education institutions that wish to implement joint programmes
at postgraduate level (Action 1) or to set-up inter-institutional
cooperation partnerships between universities from Europe and targeted
Third-Countries;

individual students, researchers and university staff who wish to
spend a study / research / teaching period in the context of one of
the above mentioned joint programmes or cooperation partnerships;

any organisation active in the field of higher education that wishes
to develop projects aiming at enhancing the attractiveness, profile,
visibility and image of European higher education worldwide.

The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Agency Executive Agency (EACEA)
is responsible for the management of all actions of Erasmus Mundus
2009 - 2013, under the supervision of the Directorate-General for
Education and Culture (DG EAC of the European Commission) and
EuropeAid - Co-operation Office (DG AIDCO of the European Commission).
Information and guidance at national level can be obtained from the
Erasmus Mundus National Structures.

Every nation has an army, Pakistani army has a nation

Author: Tejinder Singh
16 December 2008 - Issue : 813

Pakistani establishments have acquired great tenacity to strongly believe their own bluffs even in the face of unquestionable proof. President Asif Ali Zardari's first statement that the sole surviving Mumbai terrorist is not a Pakistani to another statement of Foreign Minister that there is no proof against Jamaat ud Dawa proves the point.

The unmasking came in the form of an interview to the Pakistani Dawn newspaper by Amir Kasab, the father of Ajmal Amir Iman alias Ajmal Qasab, the lone Pakistani gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks. The old man, a father of three sons and two daughters, from Faridkot in Okara district of Punjab in Pakistan, has unequivocally admitted that the captured terrorist, whose pictures were beamed across the world, was indeed his son.

Earlier, Britain's Observer correspondent had located Iman's home in Faridkot, Pakistan and got hold of the voters' roll which had the names of his parents Amir Kasab and Noor as well as the numbers on the national identity cards. BBC had also reported that Iman is indeed belonged to Faridkot and had joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba sometime ago.

Iman also revealed to Indian security personnel the identity of his nine other slain gunmen and their addresses in Pakistan. Despite all the accumulated evidence, Pakistani leaders, its expert commentators on electronic media and its diplomatic staff around the globe went to the town to prove that the terrorists are not Pakistanis but Indians. They shamelessly called the heinous terrorist attack as the handiwork of Hindu extremists or Indian Muslims or could be RAW or CIA.

Now, the UN Security Council has succeeded in placing not only Jamaat ud Dawa, the front organization of the Lashkar-e-Taiba on the list of terrorist groups but also four of its top leadership, including its chief Hafiz ul Mohammed Saeed. The earlier attempts by the UNSC to do so for the past three years failed as China conveniently came to the rescue of this terrorist organization by putting a "hold" on the resolution.

Hafiz ul Saeed demanded proof for he ever heading the Lashkar-e-Taiba or he ever promoting terrorism and jehadism. Had he cared to re-read the publications of the organization he is heading he would have got all the proof he needed.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on December 24, 2001, Hafiz Saeed announced his resignation and the appointment of Maulana Abdul Wahid Kashmiri as the new LeT chief, stated the magazine, Jamaat ud Dawa. He made this announcement soon after the US State Departent had designated the Lashkar-e-Taiba a foreign terrorist organization, and a few weeks before the then President Musharraf was forced to ban the group on January 13, 2002.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa published in its April 10 edition an address by Hafiz ul Sayeed to convocation of students, where he proudly announced that his organization has sacrificed 4500 youth for the Jihadi cause and that preparation for Jihad was a must. He urged students to pray to God so that they could have a chance to sacrifice their lives for Jihad.

According the US Treasury Department, Hafiz Saeed "in 2005, personally determined where graduates of an LeT camp in Pakistan should be sent to fight and personally organised the infiltration of LET militants into Iraq during a trip to Saudi Arabia."

Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, who was one of the four Lashkar leaders placed on UN Security Council list of terrorists, was the supreme commander who had coordinated the Mumbai terrorist attacks and guided the gunmen on the action to be taken while they were holding the hostages. As Lashkar's chief of operations. Lakhvi has directed LeT military operations including in Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and southeast Asia. Lakhvi was born to Hafiz Aziz-ur-Rahman, a cleric linked to the neoconservative Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadis, on December 30, 1960. He lives in Chika 18L of the village of Rinala Khurd, in Okara—the same south Punjab district from where Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the terrorist arrested in the course of last month's massacre in Mumbai, grew up.

Mahmoud Bahaziq, another Lashkar leader to be declared a terrorist, is a Saudi citizen of Indian origin. He is considered the main financier of the LeT and its activities in the 1980s and 1990s and coordinated LeT's fundraising activities with Saudi non-governmental organisations and Saudi businessmen. He is allegedly the brain behind recruiting Indian expatriate Muslims in Arab countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia, and sending them to Pakistan for training and subsequently launching them into terrorist activities in India.

Haji Mohammad Ashraf has assisted the expansion of the LeT in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and coordinating the terror activities there. Ashraf was born on March 1, 1965, and holds Pakistani passport.

Producing evidence to prove the culpability of Pakistan-based terrorist groups and their handlers in the military establishment is not an issue. There is enough now on Mumbai attacks. There was enough evidence of the involvement of Pak military establishment and Lashkar elements in the attack on Indian mission in Kabul in which two senior diplomats were killed besides several others.

The problem is that Pakistani military leadership views the Jehadi groups as their first line of offence and defence and the most effective weapon to bleed India, while maintaining its deniability. The 1999 Kargil war, designed and executed by the former Army chief and President Musharraf, clearly established this strategy. The Northern Areas Scouts, a wing of the Pakistani army, were sent as part of the jehadi groups. President Zardari himself is a victim of the jehadi outfits that the Pakistani army and ISI gave birth and nourished to an uncontrollable giant.

Enjoying "tea" at a Pakistani restaurant in Brussels, Belgium, this journalist, Tejinder Singh was told by Cheema Saheb, Head Chef citing something he heard on a TV talk-show: "Every nation has an army while Pakistani army has a nation."

The day the political leadership tames the army, that day augurs well for Pakistani people and their status in the international community. Until that happens, the world community will have to do the dirty work of corking up these "middle age" mammals.

New EU countries getting US Visa Waiver Programme

The European Union citizens from more EU countries will be able to travel to the US under the Visa Waiver Programme according to officials in Brussels.

“Beginning Jan. 12, 2009, eligible citizens or nationals from all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries must obtain approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to traveling to the United States under the VWP, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a November 13 statement. 

According to the US mission to the EU in Brussels, the DHS is scheduled to announce on November 17 its decision to add “seven allies to the list of countries authorized to participate in the VWP.”

The seven countries are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia. “We are especially pleased to welcome these allies into the Visa Waiver Program,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Expanding the number of countries whose citizens can travel to the U.S. without a visa increases business and social ties between our countries and at the same time deepens cooperation on required security measures.”

“Beginning Nov. 17, eligible citizens or nationals from the new VWP countries may travel to the United States under the program provided they have an e-passport and an approved authorization via ESTA, a web-based system that determines the preliminary eligibility of visitors to travel under the VWP prior to boarding a carrier to the United States,” the statement from US mission added..

EU, CoE join hands against death penalty

The European continent got together on October 10 to reiterate its commitment to work towards the universal abolition of the “Death Penalty” punishment. On the occasion of the World and European day against the death penalty, European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot, Commissioner responsible for freedom, justice and security stated, “Europe has created a ‘de facto’ death penalty-free zone stretching from Iceland in the west to Vladivostok in the east and from Norway in the north to the south-east of Turkey – this is one of Europe's greatest achievements.”

"Nevertheless,” the Vice-President continued, "public debates within our societies demonstrate the need to reiterate, time and time again, that the abolition of the death penalty is an essential achievement for the respect for human dignity. This is the reason the European Commission works side by side with NGOs that are active in this field and supports abolitionist actions.”

European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner commented: "I am proud of the EU's leading role in the international efforts to abolish the death penalty. Although over half the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, the global figures for its use remain much too high.”

Recognising the “plight of victims of violent crime,” the Commissioner observed that the “death penalty is not the solution,” adding, “on the contrary, it only serves to aggravate a culture of violence and retribution. The Commission is determined to work towards the universal abolition of the death penalty through all available diplomatic channels and as a leading donor in this field.”

The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering said: "The European Day against the death penalty is the day on which we remember that the defence of human rights and the necessity of a justice system which is based on the respect of human rights and the dignity of the human being, is an essential part of our common values.”

The death penalty is a breach of fundamental human rights and failure to respect the dignity of the human being and the right to life. The European Parliament will fight against the death penalty under any circumstances everywhere in the world."

Signing a Joint Declaration with the Presidents of the European Parliament, of the Council and of the European Commission, on the EU side, and by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig said, "To die by order of the state, decreed by a judge or a politician as punishment for a crime, is thankfully a thing of the past in Europe.”

"But human dignity demands that we put our arguments to those who still carry out this practice. Once a year, we join with others across the world to press for a global moratorium on executions. The tide is turning and one day, I am sure, the death penalty will pass into history," PACE President added.

Abolition of the death penalty is a condition of membership in the 47-nation Council of Europe, where no executions have taken place since 1997, the statement noted.

During 2007, at least 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries, and at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries. 88 percent of all known executions took place in five countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US.

First hand glimpse into North Korea

During my first visit to North Korea, the commonly used short name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK), I fully agreed with the statement that North Korea is the closest thing the world has to a hermetically sealed society.

With “no connection” for my BlackBerry, my laptop and other accessories which connect me to the rest of the world and which form an essential part of my everyday existence, I was face to face with skinny North Korean soldiers, wearing old Soviet-style uniforms at a North Korean customs and immigration centre. Under North Korean law of military first, every male must spend 10 years in the military. Women spend seven.

As I had followed the advice at the South Korean side of “Rules in North Korea are made to be followed,” with special emphasis on “no outside newspapers,” “no communication devices” and “no cameras with telescopic or long lenses,” the clearance came fast but with a stern warning to wear “the identity badge” all the time and “not to take” pictures of ordinary North Koreans.

The bus ride to Kaesong, the North Korean city was itself an experience. The buses being led by military escorts through a countryside with hardly any visible human presence except North Korean soldiers standing guard on empty roads along the route. When I asked about the presence of these soldiers, the North Korean guide emphatically pointed that those soldiers were there for our safety. But we could not take any pictures from the bus nor were allowed to take pictures anywhere except where we were designated to use the cameras.

Arriving in the city the downtown appeared like a post-card picture from the past, North Koreans hurrying to nowhere either walking or riding bikes. The bicycle riding lanes on both sides of the broad streets reminded me of North Europe but there were hardly any automobiles on the streets. Our buses and unmarked military vehicles were the only competitors for road space with bikes and pedestrians.

Everyone has their lapels adorned with pictures of late Kim II Sung and his son Kim Jung II. I had been warned earlier by the South Koreans not to but I still ask why do they (North Koreans) wear those. I escape only with a look and an explanation that these are signs of their loyalty and commitment to their country and people.

The most ironic part of the day is the lunch where a feast is provided: bowl of rice with 14 side dishes, served in heavy brass wares. After having read hundreds of reports about recent famine killing millions and there being a constant food scarcity, I feel nauseated at all this food.

The historic places in the city are quite well maintained and at every point there is more than one traditionally dressed North Korean girl giving out historic background punctuated with praise of the present regime.

Most of the public squares have a huge bust or a statue of the North Korean leader with inscriptions in the local language saying propaganda slogans like, “We are winning.” In a way that is true, as the North Korea uses its nuclear card with shrewd expertise of a gambler, the global forces including US have to keep changing its approach.

Tejinder Singh
in North Korea

(more in coming days)

Obama takes it all

Hello readers!

I am not sure if this American Debate between McCain and Obama is worth any mention but as I watched it became more and more lopsided. Very badly moderated also, if I may add.

Loved the blog updating at CNN with Jonathan Mann inviting everyone like always and then doing the vanishing trick.

From experience with politicians, I thought Mc who is trailing, will come out and try some freshness but then as some followers of the debate pointed at the body language he did it in a strange "old" way and in the process looked empty in substance.

Knowing the position of Russia with its energy (gas to Europe and oil to globe) and its readiness to use strong arm-tactics as shown in Georgia who was egged on by the West but had to face the Big Bear hug alone :-) Georgia was promised NATO membership but never given at Bucharest Summit and today Mc again talked of seeing KGB in Putin's eyes. 

Will Americans fall for that kind of fear mongering? I hope not.

Not knowing one thing about Islam, the Bush administration has watered with American blood the fertile lands of Islamic society especially in Iraq to produce more jihadis.

And now Pakistan is going haywire and all that after pumping millions of American taxpayers' money there. As one Pakistani politician who is famous for taking more wickets in the cricket world then polling votes in elections (yes, you guessed fast bowler of yesteryears: Imran Khan) told me in a recent press conference at the European parliament that the focus has shifted. He said that the al-Qaeda is the real enemy and its time to get back the focus on al-Qaeda and Afghanistan. (More about Imran's views in an earlier post).

More next time. Please feel free to post your comments.

Cheer,

Tejinder Singh

otitos@gmail.com

South Korea, EU fail to resolve FTA differences

Seoul, September 1 - South Korea and the European Union failed to narrow their gap in their free trade agreement (FTA) talks, South Korean Trade Ministry sources said on August 29, but European Union negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero told New Europe on August 30 in Seoul, “We had a very fruitful discussion and we agreed to continue talks.”

About the ministerial level meeting before the end of the year, the EU negotiator told New Europe, “We expect to have the meeting sometime in October this year.” 

South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Hye-min Lee joined his European counterpart Bercero in the eighth round of talks held in the framework of FTA negotiations since April last year.

During a three-day negotiations in Seoul, South Korean capital, the two sides decided to go ahead and seek a package solution on “sticky” issues like auto trade with a meeting proposed in mid-September, Korean sources told New Europe. 

According to business sources speaking to New Europe the EU had flatly rejected the demand of South Korea with a booming auto-industry, to drop tariffs on South Korean cars within three years after the bilateral talks take effect.

Earlier on the eve of the talks, Deputy Minister and Deputy chief negotiator Lee spoke to New Europe on the “sticky” issues and expectations on both sides. “On the services sector, the EU expects we should give more than what we have given to the US - but when we negotiated with the US - we already had EU FTA in mind.” “What we have agreed with the US is not just for the US but also for the EU. The Europeans are asking for more than that which is very difficult,” he said. 

“We will be obliged to change our regulations but European will not change anything while Europeans are set to gain from the FTA,” the Korean negotiator added. 

On the general relationship with the EU, Minister Lee lamented, “If all the countries are place in order of relation with the EU, Korea will be placed last,” asking, “Please name any country that has less relations with the EU.” 

The Minister Lee was, however, hopeful in saying, “FTA can be a backbone for future relationships with the EU and Korea. Privileged relationship originating from FTA can give rise to more generalised relationship development between two sides.” Min-soon Song, assemblyman of the opposition Democratic Party and former Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade till 2007 told New Europe, “These negotiations started when I was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Korean government is eager to have the FTA.” 

Pointing to already finalised US Korea FTA, he said, “The successful record of negotiations with the US for the FTA can be a good analogy and personally I support these negotiations.” Another major obstacle to the FTA negotiations is the legal sector as Doo-Sik Kim, an international trade lawyer told journalists at a lunch organised by the Korea Press Foundation on August 25. 

Addressing the fear of Korean legal sector about the take-over and expansion of the European law firms in the Korean market, Kim said it was one of the least highlighted subjects but there is a strong opposition from the concerned lawyer lobbies. The EU is South Korea’s second largest trade partner after China. In 2007, the bilateral trade volume between South Korea and the EU amounted to USD 89.8 billion.

Politicians step in as ECB fights inflation

Brussels, July 21 - Inflation took central stage on the European Continent with European lawmakers joining the fray with calls to the European Central Bank to reconsider its fiscal policies. In a non-binding parliamentary report, Member of European Parliament suggested the ECB should reconsider its inflation ceiling, upping political pressure on the ECB while it struggles to damp rising inflation amid signs of slowing economic growth.

The ECB, which makes monetary policy for the 15 countries that share the Euro currency, has fixed the target to keep Eurozone inflation just under two percent. The draft report by Werner Langen, a German member of the EP, and Pervenche Beres, head of the EP’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee urged the ECB saying that level “should be examined in the context of a new age of globalization characterised by rising energy and food prices.”

Reiterating the European Parliament’s “strong commitment to the independence of the ECB,” the report supported, “the de m a - n d for a stronger public debate on the fut ure common monetary and currency policies.’’ The draft report also recommended that the ECB’s six-member Executive Board be enlarged to nine saying, “...(its) important that a variety of backgrounds be represented among executive board members.”

With no official EP jurisdiction over the ECB, the final report — which will be put to a parliamentary vote in October — will be nonbinding but the financial pundits commented that the timing of the report is sensitive as the ECB raised its key interest rate to a seven-year high of 4.25 percent earlier this month. There has been political pressure also from several Eurozone politicians suggesting that the bank’s inflation focus jeopardises economic growth.

Earlier on the eve of Eurozone finance ministers’ meeting, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said inflation is a matter of ‘deep concern’, adding a joint effort beyond the scope of the European Union is needed to safeguard citizens’ waning purchasing power.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker, head the Eurozone echoed the German sentiments saying, “Inflation is a serious concern, both for the ECB and Euro governments.’’ With the present Eurozone inflation rate hovering around four percent which is double the target rate, there are signs that the Eurozone economy is also slowing amid global market turmoil.

Commenting on the subject, European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said, “The future (of inflation) depends solely on what happens on the global markets. It is anyhow possible that next year inflation could be close to the ECB target level.”

Quoted in the Finnish daily Kauppalehti last Friday, Almunia said, “Although there is a risk of stagflation and I am worried about it, I hope we can avoid the difficult situation,” adding that economic growth in the EU had weakened in the second quarter and that inflation and market uncertainty had an impact on growth.

Although the ECB did not issue official comment on the EP report, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said policy makers must prevent the commodity-price shock from pushing up other prices, telling Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that, “the latest rise in unit labour costs is a piece of data that we need to take into account.”

Moreover, the policy makers were not ready to yield to political pressure became evident as ECB Governing Council member Nout Wellink was cited in the Dutch weekly magazine Elsevier last Thursday as saying that slowing growth may not damp inflation. Wellink added, “if you fail to halt inflation before it increases further ... you will have high inflation at a time of low growth.”

Across the Atlantic also the inflation got the focus with the stark warning from the US Central Bank chief Ben Bernanke last week. Addressing the US Congress, Bernanke minced no words declaring that inflation could continue to threaten the economy and rocketing petrol prices gave impetus to his words as the US inflation in June hit the largest year-over-year increase since 1991. There is, however, a marked difference as the US Federal Reserve aims to promote growth and control inflation while the ECB’s single mandate is keeping prices steady.

Focus on the rights of women in Islam

The Koran puts women on an equal footing with men but over the centuries the patriarchal culture distorted the “human rights and democracy of Islam” to suit their own needs giving the fairer sex an inferior status according to Azizah Y. al-Hibri, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond in the United States.

The changed conditions for the Muslim women in the Western societies were highlighted by the Lebanese-born US academician calling for interpreting the Koran with relevance to the new environs without forcing Islam to falsely conform to Western culture.

Speaking at a Brussels event chaired by Shada Islam, an eminent journalist, Professor al-Hibri called the Koran, a “seamless web of interconnected ideas” but warned that with the passage of time it has been distorted by culture.

Citing the Holy Book’s references, the learned speaker pointed the Koran said that men and women are created from the same nafs (soul), and the Prophet himself said that women are the split halves (i.e. the same) of men, with the same religious and ethnical duties.

The Prophet expected them to play a major role in both the family and the community, the speaker added. Stressing over and over again the equality of women and men in the eyes of Koran, the professor cited ancient jurists as recognising married Muslim women as fully independent legal and financial entities, entitled to the fruit of their labour, with the same financial thimmah (capacity) as men.

Throwing out the prevailing ideas of inequality, al- Hibri highlighted the recent initiative of Muslim jurists in Morocco with the revival of an ancient line of thinking about women’s personal status code - recognising that both men and women in marriage should draw up a financial agreement relating to how they dispose of their separate incomes, property allocations or joint investments.

Drawing a line of demarcation between culture and religion, the professor urged the Muslim women to adapt to the Western culture without sacrificing the religion.

Calling for adoption of a jurisprudence that is suitable to their culture, adding, “We do not have to invent the wheel,” she warned that Islam jurisprudence should not be distorted to conform to Western societies and cultures.

Citing the Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, al-Hibri reiterated that every human being is entitled to have his or her freedom of belief to be respected by the state as part of their human rights.

Reacting to a fallacious Western approach towards Islam of “false accommodation,” al-Hibri urged the Muslim women in the Western societies to borrow from the ancient Islamic tradition which gives women financial and legal independence. Al- Hibri expressed the opinion that these beliefs fit well with a Western culture that recognises the rights of women.

Commenting on the widespectrum of intra-Islamic sects, Professor al-Hibri said, “Everybody shares Koran but unfortunately there are difference in some parts of the Muslim world.”

Quoting from her personal experiences, al-Hibri discounted the role played by these.

Commenting on Ahmadias, al-Hibri said, “I know but I don’t know enough about Ahmadias,” but in the same vein, asked to comment on Wahhabism and Saudi Arabian influence, she said, “I do not want to comment. Instead of cursing the dark, I am going to light a candle.”

Interview with: Pavan Duggal; Advocate, Supreme Court of India

A warning against the Internet’s dangers


Cybercrimes ranging – from child pornography and racism to identity theft, fraud and cyber terrorism – were addressed at a Council of Europe conference in Strasbourg on April 1 – 2.

More than 200 participating experts from all over the world, as well as representatives of governments, police forces and the Internet industry – including Microsoft, eBay, Symantec and McAfee – interacted in a series of workshops while reviewing the effectiveness of current cybercrime legislation, identifying new threats and trends and discussing ways to improve international co-operation and the functioning of the 24/7 contact points.

The guidelines were floated based on the existing Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and call for formal partnerships between internet service providers (ISPs) and law enforcement.

On the sidelines of the Conference, Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India; President, Cyberlaws.Net; President, Cyberlaw Asia; Member, .org Advisory Council, spoke to Tejinder Singh, Editor-in-Chief of New Europe about his experience and vision on the subject.

Q.

The guidelines adopted at the Conference are voluntary for ISPs and law enforcement, and are intended to be a set of best practices to supplement a particular country’s existing laws against cybercrime. Do you find these enough to face the growing menace of cybercrime?

A.

The guidelines adopted at the conference are a very interesting way to deal with the emerging menace of cybercrime. Considering the fact that different countries across the world have different national legislations that impact cyber crimes in one way or the other, it is extremely important to come across a common platform of understanding which should encapsulate the best practices pertaining to cooperation and sharing of information between the law enforcement agencies and the network service providers.

In this regard, the guidelines that have been approved at the conference are a tremendous move forward. The said guidelines are the repository of all prevailing international best practices pertaining to cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the Internet service providers.

Although these are voluntary in nature, these become the starting point for developing a healthy cooperative relationship between the police and the network service providers. The said guidelines cover in detailed and minute manner, the various nuances that are essential for a healthier relationship between the law enforcement agencies and the service providers.

I personally see the guidelines adopted at the conference as a great step forward and subsequent attempts will only try to better the existing body of knowledge that has been so encapsulated in the best practices that have been so encapsulated in the said guidelines.

Q.

What are the legislative avenues available to law enforcement officials to tackle cyber crime?

A.

There are various legislative avenues that are available to law enforcement officials to tackle cybercrimes. The said legislative avenues depend upon nation to nation and depend upon the various prevailing laws that have been so legislated and prevailing at the relevant time in the concerned national jurisdictions. For example, to take the case of India, India has got a distinct law relating to the electronic environment which has detailed provisions on various cyber crimes and the punishments of the same.

Q.

Being a cross-border crime, what do you see the future at the global level?

A.

The future belongs to Cybercrime. The last decade has shown that while technology has developed on a neck breaking speed, the law is invariably behind technology when it comes to regulating cyber crime. That explains the reason why, despite having the best of intentions, nations are not able to keep abreast. Their existing laws are still not able to tackle cybercrime and the cutting edge level. In the coming times, I have reason to believe that cybercrime is going to grow extremely rapidly, who will become extremely sophisticated and will become far more pervasive in the relevant years.

Q.

According to some experts, France, UK and US have good legislation while rest of the world including rest of Europe is still struggling to get a hold on the situation? How do you see the progress being made in this sector?

A.

The progress in the area of having appropriate national legislations to regulate cybercrime has been very erratic. There have been some nations which have come across with good legislations to prevent and regulate cyber crimes. However the vast majority of the nations still have no clue on how to effectively deal with cyber crimes. I think the progress in this area, progress will also be in fits and starts. We are not likely to have a uniform trend of all countries simultaneously coming up with good legislations to cover cyber crimes.

Q.

India, a vibrant democracy and open society is on a fast track to the Virtual World. How do you perceive the Indian government handling the situation arising out of this?

A.

The Indian government has been alive to the need for regulating various kinds of kinds of cyber crimes. Despite the fact that the Indian Information Technology Act 2000 is an ecommerce enabling legislation, still the Indian government inserted various provisions concerning different cyber crimes and the punishment in order to effectively regulate emerging cyber crimes in India.

Various provisions concerning different cyber crimes were inserted in the Indian Information Technology Act 2000. The cyber crimes covered include the offence of hacking, damage to computer source code, publishing obscene electronic information, breach of protected system, breach of confidentiality and misuse of Digital Signature certificates.

Q.

Indian police are still considered a baton-wielding, tobaccochewing and rough-handling force so how do you see it coming to grips with cybercrime?

A.

This is one of the big challenge areas. It is true that the Indian police has to change itself radically in order to come to grips with cybercrime. A majority of people in the Indian police do not even have knowledge of computers and their functionality.

Under the Indian cyberlaw, since cyber crimes are perceived to be specialised crimes, they can only be investigated by police officer not below rank of a Deputy Superintendent of police.

However, practical experience has shown that DSPs invariably do not have the time to investigate cyber crimes. It is high time that the Government comes up with a dedicated budget on creating more awareness and training on cybercrimes.

Q.

As you are actively involved at domestic level in the prosecution of Cybercrime, please give some examples of how it was tackled and what you expect in future?

A.

I am involved on a very active level at the domestic level in India. I was the counsel for the complainant in India’s first cyber crime conviction that took place in 2003. This is a case where my client was a big multi-national electronics company and on its own website, a call centre executive had misused the credit card number of an American lady who had no knowledge of the transaction. The Central Bureau of Investigation registered the case of the complainant and thereafter arrested the call centre executive, who was convicted for online cheating. Thereafter there has been only one the conviction pertaining to cyber crime in India.

Q.

Moreover, how these experiences can be shared at global level?

A.

The experiences of India can be shared on a global level. India can also become a model leader, if it comes up with adequate and effective provisions which are a deterrent against the commission of cyber crimes. In addition, these experiences can be shared at the global level for developing countries, who have not enacted any cyber laws, and/or laws on cyber crimes in order to not reinvent the wheel but leapfrog keeping in mind the experiences of nations like India in regulating cybercrimes.

Q.

What are your recommendations to Indian federal and state governments when it comes to dragging their feet while making legislation on this subject?

A.

My recommendation to the Indian federal and state governments is that India as a nation needs to act very fast when it comes to the area of the regulating cyber crimes. In India, it will be imperative to have an appropriate dedicated legislation specifically dedicated to cyber crime, which should supplement the Indian Penal Court.

Q.

How vulnerable we are today in the growing social technical world?

A.

We today are extremely vulnerable in the growing social technical world. The Web 2.0 phenomenon has brought in social networking as the norm of the day. People are getting onto the social networking bandwagon without any application of mind and without thinking the potential consequences of revealing all their personal information on such networks. If people today are not careful about placing their personal information on the Internet, they may have to repent for a lifetime for the same. Unfortunately people have no clue about what kinds of information is being targeted and misused by Cyber criminals. People need to be extremely careful about the dangers of Internet as they emerge.

Q.

How has your experience been enhanced by attending this Council of Europe Conference on Cybercrime?

A.

The Octopus Conference on Cybercrime organised by the Council of Europe has been a unique learning opportunity. The quality of speakers, the variety of subjects covered and the depth of the discussion that has taken place, has been remarkable and the said conference has immensely increased enhanced my perspectives on various nuances of different emerging cyber crimes and its related trends across the world.

This conference has provided not just an opportunity to listen and interact with the best minds working in this area but also has provided a platform to share about the ongoing developments pertaining to Cybercrime legislation that exists in India.

This conference has also enabled me to update the members of the world community about the various developments that are taking place in India pertaining to regulation and prevention of Cybercrime.

All said and done, this conference has been an excellent opportunity for learning, interaction and more importantly for expanding the midstream horizons and discussing about newlyemerging trends and thought processes concerning cyber crime across the world.

EU awaits official WTO ruling

Leaked documents suggest US can impose sanctions


The year 2008 has brought another loss to the European Union in its more than a decade-old tariff dispute with Latin American banana producers and the US, as a leaked interim report from the World Trade Organization (WTO) clearly sided with the US on who can then levy sanctions on European imports equal to damages incurred by US companies.

Have patience, do not react and this too shall pass! The mantra advocated by many in the labyrinths of power in Brussels seems to have slipped badly as 11 years down the road the “Banana Wars” of the late 1990s came back knocking on the doors of the European Commission.

Joining the fray, the US had said in a statement: “The US request relates to the EU’s apparent failure to implement the WTO rulings in a 1996 proceeding initiated by Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and America.”

After the 1996 WTO ruling, the EU had committed to bring its tariff-quota regime for bananas in compliance with the ruling no later than January 1, 2006, said the US statement, lamenting the fact that “the EU banana regime put in place on January 1, 2006 features a zeroduty tariff quota that is allocated exclusively to bananas from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Bananas of Latin American origin do not have access to this duty-free tariff rate quota and are subject, instead, to a 176 Euro/ton duty.”

During a press conference later, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boel had wondered why in the first place the US was interested in the banana sector as it is not a banana producer, but then she answered her own doubts with the mention of Chiquita, a major banana company, as the possible cause for US to intervene.

The Commissioner, however, added that the EU will look into the matter and take appropriate steps. Chiquita, based in Cincinnati in the US, could not be contacted for their immediate reaction but it had said in its annual report last year that the tariff added USD 75 million in net costs in 2006.

European banana sector sources told New Europe that other US exporters, including Del Monte and Dole, are also affected, adding that the European Commissioner has her facts correct that no bananas are grown in the US, but in the trade circle of today’s era of globalisation everyone is aware of the large farming interests of these leading world exporters globally, especially in the Latin American region.

The US statement pointed out that WTO ruling had said “the EU’s regime discriminates against bananas originating in Latin American countries and against distributors of such bananas, including several US companies,” adding “The EU was under an obligation to bring its banana regime into compliance with its WTO obligations by January 1999.”

The EU’s tariff-only banana policy took effect in 2006, after a nearly five-year transition from a license-and-quota system that the US and Latin American producers had fought since its introduction in 1993.

The WTO ruled against the old system in 1997 and upheld US sanctions of European goods in 1999.During negotiating for a single tariff system to modify its complex web of duties and quotas for imports, the European Commission had suggested EU duties of 230 Euro and then scaling them down to 187 Euro, but WTO panels had rejected the proposals arguing that those were discriminatory against Latin American (Latam) nations.

Out of that deadlock emerged the figure of 176 Euro, but the conflict simmered on.Even after the introduction of the new EU single tariff system, there was widespread dissatisfaction, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere got into the driver’s seat to find a political solution based on a thorough monitoring of the EU banana imports and various price systems in force.

But, after waiting nearly for a year, Ecuador decided to go ahead with the WTO route culminating in a victory late last year. On November 23, 2006 Ecuador was joined by Colombia as a third party. Panama and the US followed and more countries are set to join in the fray according to sector insiders.

The EU’s current banana import policy significantly differentiates access treatment as a tariff-quota volume of 775,000 tonnes is exclusively reserved for bananas of ACP origin. ACP bananas within the quota enter duty-free (i.e., at a 176 Euro/tonne margin of preference), with unlimited ACP over-quota access authorised at a tariff of 176 Euro/tonne.

On the other hand, an “autonomous” tariff of 176 Euro/tonne (a rate more than double the previously-applicable rate of 75 Euro/tonne) applies to all other bananas.Bananas are the most important agricultural product in Ecuador, and its exports account for 25 percent of all Ecuador’s agricultural exports. Some 22 percent of all banana output is aimed for the European Union market but this share to EU 27 today is down by 3.3 percent.

On the other hand, in Europe it is a “sensitive” commodity and there is a protection regime for the sector.While bananas grown within the bloc have shrunk to only 11 percent of the total EU supply, highly-subsidised production is important to the Spain’s Canary Islands, the French overseas departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe and Portugal’s Madeira and Azores islands.In 2007, Europeans ate some 4.9 million tonnes of bananas, making the bloc the world’s biggest banana market but consumption per capita remains two kilogrammes below the average consumed in the US.

Over two-thirds of the fruits consumed come from Latin America, earning a total of approximately 637 million Euro in tariffs for EU coffers and a further “duty-free” 16.3 percent from Africa and Caribbean countries.

It’s interesting to note that only on Colombian bananas is there a taxation of 200 million Euro, and social pundits along with market observers agreed that this money could be utilised to aid rural communities, such as Colombia, where former presidential candidate and Colombian-French citizen Ingrid Betancourt is kept as a hostage.

Bananas are set to be prominent in the upcoming finalisation of Association Agreements with Central American and Andean countries while appearing on the radar of WTO Development Round but according to reliable WTO sources in Geneva, the latest leaked ruling can be appealed against by the European Union only when these are finalised and published.

Obama: Path to Change

Americans at the crossroads of history to lead by example


American presidential elections are not only about money, power and prestige within the world’s most vibrant democracy, but also a guiding light to the believers of democratic principles and human rights followers. In 2008, the world is watching the presidential campaign in the melting pot of civilisations and beaconing land of opportunities for the last centuries, and there is one man, Barack Obama, who has caught the attention like never before in the recent past.

Watching former presidential candidate Bill Richardson endorse his fellow Democratic frontrunner Obama brought out many points why Obama has generated so much interest in the Old Continent and other parts of the world.

Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, symbolises the Hispanic vox populi and was being wooed openly by dynastic presidential runner Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former president, Bill Clinton.

Putting on back burner his personal bonds with his friends the Clintons, and an official relationship with former president Clinton under whom he served as UN ambassador and energy secretary, Richardson was candid in his appeal to the voters while endorsing Obama.

With a flavour of spiritualism sprinkled over pragmatic choice of words, Richardson spoke with his heart and soul about Obama. “There’s something special about this guy… I’ve been trying to figure it out, but it’s very good.” “Your candidacy is a oncein- a-lifetime opportunity for our nation and you are a once in a lifetime leader,” he told Obama.

The much-acclaimed Obama speech on the need for unity in the diversified spectrum of Americans got special mention from Richardson, who himself is of Hispanic origin, in his decision to endorse Obama, who is the son of a “father from Kenya” and “mother from Kansas.”

“I’ve been troubled by the demonisation of immigrants, specifically Hispanics, by too many in this country,” Richardson said. Obama’s “words are one of a courageous, thoughtful leader who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand.”

“Senator Barack Obama addressed the issue of race with the eloquence and sincerity and decency and optimism we have come to expect of him. “He did not seek to evade tough issues or to soothe us with comforting half-truths. Rather, he inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility,” he said.

He added: “Senator Obama could have given a safer speech. He is, after all, well ahead in the delegate count for our party’s nomination.” Obama earlier had called for the country to rise above its racial divisions in a speech prompted by the controversy over his former pastor and spiritual advisor Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr’s incendiary comments about race in sermons.

Obama said, “But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than 20 years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor.”

Striking a chord with his supporters, Obama explained in detail, “I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy … absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed. But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country.”

Not only condemning the remarks, but also asking Americans to get together, Obama added, “As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially-charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.”

Going down memory lane to highlight the struggle for freedom and equality in the American history, Obama said, “And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every colour and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States.” “What would be needed... to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time,” Obama said.

The voters in the United States of America this year are facing this choice of our time to deliver with their ballot a change in the ongoing dynastic repetition in the US presidential race.

Anyone eligible to vote 32 years ago (or nearly 56 years of age today) in 1976 would have had the fortune to see a presidential ballot without a Bush or a Clinton name on it as, after that, no single ballot paper has escaped a Bush or a Clinton. That says a lot about the dynastic rulers in the democracy of US.

On the other hand, Richardson hinted at an honourable and unselfish move to drop out of the race for Clinton saying, “I’m not going to advise any other candidate when to get in and out of the race.”

Mincing no words to make it clearer, the governor added, “Senator Clinton has a right to stay in the race, but eventually we don’t want to go into the Democratic convention bloodied. This was another reason for my getting in and endorsing, the need to perhaps send a message that we need unity.”

“It is time ... for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall,” Richardson said at a rally with Obama in Portland, Oregon.

Last but not least, Richardson reflected on a minor detail from their sitting together during a presidential debate. “I had just been asked a question - I don’t remember which one - and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn’t going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, ‘So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?’ But I wasn’t paying any attention! I was about to say, ‘Could you repeat the question? I wasn’t listening.’ But I wasn’t about to say I wasn’t listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, ‘Katrina. Katrina.’ The question was on Katrina! So I said, ‘On Katrina, my policy . . .’ Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, ‘Obama that was good of you to do that.’”

Decline of the American dollar

Fiscal policies over the years take toll on the greenback

The days when the greenback ruled with absolute supremacy and simultaneously commanded the unparalleled confidence of chiefs of international and domestic financial institutions along with the man in the street in the remotest parts of the planet are over. The American dollar is no more “The Currency” that can be relied on for value, as was evident by a recent CNN news clip showing an antique store in New York preferring Euro over the local currency.

Since World War II, when the American dollar started replacing gold as a means of transaction on the international level, the dollar has taken some hard knocks in recent years.

With the launch of the Euro nearly a decade ago, much was written in the pro-dollar media and EMU, as the Eurozone is called, and it was compared with the “EMU,” a bird that cannot fly. But then, compared to the launch and subsequent drop as the nascent currency took baby steps, the Euro has come of age and has crossed the threshold One Euro=USD 1.5 plus. And the dollar has also lost against the other leading currencies, like the Japanese Yen and British Pound.

With the way things are going, one must understand why and when the American dollar got to that place on the pedestal. Only then does it become clear what is happening now. As mentioned earlier, a walk down memory lane shows that till World War II the exchange rates of major currencies were reflected in terms of the price of gold in the respective countries, but with the manipulation of costs of other goods then, gold was a growing discomfort among trading partners across the globe, and the dollar came as a suitable solution.

World War II ended with the emergence of the United States as the dominant military and economic powerhouse, and as countries gathered to this epiccentre for military and financial support, the dollar emerged as the financial powerpoint of the financial world.

With the issuing of US government securities there was an added charm of earning interest over dollar deposits.But to the discerning eye, there was a Catch-22 situation that stayed afloat all these decades - and still is. The use and abuse of the technical term “Balance of Payments” was so rampant by the US that one shudders to look at the figures over the years. The United States consumed more than it produced, financing the payments with printed paper and all had been well till 1971 arrived.

The US devalued the “International Currency” unilaterally. Internationally-held dollar reserves overnight lost value and that was quite a hard knock for some of the poor countries of the world.Five years later, in 1976, came the Jamaican Agreement that gave the financial world a floating exchange rate system where the markets started playing a lead role.

But again, it was not a free float and, instead, government intervention in the form of buying and selling determines the final results at the end of the day.With the arrival of the Euro in the world F/X (foreign exchange) market scene, things started changing.

And let us not forget that the Euro has replaced 15 European currencies, and some of them, like the German mark, French franc and Italian lira were backed by strong economic and industrial giants of the world.

With the Euro surging not only in value but also as a dependable currency, the world commodity markets, especially relating to oil, will start contemplating a switch to the Euro to protect themselves against instability or the falling dollar.

The US administration will definitely want to sabotage such a move by hook or crook as its financial survival depends on the role of dollar as a legitimate international currency. Now, a look at what is really going on behind the scene.

US statistic reports have repeatedly shown the American C/A (current account) deficit has expanded continuously with billions in fiscal deficit.With China shifting some of its foreign reserves into Euro, there is already a warning ringing for the United States as more countries shift to Euro; more falls in the dollar will result.

Add to those factors the role played by the locomotive economies of Asia including China and India growing by leaps and bounds in the current years. But the financial mechanism needed to keep the dollar at a price that will sustain the US C/A deficit without putting pressure on its import/export ratio, which in turn enhances or erodes the lifestyle of its citizens, will not garner support internationally over a long-term period and US will have to pay the price at some point.

Afghanistan likens itself to US Mexican border woes

Need personnel, modern equipment, neighbours’ help


More than seven years since the ouster of the Taliban, Afghanistan is suffering its worst spell of violence in recent years with hundreds of foreign troops and thousands of civilians killed in what is termed a resurgence of the Taliban.

As the population reels under severe weather conditions, economic hardships and the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks, there is an urgent need to build and supplement Afghan defence forces.

Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi on February14 reiterated the need for a stronger and well-equipped Afghan defence system arguing that it’s even cheaper to sustain than the foreign troops in the country.

Addressing Brussels-based journalists through a satellite link, General Azimi said, “Afghan National Army is a confident defensive institution with more than 60,000 personnel who have been able to get the confidence of international community and people of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Army has led some important operations such as Maiwand, operation Khybar and recently the operation in Musa Qala.” Advocating that increasing the size of the Afghan National Army is much cheaper than paying for thousands of NATO and US troops, currently deployed in Afghanistan General said, “From an economical point of view, expenses of Afghanistan Army is much lower. It means expenses of one foreign soldier could be the equivalent for 60 to 100 Afghan National Army soldiers.”

Outlining the three main challenges facing the army today, the General said, “First, the number of Afghan National Army which is agreed for 86,000 troops should be increased in case of necessity.

Second: Lack of heavy weapons like tanks which can increase the morale of troops.

Third: Lack of airpower which can perform logistic, transport, air strikes and reconnaissance activity.”

On the question of recruitment of youth in the national army vis-a-vis the terrorist organisations like the Taliban, General Azimi said, “I can tell you that Afghan youth are interested to be in Afghanistan Army and economical aspect of this army is not important for our youth.”

“The thing which is important for them is that they are interested to defend their country. They are interested to defend democracy and they are interested to defend their national values. For instance, in March 2007 it was decided to increase the number of National Army by two times by the end of 2007. During the eight months we have been able to complete the number of our Afghan National Army. It means that we have been able to attract Afghan youth to Afghan National Army.”

On the subject of the present winter lull in the terrorist activities and projected situation in upcoming Spring, General said, “We don’t expect that upcoming spring or the spring of 2008 to be harder than the spring of 2007 because when we started spring of 2007, we had around 30,000 troops ... we didn’t have advanced equipment in the beginning of 2007.”

“But now by the beginning of 2008 or by the beginning of the spring of 2008, we will have around 70,000 troops, we will have advanced equipment; we will have M16 weapons, we will have M4... we don’t expect that this spring will be harder and we are not concerned at all about upcoming spring.”

Commenting on the urgent needs to monitor the Afghan border, General said, “I think Afghanistan’s border needs four important points. First of all, we need a strong border force for our border. For example, we have more than 5,600-kilometre border with different countries and the number which is determined for Afghan National Border Police is just 12,000. So 6,000 or 7,000 of them could be busy in headquarter services. We will just have 5,000 or 6,000 troops. So they won’t be able to protect all the borders because there is more than 5,600 kilometres.”

“The second thing is about technology. We should have advanced technology in order to monitor our border areas. So we need night-glasses. We need the equipment that could be used by our border police in order to monitor it.”

“The third point is the collaboration of people. Potentially, people are ready to help government in order to monitor the border.”

“The fourth point or element is the honest collaboration between two countries. So the two countries, those of the border between each other, they should honestly collaborate or co-operate with each other in order to make sure the security or the control of the border.”

Asked to comment on the question of whether Afghanistan had any plans to close the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, General Azimi said, “From a geographical point of view, there are a lot of terrain which are very difficult to pass or it means Afghanistan a mountainous country.”

Pointing to inability of even the US to close borders, the Afghan General said, “The complete closing of the border is impossible because when we see to the United States, United States is a powerful country, even they cannot shut or they cannot close their border with Mexico.”

The General expressed optimism, saying, “Yesterday Afghanistan was a centre of terrorism that was threatening the world. Today it is the centre of struggle against terrorism with having elected government, parliament, constitution, press freedom and more than six million of our children are going to school and women are struggling beside the men.”

Israeli leader urges education for youth

Silent Auschwitz and survivors’ testimony keep Holocaust alive

On the blood-stained soil of Auschwitz in Poland, Colette Avital, MK, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament and Chairperson of the Lobby for Holocaust Survivors in a candid interview spoke to Tejinder Singh about the Holocaust, birth of Israel, the pains of growth and vision for future.

Today, January 27, 2008, is third anniversary of UN Holocaust Remembrance Day. It took 60 years for the world body to acknowledge this sanguinary systematic annihilation of human beings. How do you feel about it today?

Its better late than never. It took a lot of time, almost 60 years before United Nation decided to adopt this resolution and it was not easy for UN to adopt it. The fact is that for 60 years they did not recognise the special conditions and special holocaust of the Jewish people which is unprecedented in history. I think today it is very important as it’s not just a question of remembering the past and giving recognition to the special history of Jews. It’s a question of educate the younger generation to know that this happened and should not happen again. The ceremony to mark the day is important but much more important is the message.

The question is whether it will be used to educate the younger generation to be more tolerant to accept other religions, to know that human life is sacred and you can not take human life as if its nothing. You can not think that one people is superior and one people is inferior. We all live on the same planet. If my skin is white or black or if I am a Christian or a Muslim or a Hindu or a Parsi, I have right to believe in the God I have chosen to believe in. This should be very much the part of educational system everywhere.

What will you say to a set of statements with “denial” of this Holocaust?

Its true because many people like (President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad (of Iran) and the leader of Venezuela and some in Muslim world say that the holocaust did not exist and that we invented it in order to make the world feel guilty towards us and in order to pay a heavy price. This is a terrible thing. It’s adding insult to injury. So one of the reasons that we have this group that goes to Auschwitz with political leaders from so many countries to show them what happened there and we are accompanied by a man who is a survivor of Auschwitz. Because as long as they are alive and they can say that I was here and this is what happened. Now the people understand and in many countries there is legislation against Holocaust denials. I believe that the younger generation today needs to know what the facts of the history are and not to deny and say it never happened.

How did Holocaust contribute to the making of Israel?

State of Israel was in the making because in 1917 there was Balfour declaration and then League of Nations, the predecessor of United Nations decided to give the British a mandate to prepare Palestine to become a Jewish Homeland. There was a lot of basis in creating Israel but at the end of second World War it became very clear what had happened in Europe. That was something that brought about determination on the part of not only Jews in Israel but also other powers in the world to actually accede to the demands of the Jews to have their own state. Although it was not the origin, it greatly contributed to the creation of the state of Israel, the process becoming much more faster, much more crucial and much more necessary because it was clear that the state of Israel was going to take in all the refugees from the concentration camps and it also became clear to the world that the Jews who were fleeing away from Europe when they knew what was happening, no country wanted to give them refuge including US. So the creation of Israel was seen by many powers as something very urgent and very necessary in order to solve the Jewish problem.

How do you assess the condition today and the ongoing struggle for peace?

The state of Israel was created on its ancient homeland but in the past hundred years there has been an ongoing conflict for the people who lived in the country, the Palestinians and some of the neighbours who did not want to accept the Jewish state. Slowly some of the Arab states did accept over time the existence of the state of Israel and even made peace with it, like Egypt, Jordon. With the Palestinians it has been an existential conflict because you have two people who claim the same land. I think as long as Palestine – Israel conflict is not resolved there will be no peace between us and other neighbours. But I think after seven years of Intifada now, there is a leadership in Palestine that wants to make peace with Israel and the rest of the Arab world also has started changing. Not all of them but majority of Arab states are willing now to live in peace with Israel if Israel resolves the problem with Palestinians.

What is your vision for the future?

My vision about the future and hope is that the state of Israel will continue to develop and be a state that is characterised by justice. My vision is that finally after so many years of war and conflict, we will be able not only to live in peace like everybody else here in Europe but also to normalise our lives. Because the purpose of Zionism at the time was not just to have a country of our own but to live normal lives in many senses. Like in Europe, many of the Jews did not have access to certain professions while they always lived in fear. My biggest vision and my biggest prayer is that we will be able to live normal lives.

What are your comments on the fear of ordinary citizens?

Depends more or less what happens. There was a time a few years ago when it was very difficult to go out in Israel as there were so many suicide bombers who came to cafes and blew up innocent people including children. In cafes, supermarkets and buses! We built a sort of security fence and that improved the situation and you know most Israelis don’t want to be prisoners in their own homes so they take the risks and they do go out. But it’s also true that in past two years, Israel is much more safe today.

What has come out of this ongoing pain?

People react very differently to pain. There are two ways: Some who react to pain wanting revenge and others who say I have suffered and now I don’t want others to suffer like me. The second one is probably nobler. In Israel and in Palestine, we have a group of parents who lost their children in wars, in terrorist attacks and they work together: bereaved parents, Israeli and Palestinian have formed a joint group together and have a strong message. They go everywhere and say we have paid the price but we don’t want you to pay the price. I think this is what should happen.

Finally, you are part of the democratic institution of Israel and what do you think is needed today to make it better?

I think it’s a great democracy. The only thing that sometimes we push democracy a little bit too far. The fact is that when the state of Israel was created it was the wish of its founding fathers to have every group in the population represented in the Knesset. It was a very good idea except that it translated into so many political parties that it became sometime very difficult to rule the country. In the beginning at least there were two big groups so that makes the country manageable but when you have multiplicity of small parties, its very difficult to keep the democracy because part of the democratic regime should be stability. When you have so little political parties that are trying to overthrow the government all the time, and you depend to form a coalition on small political parties then price you pay is very high. So we are very much in need for some political reforms to make the threshold a little bit higher. We all think it should be two and half percent and we are trying to see what kind of political reforms we can make to make political life more stable.

Poland takes the NATO line on “War on terror”

NATO, widely identified as a Western counter-bloc to Soviet-era Warsaw Pact, will next year celebrate its 60th anniversary and Poland, a major component of now defunct Warsaw Pact will celebrate as a major ally and member of the Western military alliance.

Speaking to journalists, Brigadier General J. Biziewski, Commander, Polish Battle Group, RC-East, Afghanistan said, “NATO and Warsaw Pact... they were completely different organisations. NATO was very much prepared, and also Warsaw Pact, for the static... maybe not so static, but very much regular fight.” About joining NATO, Biziewski said, “We really were asking for this... to create a secure environment for my country. We achieved it. Obviously with assistance, with support from different other countries, mainly the NATO countries, from European countries, but also from the US.”

Agreeing that the present Afghan deployment is different, General said, “Now we are facing completely different environment. I think one of the most challenging because of the nature of the environment, but also because lack of understanding with the language and the culture which are very much hindering our activities. And insurgence is very... very much complex and are complicated issue to be and threat to be fought.”

Highlighting the importance of “coordinating actions between actors involved in those operations, the intelligence sharing, the very much accurate weapons,” the Polish commander said, “I think first and the most important, is to win the minds and hearts of the local population.”

The General expressed satisfaction over the way translators, or interpreters help and adding that the humanitarian aid carried by the soldiers is “very much appreciated by the people. And instead even of words, just signs, just the product provided to the people they say for their own.”

Asked to comment on returns for such goodwill gestures from NATO, he said, “If they get enough assistance to have the future... for the people, for the youngsters, so those younger guys they will not go to Pakistan for Madrassas.” “Because they go to Madrassas in Pakistan, they are indoctrinated there and after that they are going back to Afghanistan and they are doing what they... what they are ordered to do.” “So, from my perspective, the key for success in this field is to have as much as possible close ties with local population, with those elders, with mullahs, to educate people, to assist them in the basic needs, with the basic needs. They don’t require too much, but they’re just asking to have something from us to be able to survive with their community.”

Musharraf begs for understanding

MEPs blast hollowness, hypocrisy of dictator-President

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a bloodless coup on October 12, 1999 after ousting the democratically-elected government of Nawaz Sharif, came to Brussels during his four-nation trip to Europe.

Among many of his arranged talks to whitewash his image in the run-up to national elections on February 18 in Pakistan, the former military dictator-turnedpresident faced the toughest challenge at the European Parliament, the only directly-elected European institution.

Addressing an amalgamation of European lawmakers from Foreign Affairs Committee and the Delegation for relations with South Asia, Musharraf faltered when Neena Gill, MEP, challenged him over the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists in Pakistan. Gill asked Musharraf how, in the light of his alleged commitment to free and fair elections, he could explain the imprisonment of leading members of Pakistan’s civil society with little justification. She questioned him particularly about the case of Atizaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Bar Association of Pakistan, who has been kept under house arrest for several months.

Ahsan, a prominent advocate of democracy in Pakistan was arrested after he fought a successful legal battle to reinstate the Chief Justice Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was illegally swept from office by Musharraf.Gill demanded to know if Ahsan, and other imprisoned lawyers would be freed, allowed to re-enter an independent judicial system and campaign unhindered in the forthcoming elections.

Gill told journalists later, “President Musharraf was evasive when answering MEPs questions. He claimed Atizaz Ahsan is free to leave his home, but we were informed differently.”“Mr. Musharraf continues to reiterate his commitment to free, fair, transparent and, as he added during today’s debate, peaceful elections. Sadly, there is a lot of evidence, such as Mr. Ahsan’s imprisonment which suggests his actions do not reflect his words. It is the responsibility of the international community to put pressure on Mr. Musharraf to replace the current Electoral Commission with a truly autonomous body, and allow a free media and judiciary.”

Earlier, Musharraf told a gathering of European lawmakers, diplomats and a sprinkle of journalists, “Pakistan is not a banana republic,” trying to clear the alleged blood stains on his regime from the recent assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chair MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski asked the Pakistani President for his assessment of the upcoming elections while MEP Veronique De Keyser was of the opinion that there was “a danger for democracy” in the recent events leading up to these polls, especially the mass arrests of lawyers.

Echoing this, MEP Annemie Neyts demanded that “all political prisoners need to be released before the elections,” while South-East Asia Delegation Chair Robert Evans highlighted, “MEPs will want assurances that you’ll do all you can to ensure a free and fair election, especially with relation to media freedoms.”

Denying that Pakistan has political prisoners, President Musharraf said only people “arrested” are “for breaking the law.” Visibly moved, Musharraf said he had acted “in accordance with the law of Pakistan and its constitution” when he initiated steps to remove the Chief Justice from his post in November last year, whom he described as “politicised, inept, corrupt and nepotistic.”

Making journalists wonder about his words, Musharraf argued Pakistan’s media was as free as any Western country’s, and assured MEPs that the upcoming elections will be “free, fair, transparent and peaceful.”

His assertion came within weeks of demands of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) for the suspension of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which has stepped up its efforts to restrict the media since Musharraf imposed a six-week state of emergency in early November.

According to the IFJ, which represents more than half a million journalists in 120 countries, it is impossible for journalists to properly do their work and cover the February 18 elections in a free atmosphere unless the Government revokes the recent censoring of media laws.

IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said the formation of a press council is pointless until respect for media rights and press freedom is first enshrined in the law. “With the current situation being as it is in Pakistan, especially following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27, it is more important than ever that the media are free to carry out their professional duties and keep the public informed,” said Park.

Wondering about the motives behind Bhutto’s assassination, Jose Salafranca asked whether President Musharraf was in favour of an international investigation into the case, but the former military chief vehemently denied “all conspiracy theories concerning the involvement of the intelligence services or the government,” in Bhutto’s death.

Musharraf went to great lengths to explain how the Pakistani security had “performed its duties well” in protecting Bhutto while it was no one but Bhutto to blame as she came out of the bullet-proof vehicle provided by the government.He, however, accepted forensic help from Scotland Yard and reiterated that Pakistani investigators were capable of uncovering who had been behind the assassination.

Speaking on the oft-repeated remarks about Pakistan being “in the forefront of fighting terrorism and extremism,” the former military dictator pleaded to the gathered audience to “help us, instead of attacking us and criticising us.”

Rejecting claims by MEP Francis Wurtz that the “war on terrorism” was declared by US President George W Bush, Musharraf argued, “We are fighting this war for our own interest, not anyone else’s.”

Dismissing the accusations about money being siphoned off from Western aid of billions of Euro, meant to fight terrorism, Musharraf gave a mathematical calculation formula showing that most of the money went back to donors for services and logistics provided for the war on terror. He went on to say that he would like to ask US President Bush to keep US money so that these accusations are not labeled on his government.

Musharraf also met the European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana as well as Belgium’s caretaker Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

On the sidelines, the anti- Musharraf Pakistani demonstrators representing Pakistani opposition parties gathered just a few kilometres away from the hotel where the Pakistani President was staying. Protestors held pictures of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and the leader of the PML-N, Nawaz Sharif. The demonstration was organised by three groups, the Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Tehirke Insaf( Movement of Justice).

Climate change action gets into fast lane

“Better late than never.” With that the participants heaved a sigh of relief in Valencia, Spain after a marathon 24- hour session ending November 16 as the compromise 20-page Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) document emerged to act as a manual on how to tackle global warming and set the tone for a crucial United Nations (UN) climate conference next month in Bali, Indonesia.

Officially unveiling the report in Valencia, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pointed out that the IPCC report states that climate change is “unequivocal” and may bring “abrupt and irreversible” impacts.

Fresh from a fact-finding mission to Antarctica and South America, Ban cautioned, “All humanity must assume responsibility for these treasures,” saying, “I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity’s own hand.” “Let us recognise that the effects of climate change affect us all, and that they have become so severe and so sweeping that only urgent global action will do. We are all in this together - we must work together,” Ban added.

In Brussels, the seat of the European Union, the untiring champion of the fight against climate change, it was hailed as “vital reading for decision makers,” by top EU officials. European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement, “The Fourth Assessment Report is a milestone in our scientific knowledge about climate change and the grave threats global warming poses to the planet.”

Dimas said, “The report’s findings amount to a stark warning that the world must act fast to slash greenhouse gas emissions if we are to prevent climate change from reaching devastating levels. The good news is that it also shows that deep emission cuts are both technologically feasible and economically affordable.”

He added: “This synthesis report is vital reading for decisionmakers everywhere ahead of the UN climate change conference in Bali starting in just over two weeks. It fully supports the EU policy that global warming must be limited to no more than 2ºC above the pre-industrial temperature. The global community must respond to this scientific call for action by agreeing in Bali to launch negotiations on a comprehensive and ambitious new global climate agreement.
Efforts will be needed by all major emitters if we are to have a chance of controlling climate change before it is too late.”

Reiterating its commitment, the European Commission listed the key elements of EU action:- To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, that will be strengthened to 30 percent reduction in the context of a fair global agreement - A firm target to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020- A broad range of measures to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020- Further evolution and strengthening of the EU’s emissions trading scheme;- An ambitious limit to CO2 emissions from cars- A framework for introducing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in power production- Development of an effective adaptation strategy

Moreover, the United States, which has earned the wrath of climate change campaigners for not doing enough, did participate along with nearly 150 countries to nod the compromise report through after five days of haggling.

Rajendra Pachauri, an Indian scientist who heads IPCC warned that even if global emissions are curbed and the present levels of CO2 in the atmosphere stayed at the same level there would be a rise between 0.4 and 1.4 metres of the present day sea-levels simply because water expands as it warms.

“If you add to this the melting of some of the ice bodies on Earth, this gives a picture of the kinds of issue we are likely to face,” Pachauri said in post-publication comments on the report.

The synthesis report forms the final part of “Climate Change 2007”, the IPCC’s report. The other three parts were released earlier this year and covered the physical science of climate change; impacts, adaptation and vulnerability and ways to mitigate climate change.

The IPCC was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize jointly with former US Vice-President Al Gore “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”.

EU expresses `surprise` as US joins `Banana War`

Have patience, do not react and this too shall pass! The mantra advocated by many in the labyrinths of power in Brussels seems to have slipped badly as eleven years down the road the "Banana Wars" of late 90s are back knocking on the doors of the European Commission. The US, latest to join the fray at World Trade Organisation said in a statement, "The US request relates to the EU's apparent failure to implement the WTO rulings in a 1996 proceeding initiated by Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and America."

Launching the formal step saying, "We are hopeful that this formal step will facilitate the removal of that discrimination," the US Trade Representative Susan C Schwab added, "We regret that efforts between the EU and its Latin American trading partners to negotiate a solution to the banana issue have not been successful. We share the concern of Ecuador and several other Latin American banana exporters regarding the continued existence of a discriminatory tariff rate quota in the EU's current banana regime."

The US statement pointed out that WTO ruling had said "the EU's regime discriminates against bananas originating in Latin American countries and against distributors of such bananas, including several US companies," adding "The EU was under an obligation to bring its banana regime into compliance with its WTO obligations by January 1999."

After the 1996 WTO ruling, the EU had committed to bring its tariff-quota regime for banana in compliance with the ruling no later than January 1, 2006, said the US statement, lamenting the fact that "the EU banana regime put in place on January 1, 2006 features a zero-duty tariff quota that is allocated exclusively to bananas from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Bananas of Latin American origin do not have access to this duty-free tariff rate quota and are subject, instead, to a 176 Euro/ton duty."

The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boel introduced a personal element of surprise to a more than decade old dispute last week.

Answering a question from New Europe about the new WTO banana dispute with US joining others, the Commissioner wondered why at the first place the US is interested in banana sector as it is not a banana producer but then she answered her own doubts with the mention of Chiquita as the possible cause for US to intervene. The Commissioner however added that the EU will look into the matter and take appropriate steps.

Chiquita, based in Cincinnati in the US could not be contacted for their immediate reaction but European banana sector sources told New Europe that other US exporters including Del Monte and Dole are also affected adding that the European Commissioner has her facts correct that no bananas are grown in the US but in the trade circle of today's era of globalisation everyone is aware of the large farming interests of these leading world exporters globally especially in the Latin American region.

Coming back to the US request to WTO panel to review whether the EU banana import regime breaches the obligations of the international trade body, the EU this week in Geneva as a defending party may veto under WTO rules the request but the WTO will comply with the US request a month later unless the complaint is withdrawn.

The US is following the footsteps of Colombia and Panama which this year decided to follow the beaten track of Ecuador.

December 15, 2006 saw the first day of the proceedings at Geneva of revival of the "1990s banana wars" with the then-winner Ecuador coming back to haunt the European Union. Ecuador, the world's largest banana exporter, complained to the WTO against the EU's single tariff of 176 Euro that came into force on January 1, 2006, terming it "high."

Commenting on the decisions, Michael Mann, European commission spokesman for agriculture had said, "This is very regrettable. We had a consultation process going which we felt was making good progress."Over the past years negotiating for a single tariff system to modify its complex web of duties and quotas for imports, the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, had suggested EU duties of 230 Euro and then scaling them down to 187 Euro, but WTO panels had rejected the proposals arguing that those were discriminatory against Latin American (Latam) nations. Out of that deadlock emerged the figure of 176 Euro, but the conflict simmered on.

Eurostat data of the first quarter 2007 compared to the same period 2005 made it clear how Latam share compared to ACP banana growing countries is slipping down the banana ladder. The imports of the latter are climbing double as fast as their counterparts in Latin America.The EU's current banana import policy significantly differentiates access treatment as a tariff-quota volume of 775,000 tonnes is exclusively reserved for bananas of ACP origin. ACP bananas within the quota enter duty-free ( i.e., at a 176 Euro/tonne margin of preference), with unlimited ACP over-quota access authorised at a tariff of 176 Euro/tonne.

On the other hand, an "autonomous" tariff of 176 Euro/tonne (a rate more than double the previously-applicable rate of 75 Euro/tonne) applies to all other bananas.Prior to the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) May 15, 2007, Spain threatened to veto the EU-ACP commitments unless its domestic producers were better protected from an expected rise in banana imports. The fallout was immediately visible when the GAERC endorsed the commission proposal to fully open European to imports from the ACP, with phased-in access for rice and sugar but the banana sector was shelved.

Debating in early December last year in the European Parliament on the need for an assistance to EU farmers, Jean-Claude Fruteau, Member of European Parliament argued, "The assistance provided for banana producers in the EU is necessary in order to compensate for the dysfunctions within the world trade system, in particular the current gap between the social and environmental standards of European countries and those of Central and Latin American countries. To be effective, these internal regulatory measures need to be in line with external regulatory tools by increasing budget allocations as and when any decrease in the customs tariff occurs."

The MEP was pointing to the fact that money coming in through import tariffs goes in to fill the coffers of EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) from where the money goes to EU farmers.Boel had said that the current system of handouts to banana farmers was hard to justify in world trade talks and that it needed to be brought in line with EU agricultural reforms in other sectors.

While bananas grown within the European bloc account for only 16 percent of the total EU supply, production is important to the Spain's Canary Islands, the French overseas departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe and Portugal's Madeira and Azores islands.Europeans eat some 4.6 million tonnes of bananas every year, making the bloc the world's biggest banana market.

Over two-thirds of the fruits consumed come from Latin America and a further 17 percent from Africa and Caribbean countries.To meet all these requests the only way out is to grant duty free quotas to all regions or countries but that seems difficult with the arrival of French President Nicolas Sarkozy for whom the big chunk of winning votes came from French farmers and traders. It may have been a coincidence that Sarkozy went for his post-victory yacht trip with Vincent Bolore whose companies are loading bananas for Europe in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroun.

Written on July 9, 2007 for New Europe, the European Weekly - Issue : 737

Wahhabism tightens grip over Kosovo

Ahtisaari’s plan for independence may help terrorism flourish

Islam has flourished in the Balkans over the centuries with a peaceful and modern outlook but over the last decade, especially now with the talk of Kosovo independence, there are questions being raised about the external influence in once-tranquil religious relations.

Wahhabism, a fundamental form of Islam with origins in Saudi Arabia has been rearing its ugly head of intolerance in the Balkans starting from Bosnia a decade ago. With the recent manifestation of its hardcore modus operandi in Kosovo, which has more than a 90 percent Muslim population, the ongoing impact of Wahhabism demands serious attention.

First, let’s look at origins of Wahhabism.In the deserts of the Middle East, Muhammad al-Saud, a tribal leader, had in 1750 formed an alliance with Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab, a religious leader and al- Wahhab’s name defines the Islamic interpretation that remains the Saudi Arabian kingdom’s ideology. The present Saudi Arabia was formed in 1902, when Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud captured the town of Riyadh but its greatest victory came in 1924, when it captured Mecca from the Hashemite dynasty that had controlled the city for centuries.

With the arrival of the 70s, the mud houses and camel caravans in Saudi Arabia started coexisting with the ultra-modern infrastructure. The newly found wealth of “Petro-dollars” brought phenomenal changes in a few decades. But like every “gift,” this one also came with a package and that has thrown young Saudis to face many nontraditional problems.

According to official estimates, the last two decades have seen the native-born population in Saudi Arabia doubling to nearly 18 million but on the other hand the per-capita income during the same period dwindled to almost half of what it was.

Add to that unemployment figure of about 30 percent in the adult male population with no chance of finding a job in sight. Now, compare that to the average monthly stipend of about USD 30,000 for a low ranking hierarchy prince in the Saudi ruling family, and, according to rough estimates the number of them is as high as 25,000. In the process, the Saudi government gets about 50 percent of the oil revenue as the rest is pocketed by the Saudi royal family at source.

Ironically, most Saudis are aware of this fact and that fuels the unhappiness in the Vox Populi.It is thus not the lack of wealth but a disproportionate distribution system that is one of the major factors that attracts Saudi youth to terrorism which according to sources has the silent support of most people under 30.

Getting uncomfortable with domestic unrest, the Saudi ruling family in 1980s decided to export this home-grown militancy to Afghanistan to fight Soviets and the rest is history.Today, Wahhabism needs new breeding grounds along with training and survival fields. It will not be long after the “independence” of Kosovo that the Kosovoan version, of “Muttawa,” the religious police since 1926 of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia that enforces prayer five times a day, monitors mobile SMS and arrests women for failing to cover themselves completely, will be a reality on the streets of Kosovo.

One look at the local media reports in Kosovo and neighbouring arena will suffice to convince any sceptic about the dangers of Wahhabism form of Islam. The UN and Kosovo police in the southern part of the divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica on September 19 arrested one of the leaders of the Wahhabite movement in southern Serbia and Kosovo, according to local media reports.

According to these reports the arrested man was Bajram Aslani, allegedly the main Kosovo connection with the recentlyarrested Wahhabi group in Novi Pazar, Southern Serbia. The local reports suggested that the Belgrade Special prosecution for Organised crime on September 14 pressed charges against a group of 15 Wahhabites from Novi Pazar for terrorism and unlawful possession of arms.Some of the defendants were arrested near Novi Pazar on March 16 and large quantities of weapons, ammunition and explosives were found during the operation.

Moreover, in late April reports stated that in the village of Donja Trnava near Novi Pazar, the police had a clash with two Wahabis, which resulted in the killing of one of them, Ismail Prentic, and the wounding of one police officer.

Two recent explicit cases involving Wahhabis in Kosovo can be put forward in addition to every day media reports of Wahhabis being arrested, exchanging fire with law-enforcing agencies or simply taking over mosques that have been there for hundreds of years in Turkish style and converting them to conform to Wahhabi way of architecture and worship.

The first case is in the Gazimestan area which has historic values with a famous medieval battlefield dating back to 1389, stretching from Pristina to Mitrovica. In addition to the remains of Serbian Prince Lazar and Ottoman Sultan Murad, there in the vicinity are two shrines called “Turbe” existing for hundreds of years and have never got disturbed until recently when these were vandalised.

According to local reliable sources who wanted to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, it was allegedly the work of Wahhabis as they believe tombs should not be kept as shrines. The allegations are strengthened by the fact that even in Saudi Arabia there have been such cases like the Jannatul- Baqi, the famous cemetery in Medina, also known as the “Tree garden of Heaven,” which is alleged to have been destroyed in order to keep up with the Wahhabi ideal of not worshipping graves.

Another important case that did stir strong local resentment happened in Prizren, an old historic town that has a history of multiethnic population represented by an Orthodox Church, a Catholic Church and a Mosque, more than 350 years old from the days of Ottoman Empire. According to local sources, the mosque was getting refurbished with Saudi money and the new Imam allegedly preaches Wahhabism. The local Muslim population is disgruntled with the actions of the new Imam who without consultations first made living quarters for himself as an extension of the ancient Mosque and then replaced “irreplaceable” decorative wooden work on the inside ceiling and other parts with new aluminium frames thus the Mosque lost forever its historic heritage.

Another practice that is prevalent in Kosovo today is Wahhabis allegedly paying poor people to wear visible signs of Islam. According to local sources the alleged rate today varies from 100 Euro to 300 Euro per month depending on how much of face or body is covered in Islamic clothing.Money talks and it sure does as is evident with its contribution to the replacement of moderate Islam in Kosovo with the financing of “Islamic studies” trips for youngsters. After a stint of such religious learning abroad in Saudi Arabia or Egypt, lasting around six to 12 months, the youngsters upon returning back in Kosovo sport Islamic beards and robes instead of their jeans.

Watching those alarming signs in Kosovo, socio-religious pundits and political observers warn that slow but steady moderate Islam with its Turkish roots is on its way out and with the talk of independence in Kosovo picking up, soon the days when girls sport western clothes will be history. The mix of Saudi Wahhabism with their oil money is proving dangerous to the world.

The question that comes to mind is: Was it a coincidence that 15 of the 19 hijackers of September 11 terrorist attacks on the US were Saudi citizens and so is the mastermind Osama bin Laden? In a Catch- 22 situation, the West is financing for spread of fundamental Islam in the form of Wahhabism which will boomerang to hurt them. By supporting the UN envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for Kosovo’s independence, many Western governments are unwittingly working to carve out a safe haven for criminality and fundamentalist Islam in the heart of Europe.

It’s time to rethink Kosovo independence: another Taliban in the making and this time right in the heart of European Continent from where it will be easier not only to strike in Europe but also travel across the Atlantic.