CONDOM Nationality
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 21
Palash Biswas
Political developments in the capital are gaining momentum with
President Pratibha Patil meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday even as Congress managers feel that
the government would pass the trust vote in Lok Sabha later this
month with a "reasonable" margin.The PM is expected to inform the
President of his government's readiness to face Lok Sabha and consult
her on a confidence vote, likely to be held on July 21 or 22.
He is also expected to brief her about the government's plans to
proceed with the India-US nuclear deal after having established a
majority in Parliament.
US will do 'whatever it can' if India moves forward on deal
Sridhar Krishnaswami
Washington, Jul 10 (PTI) Amidst the political turmoil in India, the
United States has said it was committed to Indo-US nuclear deal and
if New Delhi moves forward, Washington will do "whatever it can" to
fulfill its commitments.
"The position of the United States government is, we are committed to
this (Indo-US nuclear) deal," State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack said at his briefing here.
"If the Indian government completes the discussions it has been
having about moving forward on a variety of different fronts
regarding this deal, the United States government has committed to
doing whatever it can to fulfill its commitments here domestically,
he said.
The Spokesman was responding to a query on a report in The Washington
Post that made the point that although hurdles may have been crossed
in India, the deal faces difficulty in Congress on account of the
time factor and in the stipulations of the enabling legislation, the
Hyde Act of 2006.
"Now, of course, we have the Congress, but we have the Congress to
work with on this issue. They have an important role to play in it.
But we have been in close contact with the Congress and key members
of Congress on this issue really throughout this period to keep them
updated on it," he added.
"And there are, of course, other aspects to the agreement that would
require actions by others, for example, the IAEA," McCormack said.
"That is not under our control," he replied when asked about the
prospect of a Lame Duck session of the 110th Congress. "That is
solely under the control of the leadership in Congress," he added. PTI
To save men the blushes, the MCD is going to provide space for
putting up condom vending machines across the Capital. In one go,
2,000 brightly-coloured condom vending machines will be installed
Monday onwards at parking lots, cinema halls, community toilets,
shopping areas, petrol pumps, hospitals and even office complexes.
Yes, this is all about the nationalism provoked by Indo US Nuclear
deal.
Foreign Investment fed,Indian Media adocates the sovereignty of
Market deleting geopolitics, political border, everything Indigenous.
It creates sensational hypes with all the rubbish like style, vogue,
consumerism, Icon, cricket, brand, drink and hard Sex with mobile and
computor, soap opera, Reality shows, cinema and midnight parties. It
focuses on credit boom created middle class five star life style.
This Indian media has focused on unprecedented nationalism which
turns Saffron so soon to justify the Ruling Hegemony theory that the
Indo US Nuclear deal as well as Indo Us strategic alliance happen to
be the most wanted Viagra for national Interest. Edit pages are being
gang raped by all the nonsense Economists, the followers of so called
Nobel laureate Dr Amartya sen. The deal is now auto saved thanks to
the Perfect slaves of Washington and vicious opportunism of Indian
communists.
What remains is nothing but CONDOM NATIONALITY. It is all about
abortions, copulations, crimes, voyeurism, Viagra, contraceptives,
blue films and chatting!
Yes, it is the culture of the Global ruling class which dismisses
anything called nationality and shifts immediately to Nationalism
provoking all the good spirits and Incarnations. All Myths and
legends being called back to justify the death of nation, sacrifice
of Freedom and sovereignty. Imperialism is so funny and Americanism
is so enjoyable! Why anyone is annoyed if the Indian Nation is mad a
colony by all colored Political Parties of the Ruling Hegemony
represented and led by the Lion comrador Dr Manmohan singh, the most
elite Brahmin Pranab Mukherjee, the Hindu Nation Pedlar RSS and Shiv
Sena, the hypocrite Marxists and socialists, the Feudal Socialist
Oxides and Zionist Gandhians!
In Kolkata, Anandbazar is leading the race with crying Headlines
invoking Nationalism and masturbating edits declaring anti
Imperialism a child play. Mind you, this Anand bazar has no space for
SC, ST and OBCs. It is against all things Indigenous. It projects
Brand Buddha and advocates most all the ways of capitalist Marxist
development. This Anand Bazar Patrika leads the Anti Hindi movement
and uses Bengali for Prostitution with its hard Porn soft porn metro
Literature. It supported every action of US Imperialism including
gulf War. It justifies Price rise as global lifestyle. It denies any
role for the state and is committed to the sovereignty of market.
Anandbazar is best known for Vending West Bengal Brand Elite Bangla
nationality and celebrates global Banga sammelan. It treats other
nationalities and languages as substandard.
partition victim dalit East Bengal refugees.
And now, this Anand bazar Group is doing everything to invoke the
CONDOM NATIONALITY and NATIONALISM amusingly discarding freedom,
democracy and sovereignty.
It is all for the Nuclear Hindutva deal!
Thus, the Left is caught red handed to finalise the minutes of floor
coordination for a No confidence vote in parliament. a rare example
of reality show to contribute their anti imperialism anti congress
masks. They have other ways also to appease respective vote Banks.
We have known the Buddha Bush combination all the way as Anandbazar
supported the Indiscriminate Urbanisation and industrialisation, MNCs
and foreign Capital, SEZ and Chemical Hub and nuclear Plant! It
justified Singur and Nandigram repression!
Now, you see once again the Bermuda triangle of Adwani, Buddha and
Pranab surfacing . Mind, you all the anti People legislation has been
enabled and activated by this Trio. The Bengali elite Brahmins
capture all the Power centres in past four years sidelining RSS. Now,
the RSS Marxist combine is leading all the promos of CONDOM
Nationalism!
For Bengali media all these years nationalism meant Indian Cricket,
Bollywood, fashion show, Tata and MNCS, Reliance and Retail chain,
IT, Salem and builders, Buddha and the gestapo with promoter muscles,
Saurabh Ganguli and CAB, Sushmita sen and Jaya Bhaduri studded
Bacchans and Sharmila Tagore with Nawab Pataudi. Bengali media saw
nationalism in pro imperialism globalisation and sought Bengali Icons
from Abroad. Sunil Gangopaddhya with all Bengali sentiments captured
Sahitya academy. The premium Anand bazar publications never published
anything from Mahashweta Devi or Nabarun Bhattacharya and always kept
intact its Slave caravan of writers, poets, artists and stars! No
place for anything Indigenous.
Thus this Nuclear Nationalism of super Power Hindu Nation is minus
the eighty five percent Indigenous people deprived of life and
livelihood.
What is it ?
It may be best defined as condom nationality! The Entertainment
Consumer Culture with perfect purchasing power!
See the perfect equation for this brand of Nationalism!
The HIV prevention programme at Sonagachi in Kolkata has become a
global model; India has led the way to move forward. The Sonagachi
model has been applied in the Dominican Republic and in other parts
of India. The principles are the same though, of course, the
programme is not identical because that is the whole point — that
communities develop and run their own programme of empowerment and
HIV prevention. ICRW is working with sex workers' programmes in
Andhra Pradesh on the Andhra Pradaesh-Karnataka border where we are
applying the principles of community processes for HIV prevention.
Just read this item!
Kolkata, July 2 (ANI): Hundreds of sex workers took to streets here
against the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act (ITPA) as they
alleged that implementation of the Act would ruin the sex trade if
implemented.
Members of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) 'Durbar Mahila
Samanwaya Committee' and National Network for the Sex Workers' Forum
took out a procession to make common people aware of the act.
Sex workers alleged that ITPA criminalises most aspects of sex work
by equating voluntary adult sex work with trafficking. They also fear
that, all that they have achieved, like use of condom, awareness of
AIDS, education for sex workers children, through long movement would
go down the drain.
"Section 3 of ITPA law says that anybody who will rent place to us
will be arrested and will be penalized for 10,000 rupees. If nobody
will give us premises then how will we continue our trade. We will
come on the road, and this profession will become an underground
trade. Then we won't use condom as well, thus the diseases will
spread further. Section 5C punishes clients of sex workers, but we
can continue with our trade. When the customers are arrested then how
will we earn and the trade will shut down completely," said Asha
Banerjee, Secretary, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee.
The Central Government has reportedly proposed an amendment to the
ITPA to punish the clients of sex workers. Sex workers have alleged
that this process would deny sex workers basic rights for survival
and livelihood.
Sex workers claimed that government should have consulted all
concerned including affected people before amending any law, but the
Union Government has been ignoring the voices of the sex workers in
the ITPA amendment process.
"This law has been made for us and nobody even consulted us that
whether it will be beneficial for us or not. We have been staging
protests and demonstrations against it from a long time.
But if it gets passed in Parliament in July then we won't just stop
with such rallies and protests. We will go to parliament as well and
stage demonstration there. And if still nothing happens then we will
sit on hunger strike as well," said Swapna Gyen, sex worker.
Although prostitution is still illegal in India, it is a thriving
underground industry.urbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, a forum of
65,000 sex workers based in West Bengal, is active in challenging and
addressing the structural barriers that form the everyday reality of
sex workers' lives.
They have submitted a memorandum to the governor of West Bengal and
have sought his intervention in the matter.
Sex workers are a marginalized lot in India and have very few rights.
Both their customers and the police exploit them.
High levels of violence in the sex industry, the presence of child
sex workers, lack of access to health care, and high levels of HIV
infection are some of the key issues affecting the sex workers in
India.
Prostitution is outlawed in India, but the country has over two
million sex workers, most of them living on the fringes of the
society. (ANI)
Almost as frequent as the predictions of India's economic momentum is
a reference to its demographic dividend. By 2050, predict economists
at Goldman Sachs, for instance, India will be one of the world's four
leading economies. By 2050, agree demographers, India will
indisputably be the world's most-populous country, with 1.63 billion
people, followed by China with 1.44 billion, and the US a `poor'
third with a mere 420 million people. In the new India, this is
largely seen as an advantage. Population stabilisation no longer
seems a relevant issue, let alone a burning one.According to Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare data, 42 per cent of these babies are
born to families that already have two children. Five million are
born to teenage mothers — adolescent pregnancies (15-19 years)
contribute to 19 per cent of total fertility in India and record the
highest maternal mortality rates. According to the Third National
Family Health Survey or NFHS-3 (2005-06) 32 per cent of these mothers
have had no education, implying low socio-economic status.
The basic criteria for an efficient contraceptive drug are
reliability, effectiveness and reversibilty. In the absence of a
wholly satisfactory contraceptive for women, and none at all for men,
the market will always remain hungry for the perfect pill.According
to the report titled Contraceptives—
Report published by Global Industry Analysts, the world market for
contraceptive implants/injections is forecast to grow the strongest
in Asia-Pacific over the period 2000 to 2015, and will reach $359.60
million by the year 2015. The world oral contraceptives market is
dominated by the United States and Europe with a combined 75.82
percent share estimated in the year 2007. While India has the second-
largest population in the world, the market for hormonal
contraceptives is small, because of a low contraceptive-
rate (CPR) (42.8 percent) and a high reliance to sterilisation.
Female and male sterilisation comprises more than 80 percent of
contraceptive use, states an assessment report produced in March 2006
by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In
addition, the report states that there has been little growth in the
CPR; the majority of what growth there has been involves
sterilisation, resulting in a flat market for hormonal
contraceptives.
contraceptives (oral contraceptive pills (OCPs)), emergency
contraception (EC), and injectable contraceptives (ICs) and
intrauterine devices (IUDs) have a prominent role in supplying
products to family-planning programmes in many developing countries.
The buyers for these programmes are governmental or multilateral
institutions, such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA);
multilateral and bilateral donors; ministries of health; and social-
marketing organisations. In India, large and small players are
Hindustan Latex, TTK-LIG, TTK-Biomed, Contech Devices, Cupid Rubber,
Polar, JK Chemicals, London Rubber Company, Win-Medicare, Famy Care,
Pregna International, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Organon India, Cipla,
Mankind Pharma, Natco Pharma among others.
THE WORLD Economic Forum's annual Global Gender Gap report for the
year 2007 has shown India at a dismal 120th position. The gender gap
report looks at the closing of the disparities in terms of health,
education, economic status and political participation between men
and women. India is facing the toughest test when it comes to
bridging the existing disparities: Gender, economic, rights, health
and nutrition and many more. If we consider the gender gap alone,
then the biggest challenge that India faces today is of female
foeticide. Sex selective abortions and increase in the number of
female infanticide cases have become a significant social phenomenon
in several parts of India. It transcends all castes, class and
communities and even the north-south dichotomy.
Reacting to the unveiling of the IAEA safeguards draft text, CPM
leader Prakash Karat has lashed out at the UPA government saying it
has lost credibility over the issue. Speaking to journalists in New
Delhi, Karat said it is strange the government, that was till
Wednesday convinced that the text of the draft was confidential, had
now put it up on the Ministry of External Affairs website. He
wondered what had happened between Wednesday and now that warranted
such a turnaround.
On the other hand, amidst speculation over his continuance in office
following Left withdrawal of support to the Government, Lok Sabha
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today gave broad hints that he has no
plans to resign saying he was not elected as the nominee of any
party.
"The Honourable Speaker does not represent any political party in the
discharge of his duties and functions...
Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee has scrupulously kept himself away from
all political activities," a Lok Sabha secretariat release said.
Noting that attention of Chatterjee has been drawn to various
reports, it requested the media not to drag the "highest legislative
office of the country into controversies by speculative reports and
undeserved innuendos.
US ambassador to India David C Mulford on Thursday met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh discuss the progress on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Mulford had a meeting with Prime Minister at his 7 Race Course Road
residence in the morning hours after Singh returned from his three-
day visit to Japan.
Later, Mulford drove down to the South Block and had a meeting with
senior officials at the Prime Minister's Office.
Mulford on Thursday met the envoys of member states of the 45-nation
Nuclear Suppliers Group in New Delhi and sought their support for the
nuclear accord. Mulford impressed upon the diplomats that their
countries should back the deal as it was in the interest of nuclear
non-proliferation system.
Meanwhile,IAEA Spokesperson Melisa Fleming spoke to NDTV on phone
from Vienna about the IAEA safeguards draft.
Meliasa said, ''At the request of the Government of India, we were
able to circulate the draft safeguards agreement to the members of
the IAEA board of governors for consideration. What will happen now
is that the members of the board have to check, chairman of the board
will consult each and every one of them to agree on a date for a
meeting of the board at which this agreement will be considered.'
When asked if the reports that the IAEA Board of Governors meet will
take place on the 28th of July are correct she said, ''There are
countries who feel that they need sometime and some want to consider
the document so that they will be in a position to meet, to agree to
it, to study the document before they be in a position to meet, to
consider it. It is possible that the meeting could take place in the
last week of July, it also is possible that it could be delayed
beyond that''.
On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had
categorically said that Parliament would be taken into confidence
before making such a move.
"There are no reasons to doubt the integrity of Pranab Mukherjee. He
publicly committed on behalf of the government after consulting the
PM. But what happened in Japan? He (PM) went back on this
commitment," Karat told a crowded press conference at his party
headquarters.
"The government's decision to go ahead with the nuclear deal is
nothing but shocking betrayal of commitment to the country and the
people," he said.
Saying that he had great respect for Atomic Energy Commission
Chairman Anil Kakodkar, Karat expressed surprise that even though
Kakodkar had said on wednesday that the draft was not yet final, how
could the government go ahead with it so fast.
He ridiculed the government by saying that even before the MEA site
put up the text, some website in the US had put it up. "It is a
shame," he said.
Karat said the Left would do everything politically possible to stop
the deal from going through.
The UPA Government has reportedly unveiled the text of safeguards
agreement reached with the International Atomic Energy Association
(IAEA).
The agreement envisages support for Indian effort to develop a
strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of
supply over the lifetime of India's reactors.
India may take corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted operation
of its civilian nuclear reactors in the event of disruption of
foreign fuel supplies.
India undertakes that none of the items produced in the safeguarded
facilities shall be used for the manufacture of any nuclear weapon or
to further any other military purpose. Such items shall be used
exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not be used for the
manufacture of any nuclear explosive device, says the draft.
The draft nuclear safeguards pact that India submitted to the
International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday has ambiguities that
must be clarified before the UN watchdog approves the deal, a leading
expert said.
The draft, which was circulated by Washington-based thinktanks,
contained several points that "raise questions that board members
need to get clarity on" because they would restrict international
monitoring of India's atomic programmes, said Daryl Kimball of the
Arms Control Association.
He said a key red flag is raised by a clause in the draft that says
India "may take corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted operation
of its civilian nuclear reactors in the event of disruption of
foreign fuel supplies." Disruption of fuel supplies would happen only
if India were to resume testing of nuclear weapons and that loophole
would blunt any IAEA effort to keep that country's civil nuclear
power programme from being used to augment its atomic arsenal.
"Does that mean that India intends to withdraw from what are supposed
to be permanent safeguards if it tests and other states decide to
terminate fuel supplies?" asked Kimball. "If so, that is a big
problem and the Indian government has not clarified what that means,"
he said.
India, one of just three nations outside the nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty, developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted
a nuclear test in 1974, prompting the United States to ban sale of
nuclear fuel and reactor technology.
The draft, which is many respects resembles IAEA agreements with
other countries, also omits a list of nuclear facilities that India
has voluntarily agreed to place under IAEA safeguards, said Kimball,
calling that "abnormal".
India's motives were not clear, he said, but added that it
appeared "they're trying to preserve their options to put some
reactors in or take some out" from IAEA scrutiny, depending on future
bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements.
Nuclear Verification
The Conclusion of Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols
An Agreement with the Government of India for the Application of
Safeguards to Civilian Nuclear Facilities
Recommended Action
It is recommended that the Board authorize the Director General to
conclude with the Government of India, and subsequently implement,
the draft Safeguards Agreement reproduced in the Attachment hereto.
Atoms for Peace
GOV/2008/30 Page 1
Nuclear Verification
The Conclusion of Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols
An Agreement with the Government of India for the Application of
Safeguards to Civilian Nuclear Facilities
1. Referring to its desire to expand civil nuclear cooperation with
other Member States of the Agency and to the relevance in this
context of the understanding between India and the United States of
America expressed in the India-U.S. Joint Statement of 18 July 2005,
the Government of India requested the Agency to conclude with it an
agreement for the application of safeguards with respect to its
civilian nuclear facilities.
2. A draft safeguards agreement was accordingly negotiated with India
(attached) using the relevant guidance documents that have been
adopted by the Board of Governors for the purposes of concluding
INFCIRC/66-type safeguards agreements.
3. The draft agreement provides for the application of safeguards to
facilities, nuclear material, nonnuclear material, equipment and
components as set out in paragraph 11 of the agreement.
4. At the request of India the draft text includes provisions for the
use of the agreement as an "umbrella agreement". Paragraph 14 thereof
provides that any facility notified by India to the Agency will
become subject to safeguards under this agreement. Such facilities
will be listed on the Annex to the agreement, which will be
published, and updated, as India notifies the Agency of additional
facilities. In addition, paragraph 22 provides for the possibility of
safeguarding under the agreement items that are already subject to
safeguards under other Safeguards Agreements concluded by India with
the Agency, subject to agreement by the parties to such other
Safeguards Agreements. As a consequence, the application of
safeguards under those Safeguards Agreements would be suspended for
so long as this agreement remains in force.
5. Paragraph 99 provides that India shall take all suitable measures
for the physical protection of facilities and nuclear material
subject to the agreement, taking into account the recommendations
made in INFCIRC/225/
6. In paragraph 100 of the draft agreement India undertakes to
establish and maintain a system of accounting for and control of all
items subject to safeguards under the agreement, in accordance with
provisions to be set out in the Subsidiary Arrangements.
7. It will be also noted that the draft agreement includes an
undertaking by India and the Agency that in the event that India
decides to offer an enrichment plant in the future as a facility
subject to the agreement, India and the Agency shall consult and
agree on the application of the Agency's safeguards procedures before
any such facility is subject to the agreement (paragraph 86).
GOV/2008/30 Page 2
8. When safeguards are applied to new facilities under this
agreement, the Agency will incur additional expenses. On the
assumption that 2009 will be the first year that the Agency will
start implementing this agreement at new facilities, a supplementary
appropriation to the regular budget will be requested as agreed by
the Board of Governors at its 9 July 2007 session. The estimated cost
for the first year for one new facility would be in the order of €
1.2 million.
GOV/2008/30 Attachment
Coming under attack from the opposition and its estranged Left allies
over the flip-flop on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
India-specific safeguards pact, the ruling United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) says it is ready to face parliament although it is
still uncertain about winning a majority.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government was severely criticised
for approaching the IAEA board of governors Wednesday to finalise the
India-specific safeguards pact, a day after External Affairs Minister
Pranab Mukherjee announced that the step would be taken only after
winning the floor test in the Lok Sabha.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed it a "midnight deceit",
the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left parties, which
pulled out their support of the government over the India-US civilian
nuclear deal Wednesday, said it was "expected".
The Communists alleged that there was a "communication gap"
and "contradiction" between the prime minister and the external
affairs minister.
"It (the government's move to approach the IAEA) is shocking. It is a
betrayal to not just the Left parties but the country and the people.
It is a sad state of affairs. The prime minister has to answer," CPI-
M general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here.
"The UPA has cheated the nation once again. They have lost majority
as the Left has withdrawn. It is a constitutional mandate that to
take the deal further they should go for a trust vote," BJP
spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
"The Congress and the prime minister are treating it as a private
agreement and deal. They are tackling it like a family affair. There
is no constitutional propriety in it. They are not taking parliament
and country into confidence," Rudy alleged.
However, the ruling Congress justified the move, saying there was
nothing strange about the move. Party spokesperson Manish Tewari
said: "This is just an extension of what the prime minister was
saying. There is a fine distinction between circulation and
ratification (of the draft). As far as the latter is concerned, the
government is absolutely committed to what the external affairs
minister has said."
The four Left parties also took strong exception to the government's
argument that the IAEA safeguards pact was a "classified pact" and
that it could not be made available to the Communists, who were
members of the UPA-Left nuclear committee.
Mukherjee has written a letter to Communists, who had alleged that
the government had hidden the text of the pact from them, that the
government could not share as it was a classified document.
"Before the government released it today (Thursday) it was available
on the US website. This is the plight of the country," Karat said.
The communist leader also added that the Left would "fight every step
to stop this deal and make it impossible for the government to go
ahead with the deal".
However, the government claims things were fine with it. According to
government sources, the UPA was assured of support by 280 MPs --
eight more than the magical number 272 to prove majority in the Lok
Sabha.
Manmohan Singh, who returned from Japan where he met US President
George Bush, is expected to meet President Pratibha Patil Thursday
evening. He is likely to convey that he would face parliament to
prove majority for his coalition government.
The Indo-US civil nuclear deal provides for a consultative mechanism
if termination of the pact is warranted due to any reason,
including "changed security environment"
arrangement if New Delhi were to conduct an atomic test.
The 123 agreement, whose text was unveiled on Friday, is silent on
nuclear testing by India but makes it clear that the pact will not
hinder or hamper New Delhi's military nuclear programme.
The 40-year agreement, extendable by 10 years, commits the US to
ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies to Indian reactors even if it
terminates its cooperation and to help create strategic fuel reserve
for Indian safeguarded nuclear reactors.
It makes it incumbent upon the US to work with other Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG) to ensure that India can have nuclear
cooperation with the international community.
"Either party (country) shall have the right to terminate this
agreement prior to its expiration on one year's written notice to the
other party," says the 22-page text of the pact reached last month.
"A party giving notice of termination shall provide the reasons for
seeking such termination,
cancelled if the notice is withdrawn before the end of one-year
notice period.
Before the agreement is terminated, the two countries "shall consider
the relevant circumstances and promptly hold consultations"
to "address the reasons cited by the party (country) seeking
termination"
Under the pact, the two countries "agree to consider carefully the
circumstances that may lead to termination or cessation of
cooperation.
"They further agree to take into account whether the circumstances
that may lead to termination or cessation resulted from a party's
(country's) serious concern about a changed security environment or
as a response to similar actions by other States which could impact
national security."
This apparently refers to a possible situation wherein India might be
compelled to conduct a nuclear test if it is convinced that its
security interests are threatened.
"The party (country) seeking termination (of agreement) has the right
to cease further cooperation under this agreement if it determines
that a mutually-acceptable resolution of outstanding issues has not
been possible or cannot be achieved through consultations,
says.
"If a party seeking termination cites a violation of this agreement
as the reason for notice for seeking termination, the parties (India
and the US) shall consider whether the action was caused
inadvertantly or otherwise and whether the violation could be
considered as material," the agreement says.
"If a party, seeking termination cites a violation of an IAEA
safeguards agreement as the reason for notice for seeking
termination, a crucial factor will be whether the IAEA Board of
Governors has made a finding of non-compliance,
If the agreement is terminated, the US will have the right to require
the return of "any nuclear material, equipment, non-nuclear material
or components transfered" under the agreement as also any special
fissionable material produced through their use.
A notice by the country that is invoking the right of return shall be
delivered to the other on or before the date of termination of the
agreement.
But recognising that exercising of the right of return would
have "profound implications" on their relations, the two countries
would undertake consultations prior to such a step.
"Such consultations shall give special consideration to the
importance of uninterrupted operation of nuclear reactors of the
party (country) concerned with respect to the availability of nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes as a means of achieving energy
security," the agreement says.
Both countries shall "take into account the potential negative
consequences of such termination on the ongoing contracts and
projects initiated under the agreement of significance for respective
nuclear programmes of either party."
However, if the US exercises its right of return, it
shall "compensate promptly" India for the "fair market value thereof
and for the costs incurred as a consequence of such removal".
In Viena, A top US envoy welcomed Thursday India's decision to open
up some of its civilian nuclear reactors to UN inspections as a pre-
condition for a controversial nuclear cooperation deal between the
United States and India.
But analysts said the so-called safeguards agreement between India
and the International Atomic Energy Agency -- expected to be approved
by the UN atomic watchdog's 35-member board at the end of July or
early August -- contains major loopholes.
"We welcome India's willingness to move forward with this historic
initiative," the US ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte told
journalists in a telephone conference call.
He was speaking a day after India submitted the draft safeguards
agreement to the IAEA's board of governors. Their approval is one of
the crucial hurdles the US-India deal must pass before it can go
ahead.
Much of the restricted 23-page document, a copy of which was obtained
by AFP, is in line with safeguard agreements signed between the IAEA
and other countries.
But critics are worried that a clause in the agreement's preamble may
make it possible for India to end inspections on certain plants and
use them to manufacture fissile material for atomic weapons instead
of nuclear fuel.
The draft clause states that India "may take corrective measures to
ensure uninterrupted operation of its civilian nuclear reactors in
the event of disruption of foreign fuel supplies."
The IAEA "should clarify for the record what 'corrective actions'
India might be contemplating before taking a decision on the
agreement," said Daryll Kimball, executive director of the Washington-
based think tank, the Arms Control Association.
"If India interprets the agreement as allowing it to remove
facilities or materials from safeguards in the event of a fuel supply
interruption (which would only likely happen in the event that India
resumes testing), this would violate the principle of permanent
safeguards over all nuclear materials and facilities."
Furthermore, the document does not contain the usual list of
facilities -- 14 out of India's total 22 reactors -- to be under IAEA
supervision.
Admittedly, they have been listed in a separate and widely circulated
Civil Nuclear Separation Plan drawn up two years ago by India.
But eyebrows were raised by their omission in the IAEA safeguards
agreement.
"It is ordinary practice that such agreement list the facility or
facilities that would be covered by the agreement at the time the
board of governors considers them for approval. IAEA member states
should not take a decision until that list is made available," said
Kimball of the Arms Control Association.
US envoy Schulte was adamant that the US-India deal "will help
strengthen the global non-proliferation regime and help India meet
its growing energy demands in an environmentally friendly way."
Proponents of the US-India accord say it will bring India -- which
has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) -- into the
non-proliferation mainstream.
In addition, it will bring India, which is running out of uranium to
fuel its reactors, into the fold of global nuclear commerce after
being shut out for decades.
But critics argue the US-India deal undermines international nuclear
non-proliferation efforts because it gives a country outside the NPT,
and which developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted a nuclear
test in 1974, access to US nuclear fuel and reactor technology.
In addition to securing IAEA approval, India must also obtain a
waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of 45 states that
export nuclear fuel and technology whose rules ban trade with non-NPT
states.
Finally, the US Congress must then ratify the deal.
"There is much that needs to be done," US envoy Schulte said.
"We will work closely with India, our NSG partners and the US
Congress to ensure that the initiative is implemented as
expeditiously as possible," he said.
The NSG is not expected to discuss an exemption to its rules for
India until September and that could mean the US-India deal may not
be ratified before President George W Bush leaves office in January.
Globalization
Globalization or (globalisation) in its literal sense is the process
of making, transformation of some things or phenomena into global
ones. It can be described as a process by which the people of the
world are unified into a single society and function together. This
process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural
and political forces.[1] Globalization is often used to refer to
economic globalization, that is, integration of national economies
into the international economy through trade, foreign direct
investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology.
Indian nationalism refers to the consciousness and expression of
political, social, religious and ethnic influences that help mould
Indian national consciousness.
Condom
condom is a device most commonly used during sexual intercourse. It
is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen
from entering the body of a sexual partner. Condoms are used to
prevent pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs—such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV). Because condoms are
waterproof, elastic, and durable, they are also used in a variety of
secondary applications. These range from creating waterproof
microphones to protecting rifle barrels from clogging.
Most condoms are made from latex, but some are made from other
materials. A female condom is also available. As a method of
contraception, male condoms have the advantage of being inexpensive,
easy to use, having few side-effects, and of offering protection
against sexually transmitted diseases.[1]
and application technique—and use at every act of intercourse—users
of male condoms experience a 2% per-year pregnancy rate.[3]
Condoms have been used for at least 400 years.[4] Since the
nineteenth century, they have been one of the most popular methods of
contraception in the world.[5] While widely accepted in modern times,
condoms have generated some controversy. Improper disposal of condoms
contributes to litter problems, and the Roman Catholic Church
generally opposes condom use
Indian Nationalism
Indian Nationalism describes the many underlying forces that moulded
the Indian independence movement, and strongly continue to influence
the politics of India, as well as being the heart of many contrasting
ideologies that have caused ethnic and religious conflict in Indian
society. It should be noted that Indian nationalism often imbibes the
consciousness of Indians that prior to 1947, India embodied the
broader Indian subcontinent and influenced a part of Asia, known as
Greater India.
Sovereignty is the exclusive right to have control over an area of
governance, people, or oneself. A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking
authority. Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in Book
III, Chapter III of his 1762 treatise Of the Social Contract,
argued, "the growth of the State giving the trustees of public
authority more and means to abuse their power, the more the
Government has to have force to contain the people, the more force
the Sovereign should have in turn in order to contain the
Government," with the understanding that the Sovereign is "a
collective being" (Book II, Chapter I) resulting from "the general
will" of the people, and that "what any man, whoever he may be,
orders on his own, is not a law" (Book II, Chapter VI) – and
furthermore predicated on the assumption that the people have an
unbiased means by which to ascertain the general will. Thus the legal
maxim, "there is no law without a sovereign."
In this model, national sovereignty is of an eternal origin, such as
nature, or a god, legitimizing the divine right of kings in absolute
monarchies or a theocracy.
A more formal distinction is whether the law is held to be sovereign,
which constitutes a true state of law: the letter of the law (if
constitutionally correct) is applicable and enforceable, even when
against the political will of the nation, as long as not formally
changed following the constitutional procedure. Strictly speaking,
any deviation from this principle constitutes a revolution or a coup
d'état, regardless of the intentions.
In constitutional and international law, the concept also pertains to
a government possessing full control over its own affairs within a
territorial or geographical area or limit, and in certain context to
various organs possessing legal jurisdiction in their own chief,
rather than by mandate or under supervision. Determining whether a
specific entity is sovereign is not an exact science, but often a
matter of diplomatic dispute.
Nationality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nationality is a relationship between a person and their state of
origin, culture, association, affiliation and/or loyalty. Nationality
affords the state jurisdiction over the person, and affords the
person the protection of the state.
Traditionally under international law and conflict of laws
principles, it is the right of each state to determine who its
nationals are. Today the law of nationality is increasingly coming
under more international regulation by various conventions on
statelessness, as well as some multilateral treaties such as the
European Convention on Nationality.
Generally, nationality is established at birth by a child's place of
birth (jus soli) and/or bloodline (jus sanguinis). Nationality may
also be acquired later in life through naturalization. Corporations,
ships, and other legal persons also have a nationality, generally in
the state under whose laws the legal person was formed.
The legal sense of nationality, particularly in the English speaking
world, may often mean citizenship, although they do not mean the same
thing everywhere in the world; for instance, in the UK, citizenship
is a branch of nationality which in turn ramifies to include other
subcategories (see British nationality law). Citizens have rights to
participate in the political life of the state of which they are a
citizen, such as by voting or standing for election. Nationals need
not immediately have these rights; they may often acquire them in due
time.
Nationality can also mean membership in a cultural/historical group
related to political or national identity, even if it currently lacks
a formal state. This meaning is said by some authorities to cover
many groups, including Kurds, Basques, Catalans, English, Welsh,
Scots, Palestinians, Tamils, Quebecers and many others.
Nation state
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Nation-state)
The nation state is a certain form of state that gets its legitimacy
from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign
territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity;
the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity. The term "nation
state" implies that they geographically coincide, and this
distinguishes the nation state from the other types of state, which
historically preceded it. If successfully implemented, this implies
that the citizens share a common language, culture, and values —
which was not the case in many historical states. A world of nation
states also implements the claim to self-determination and autonomy
for every nation, a central theme of the ideology of nationalism.
(For ambiguities in the usage of terms such as nation, international,
state, and country, see Nation).
Nationalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nationalism is a term referring to a doctrine[1] or political movement
[2] that holds a nation, usually defined in terms of ethnicity or
culture, has the right to constitute an independent or autonomous
political community based on a shared history and common destiny.[3]
Most nationalists believe the borders of the state should be
congruent with the borders of the nation (A Nation-State)
Nationalist efforts such as those propagated by fascist movements in
the twentieth century, held the nationalist concept that nationality
is the most important aspect of one's identity, while some of them
have attempted to define the nation in terms of race or genetics.
Some contemporary nationalists reject the racist chauvinism of these
groups, and remain confident that national identity supersedes
biological attachment to an ethnic group.
Nationalism has had an enormous influence on Modern history, in which
the nation-state has become the preferred form of societal
organization, however, by no means universal. Historians use the term
nationalism to refer to this historical transition and to the
emergence and predominance of nationalist ideology. Nationalism is
closely associated with patriotism.
IAEA pact unveiled, strong on fuel guarantees
10 Jul, 2008, 1647 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI : The government on Thursday unveiled the draft of the
India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA that meets three of
its key concerns: uninterrupted fuel supply for its reactors,
strategic fuel reserve, and right to take corrective steps if fuel
supply is disrupted.
The safeguards text, finalised early this year after several rounds
of negotiations between Indian officials and the IAEA secretariat,
provides for "reliable, uninterrupted and continuous access" to the
international fuel market after New Delhi puts its identified
civilian facilities under permanent safeguards.
The agreement, which recognizes India's unique status as de facto
nuclear weapon power, also meets its key demand in so far as it
allows New Delhi the right to take "take corrective measures to
ensure uninterrupted operation of its civilian nuclear reactors in
the event of disruption of fuel supplies".
The conclusion of the IAEA pact will pave the way for a consideration
by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to allow the
resumption of global civil nuclear commerce with India. The IAEA
board is expected to meet in Vienna July 28 to decide on ratification
of the India-specific safeguards pact.
The agreement also "supports an Indian effort to develop a strategic
reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply
over a lifetime of India's reactors".
This clause could come in handy for India if it decides to conduct a
nuclear test leading to suspension of global civil nuclear
cooperation as it gives New Delhi freedom to take "corrective
action".
The safeguards pact leaves India's military facilities out of its
purview, but seeks an undertaking from India not to divert reactors
and fuel bought from the international market for military use.
Although the IAEA is not a guarantor of fuel supply, the text of this
agreement has broken new ground by recognising the unique nature of
India's nuclear programme that require a separation of civilian and
military facilities and provides assurance for "reliable,
uninterrupted and continuous access to fuel supplies from companies
in several nations".
The agreement, the text notes, provides assurance against any
withdrawal of the safeguarded nuclear material from civilian use by
India.
The draft text envisages India placing 14 of its civilian nuclear
reactors in phases in return for global civil nuclear cooperation.
India's civilian and military nuclear facilities will be separated in
accordance with the March 2, 2006 separation plan agreed between New
Delhi and Washington.
According to the text, India has stated "its willingness to file with
the agency a declaration regarding its civilian nuclear facilities
and to place volunatarily its civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA
safeguards".
The government made the contentious text public after giving a green
signal to the IAEA to submit it to the agency's 35-member board in
Vienna for ratification Wednesday night, and after some US websites
put it up earlier.
The government decision to unveil the text surprised many. Only two
days ago it had insisted that the text couldn't be shared with its
Communist allies because it was a privileged document between the
Indian government and the IAEA secretariat.
The government on Thursday also announced that it would approach the
IAEA for ratification of the pact only after it wins a trust vote in
parliament.
New Delhi's decision to approach the UN nuclear watchdog came hours
after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US
President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Japan.
The IAEA board will meet on July 28 and decide on the ratification of
the safeguards agreement.
The draft text makes it clear that the safeguards will become
operational only after "the conclusion of international cooperation
arrangements creating necessary conditions for India to obtain access
to the international fuel market, including reliable, uninterrupted
and continuous access to fuel supplies from companies in several
nations".
According to the draft, India has said that none of the items
produced in the safeguarded facilities will be used for manufacturing
any nuclear weapon or to further any military purpose.
The text makes it clear that India's decision to place its civilian
nuclear facilities under safeguards will not detract from its
commitment to "the full development of its national three-stage
programme".
The safeguards text recognises India as "a state with advanced
nuclear technology", which has "a sovereign and inalienable right to
carry out nuclear research and development activities for the welfare
of its people and other peaceful purposes".
The safeguards text clarifies that India is entering into this
agreement with the IAEA and its member states with "the objective of
the full development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes
on a stable, reliable and predictable basis".
The proposed pact also assures India that in the course of
implementing the safeguards agreement, it would "protect commercial,
technological and industrial secrets as well as other confidential
information coming to its knowledge".
'IAEA safeguards applies only to civilian nuke facilities'
New Delhi (PTI): The IAEA safeguards agreement were put on the MEA
website to ensure transparency, said Anil Kakodkar.
He said that once the agreement process was completed with IAEA it
was decided to make it public.
The safeguards condition applies only to civilian nuclear facilities,
said Kakodkar.
Kakodkar added that India-specific Safeguards Agreement will not
affect domestic nuclear technology development programme.
He also said that India-specific Safeguards Agreement the first of
its kind.
He stated that the draft safeguards agreement allows India to proceed
step-by-step after ensuring that the nuclear cooperation has indeed
opened up.
He said that draft of agreements cannot be changed. The Indian Atomic
Energy Act not to undergo any change, Kakodkar said.
Kakodkar also added that if amendments are suggested by US Congress,
then the civil nuclear deal could be re-evaluated and the Indian
interests will be protected.
Draft Safeguards Agreement with IAEA - Full Text
Text of Left parties' statement on withdrawal of support to UPA Govt
Deal important for both India and US: Bush
India hopeful of China's support
Left: why keep draft text of IAEA Safeguards Agreement secret?
It's a privileged document, says Congress
Arms expert claims some flaws in India's safeguarads text
Washington (PTI): A leading US Arms expert has picked holes in the
draft nuclear safeguards accord submitted by India to IAEA saying
there are some clauses which may raise questions on the effectiveness
of the nuclear watchdog to monitor the country's civilian nuclear
programme.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in
Washington, said the provisions needed clarity before the IAEA gives
its seal of approval to the safeguards pact which is the next step in
the operationalisation of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. The
draft was circulated to IAEA's Board of Governors in Vienna on
Wednesday.
Though much of the 23-page document is in line with other standard
safeguard agreements. Kimball especially picked out the clause in the
draft which said India "may take corrective measures to ensure
uninterrupted operation of its civilian nuclear reactors in the event
of disruption of foreign fuel supplies."
Kimball said this provision could open the possibility of restricting
IAEA monitoring of the country's civilian atomic power programme.
"The board should ask what 'corrective measures' are supposed to
mean," Kimball said, adding, it could mean "we will withdraw from
safeguards those facilities that we need to withdraw from and we will
use in those facilities other, unsupervised fuel sources."
-8 Summit Highlights Disparities About Global Warming
By Kurt Achin
Rusutsu, Japan
10 July 2008
Achin report - Download (MP3)
Achin report - Listen (MP3)
This week's summit of advanced economy leaders in Japan produced
first steps toward a global climate agreement. However, it also
spotlighted gaps on the issue both between rich and poor nations and
between the world's biggest polluters and several nations who are
rapidly catching up. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Hokkaido, Japan.
Tradition and policy prohibit the host country of the so-called "G-8"
summit from naming specific leaders when briefing the media about
summit discussions. However, Japanese Foreign Ministry Press
Secretary Kazuo Kodama could easily have been citing the leaders of
India or China in the week's key climate meeting.
"One leader mentioned that, 'We have a great many people living in
poverty," said Kodama. "We cannot accept measures that would hinder
our economic growth.'"
That is the key dilemma leaders of the richest nations in the world
confronted this week in seeking support among leaders of emerging
economies for their "vision" to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent
by the year 2050.
Rich nations have enjoyed unprecedented prosperity using fossil fuels
and have been the biggest emitters of carbon pollution from the past.
China and India's emerging economies, and the more than two billion
people living in them, stand to become the biggest emitters of the
future.
Hindu devotees offer prayers in the polluted water, as polythene bags
and garbage is littered on the banks of River Ganges (File)
There is wide agreement any deal on reducing the carbon emissions
that cause global warming is doomed to fail without emerging
economies on board. However, with hundreds of millions of people
living in abject poverty, China and India say the immediate need for
basic human services, like sanitation, outweighs concerns about
carbon emissions. They say the rich nations that made the carbon mess
should take bold action first to start cleaning it up.
This week's 50 percent reduction pledge is vague about how to start
that cleanup. It does not specify a base year for calculating the 50
percent, nor does it include any numerical reduction targets.
Ben Wikler represents the non-governmental advocacy group, Avaaz.org.
He says the G-8 leaders had a major opportunity, but "blew it."
"What the G-8 could have done is to seize leadership and say, 'hey,
world. Let's take this thing on. Here's some numbers we're going to
go at. The rich countries are going to do their part, come along with
us.'"
Max Lawson, a policy advisor for Oxfam International, agrees the deal
is weak, but says the fact the United States signed on is significant.
"Three or four years ago, President Bush was saying global warming
didn't exist. So, in relation to that, we have seen quite a lot of
movement. But in relation to what's needed, it's way, way, off the
mark," said Lawson.
Lawson says the United States emits about four times more carbon, per
capita, than China. Alden Meyer is an environmental specialist with
the Union of Concerned Scientists. He says rich nations are wrong to
shift the burden for global warming onto developing countries.
"China, for example, has fuel economy standards for new vehicles in
place today that are stronger than the ones [the U.S.] Congress
adopted for 2020," said Meyer. "So, there's a lot happening in these
countries that belies the rhetoric that they're doing nothing and
just sitting back."
Scientists warn the threat of global warming is urgent and that
aggressive and specific cuts in emissions are needed long before 2050
to curb its negative effects on world weather patterns and food
production. They suggest 80-95 percent cuts by 2050 and 25 to 40
percent cuts by 2020.
This week's agreement states that shorter range cuts are needed, but
leaves the specifics up for interpretation by individual countries.
Some observers are criticizing the G-8 as ineffective in dealing with
climate change. Philip Clapp, with the American-based Pew
Environmental Group, disagrees, saying the annual gathering still has
a role to play.
"The decisions that have to be made in re-engineering the entire
world's energy economy are not decisions that can be taken by
environment ministers," said Clapp. "The G-8 [meeting] is the only
time that world leaders get together and look each other in the eye
and recognize that they have to address global problems. And, they
have to address them together."
Still, the lack of specificity in this week's climate vision means
the hard talk about targets is left for future meetings, especially a
United Nations-led climate agreement conference scheduled for late
next year.
US Increases Security in Persian Gulf as Iran Tests More Missiles
By VOA News
10 July 2008
In a handout released on the news website of Iran's Revolutionary
Guards, long- and medium-range missiles rise into the air after being
test-fired at an undisclosed location in Iran, 09 Jul 2008
The United States says it has increased its security presence in the
Persian Gulf, as Iran tests a barrage of missiles.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran Thursday, that
Washington will not hesitate to defend its interests or its allies
against any aggression.
Speaking in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, Rice said the U.S. is working
closely with its allies to make sure they can defend themselves. She
did not offer further details.
Iran tested missiles that could reach as far as Israel on Wednesday,
then launched another round of medium and long-range missiles early
Thursday.
Iran says the exercises show it can defend itself against an attack
by Israel or the United States.
Israeli officials say they are concerned Iran's missiles could be
equipped with nuclear warheads.
Israel has grown increasingly alarmed about Iran's nuclear program
since late 2005, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
threatened to wipe the Jewish state "off the map."
Israel has threatened a preemptive strike if sanctions fail to stop
Iran's uranium enrichment, a key part of nuclear bomb making.
In a show of strength Thursday, Israel publicly displayed its newest
spy plane equipped with sophisticated intelligence-
technology and electronic warfare systems.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S.
and other Western countries worry Iran is trying to build nuclear
weapons.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
Pakistani Government Strikes New Truce Deal With Militants
By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
10 July 2008
Pakistan's government has reached a new peace agreement aimed at
stopping a militant group from threatening the northwestern city
Peshawar. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad on the latest
in a series of controversial agreements that critics say have mainly
strengthened pro-Taliban fighters in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Government representatives released details of the agreement on
Thursday, after tribal leaders agreed to guarantee that the local
extremist group would leave a key town just outside the provincial
capital Peshawar and stop hostilities against the government.
Tribal elder Malik Hashim was a member of the delegation and spoke to
VOA by telephone from Khyber agency, where the talks took place.
He said the leader, Mangal Bagh, promised that his people will not
attack official government offices or paramilitary forces in both the
settled and rural areas of Khyber.
Pakistani paramilitary solider stands guard in Pakistan's tribal area
of Khyber near Peshawar, 28 Jun 2008
Pakistani paramilitary forces launched operations in Khyber in late
June after locals complained bands of extremist fighters had moved
into settled areas and began harassing people and enforcing strict
moral codes. There were also increased sightings of Taliban militants
in Peshawar during this time.
The paramilitary forces met little resistance but have since stayed
in the region during the talks to provide security. The head of
Pakistan's interior ministry, Rehman Malik, said Thursday that some
of those troops would now begin leaving.
He said not all of the paramilitary forces will withdraw - those who
remain will ensure the militants do not return.
Afghan, NATO and U.S. officials have been critical of similar peace
agreements the Pakistani government has struck in recent months,
saying withdrawing troops and striking peace deals have mainly
allowed Taliban fighters safe refuge to launch attacks in
Afghanistan.
Most of the concern has focused on militants in North and South
Waziristan, where Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has vowed to launch
attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. In Khyber agency,
northeast of Waziristan, there has been concern over militants
threatening an important overland transit route for commercial trade
as well as supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Rice Warns Iran That U.S. Will Defend Allies
http://www.nytimes.
ref=middleeast
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ and ALAN COWELL
Published: July 11, 2008
MOSCOW — The confrontation between Tehran and Washington seemed to
sharpen on Thursday as Iran said it tested missiles for a second day
and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States would
defend its allies and protect its interests against an attack.
The Lede: In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many (July 10, 2008) Ms.
Rice was speaking in the former Soviet republic of Georgia at the end
of a three-day tour of Eastern Europe. Shortly after she spoke, state-
run media in Iran began reporting the new missile tests, which
followed a warning from an Iranian official earlier this week that
Tehran would strike Tel Aviv and United States interests if
Washington attacked it first.
Iranian state television showed a missile blasting off in darkness,
trailed by a fiery exhaust plume. The television said the new tests
took place during the night into Thursday. A commander in the
Revolutionary Guards had said earlier that night missile maneuvers
would take place but did not give details.
"Deep in the Persian Gulf waters, the launch of different types of
ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface, sea-to-air and the powerful launch
of the Hoot missile successfully took place," state radio said,
without giving further details of the missiles. The missile's name is
sometimes spelled Hout.
The Iranian satellite channel Press-TV said Hoot was a torpedo,
Reuters reported.
The latest tests came a day after Iran said it test-fired nine
missiles, including one with the range to strike Israel.
At a news conference in Georgia with President Mikheil Saakashvili,
Ms. Rice declared:
"We will defend our interests and defend our allies."
"We take very, very strongly our obligations to defend our allies and
no one should be confused of that," she said.
The remarks come amid increasingly tense exchanges between Iran and
the United States over Iran's civilian nuclear program, which
Washington and many Western governments have warned could be used to
cloak the development of a nuclear weapon, a charge Tehran has denied
repeatedly.
The United States has hinted that it could use military force against
Iran, but officials have made diplomacy a priority. Negotiations
between Iran and the West on Iran's nuclear ambitions are scheduled
to resume this month.
Washington has been pushing the deployment of an antiballistic
missile shield in Eastern Europe that officials say will help defend
against a possible missile attack from Iran. Ms. Rice was in the
Czech Republic on Tuesday, where she signed a landmark agreement to
allow the Pentagon to begin construction of the first elements of
this system.
The accord provoked strong criticism from Russia, which has said that
the system could undermine Russia's nuclear response capabilities.
After the signing, Moscow threatened to respond militarily if the
missile shield is deployed.
Ms. Rice's remarks seemed to go further than comments on Wednesday by
Gordon D. Johndroe, the deputy White House press secretary, who said
in a statement at the Group of 8 meeting in Japan that Iran's
development of ballistic missiles was a violation of United Nations
Security Council resolutions.
He urged Iran's leaders to "refrain from further missile tests if
they truly seek to gain the trust of the world," and said, "The
Iranians should stop the development of ballistic missiles which
could be used as a delivery vehicle for a potential nuclear weapon
immediately.
Some in the United States saw the Iranian tests on Wednesday as
essentially deterrent in nature. A senior American intelligence
official said the missile tests, together with belligerent comments
by Iranian officials, seemed part of a strategy to warn Iran's
neighbors of its "capacity to inflict pain."
"I think Iran has a hedgehog strategy: mess with me and you'll get
stuck," said the official, Thomas Fingar, the deputy director of
national intelligence for analysis and head of the National
Intelligence Council, during remarks at the Center for National
Policy, in Washington.
Iran's Arabic-language Al Alam television said the missiles launched
on Wednesday included a "Shahab-3 with a conventional warhead
weighing one ton and a 2,000-kilometer range," about 1,250 miles.
Cairo, Athens, Istanbul, New Delhi and the Arabian peninsula are
within that distance of Iranian territory.
Iranian television showed what appeared to be two Shahabs lifting off
within seconds of each other.
"That's surprising," Charles P. Vick, an expert on the Iranian rocket
program at GlobalSecurity.
said in a telephone interview. "Historically, it's always been single
launches."
Mr. Vick added, however, that the Shahab display might be less
formidable than Iran had claimed. The missile's conic warhead
appeared to resemble an older Shahab model with a range of about
1,500 kilometers, or about 900 miles, rather than the newest one.
The Iranians fired their first Shahab a decade ago, Mr. Vick said,
and are now replacing all models with a more advanced missile that
burns solid propellants, which are considered better for quick
launchings.
Hossein Salami, a commander of the Revolutionary Guards, was quoted
as saying: "The aim of these war games is to show we are ready to
defend the integrity of the Iranian nation."
Michael Shwirtz reported from Moscow, and Alan Cowell from Paris.
Reporting was contributed by William J. Broad from New York, Myra
Noveck from Jerusalem, Sheryl Gay Stolberg from Rusutsu, Japan, and
Mark Mazzetti from Washington.
More Articles in World »
Indo-US deal and Muslims
BY AIJAZ ZAKA SYED (View from Dubai)
10 July 2008 Print E-mail
As the debate over India's controversial nuclear deal with the United
States heats up, a new and totally unexpected angle has been added to
the controversy: Whether the deal is "anti-Muslim" and if the
Muslims, India's largest minority and the world's largest Muslim
population, support or oppose the accord with the US.
So the poor Indian Muslim, who often keeps his head down and is ever
grateful for the empty rhetoric and promises of calculating
politicians, finds himself yet again at the heart of the so-called
petty vote bank politics.
From Congress politicians like Salman Khurshed to media pundits like
Barkha Dutt, just about everybody seems to be debating if the
nuclear accord with Washington is acceptable to Indian Muslims or not.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, a veteran North Indian politician who once
claimed to champion the cause of the religious minority and took
pride in being called Maulana Mulayam, is making much song and dance
about "protecting the interests" of his Muslim constituency.
Mulayam's Samajwadi Party consulted experts and community leaders
like the illustrious former president and father of India's nuclear-
missile programme Dr APJ Kalam before coming forward to rescue the
governing Congress Party. After the Left parties walked out of the
coalition protesting the nuclear deal, the Samajwadis have offered
their own crutches to prop up the government tottering on the brink.
What I find most amusing about this whole debate is the hypocrisy of
politicians like Mulayam and the pretension that the Indian
government and leaders somehow make their policies and decisions, as
crucial as these, in accordance with the wishes and concerns of the
Muslim community.
Frankly speaking, who gives a damn what Indian Muslim thinks? Not
this government. For that matter, no government in the past has ever
lost any sleep over the sentiments of the 200-million-
community.
The Muslim sentiments were hardly of any concern to the government of
Narasimha Rao when it went ahead ignoring the community's protests —
and those of others — to establish full-fledged diplomatic relations
with Israel.
In any case, who are we to protest India's love affair with Israel
when many Arab and Muslim countries are bending over backwards to hug
our Zionist friends?
Returning to the US deal, many in the Muslim community have been
alarmed by the Indian media's dangerous attempts to give a religious
spin to the issue. The other day my talented friend, Barkha Dutt of
NDTV, hosted a very lively debate on the US deal and how Muslims look
at the whole business.
And everyone involved obsessed over the so-called Muslim stance on
the issue as if it was crucial to the success or failure of nuclear
arrangement with the US.
No wonder the Muslims are concerned. Given the long history of such
innocuous issues turning into explosives in the hands of militant
anti-Muslim organisations such as Shiv Sena and RSS-VHP-BJP combine,
their concern is not unjustified.
Alarmed by the dangerous direction the whole debate has taken, and
even as the Congress-led government fights for survival thanks to
Manmohan's delusions of grandeur, Muslim organisations and groups are
trying hard to distance themselves from the issue.
Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, a staunch Congress ally, has passed a resolution
dissociating the Muslim community from the controversy. The
organisation, which played a leading role in the struggle for India's
independence, has condemned political parties for using the issue for
Muslim vote bank.
The party has reasonably argued that the decision if the deal is in
national interest or not is for the country's leaders and scientists
to decide. A party functionary, Kalimullah Khan Quasmi, has
complained that there is a concerted effort to link the deal with the
Muslim vote bank. "This is not a religious issue," pointed out
Quasmi.
Exactly! What has a nuclear deal between India and the US got to do
with the Muslims and their religious convictions? And why those
opposed to the deal are doing so in the name of Muslims? And for
God's sake, don't give us this crap about secularism.
This has nothing to do with Samajwadis' endless love for Muslims
either.
That said, I believe the Muslims as well as other communities in
India must oppose this unholy nuclear alliance with the neocons. Not
because this accord is against the Muslims, as some of our politician
friends in their excessive enthusiasm seem to suggest, but because
this is against India's long-term interests.
I am no expert on nuclear energy or finer points of strategic
cooperation between the two nuclear weapons states like India and the
US. I don't know and I don't care if this will help India meet its
growing energy needs, as some enthusiastic supporters of the
arrangement claim.
All I know is this is a well-calibrated plot by big powers to ensnare
and use the world's largest democracy to promote their own agenda.
India's enterprising Muslim community does not have to withdraw
itself into its defensive shell if it is being dragged into this
debate. Indian Muslim does NOT have to be apologetic in opposing this
deal because this country belongs to him as much as it does to the
next Indian.
In fact, anyone who really cares for this great country should and
would oppose this dubious deal.
We must oppose this arrangement for two reasons:
First and foremost, this deal will undermine and compromise India's
historical independence and political sovereignty. I am not
suggesting that by inking this pact, India will become a US colony
and White House will station its viceroy in Delhi.
But by offering this carrot, the reigning superpower is seeking to
enlist Gandhi's nation as a client state and as a junior cop to
police this part of the world.
Having given up on an increasingly hostile and unpredictable
Pakistan, the US badly needs India to contain emerging China on the
one hand and the Islamists of Iran and Central Asia on the other.
More importantly, there is now evidence to suggest that the US
neocons and the Zionists are trying to form an axis of the US, Israel
and India to check the rising force of Islam.
It's a grand conspiracy against the Muslim world as well as India. I
call it a conspiracy because India and Muslim world have been
historically close allies and friends. These are ties that are as old
as Islam. In fact, they go way back in time — long before the advent
of Islam. And India has been a home of Islam and Muslims for more
than a millennium.
This is perhaps why the inimitable Iqbal called India 'saare jahaan
se achha' (best in the whole world). And the neocons and Zionists
want to sabotage this historical relationship.
Secondly, this opportunistic alliance goes against everything that
secular and democratic India has believed in and championed; ideals
like peace, non-violence, non-alignment and always, always standing
with the disadvantaged, oppressed and the vulnerable people
everywhere.
This is why the world looked to India for leadership even when it was
not a nuclear power and half of its population lived below the so-
called poverty line.
Which is why it's a tragic irony that the party that once led the
struggle for India's independence should now be seeking to enslave
this great land once again.
It is time for the Indians to decide whether they want to continue
leading the world as a peaceful and progressive nation of Gandhi and
Nehru or want to end up as yet another Third World colony of Pax
Americana.
Aijaz Zaka Syed is a senior editor of Khaleej Times. The views
expressed here are his own. Write to him at aijazsyed@khaleej
July 9, 2008, 4:10 pm
Manmohan Singh wins the first stage of his nuke gamble
http://ridingtheele
singh-wins-the-
At last, he has done it - after looking like a weak prime minister of
India for most of his four years in the job, Manmohan Singh has
exerted some authority and forced his Congress Party-led government
to go ahead on its long-delayed, proposed nuclear deal with the
United States. In the process, he has driven Communist-led Leftist
parties from their government-supporti
courting new allies so that the administration can stay in power.
This has been going through the works for the past week or so, but
was visibly confirmed today in Toyako when, on the margins of the G8
meeting, Singh discussed with President George W. Bush how the deal
can be brought to conclusion before the U.S. elections in November.
"I am very pleased with the state of our relationship, which has
truly acquired the characteristic of a genuine strategic
partnership,
underlined the main point on which the anti-U.S. Leftist parties base
their opposition to the deal. He had threatened not to go to the G8
meeting if he did not have the draft deal in his pocket.
India's next step is to seek approval from the United Nations' Geneva-
based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which confirmed
today that the deal's draft nuclear safeguards have been submitted to
the agency's board of governors. There have been reports that it will
be formally considered on July 28.
Then India will need approval from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG), where there might be some opposition because India has
not signed the international nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and
finally approval from the U.S. Congress. There will be opponents at
each stage - including China at the IAEA and NSG.
The government is pinning its not unrealistic hopes of survival on
support from the Uttar Pradesh-based Samajwadi Party, which has
suddenly become a friend of the Congress Party after four years of
bitter personal animosity between its leaders and Sonia Gandhi, who
heads the Congress Party and governing coalition.
But the Samajwadi's 39 MPs will not be sufficient on their own to
make up for the 59 Leftists, so the government is pulling in other
smaller parties to make up the numbers. Some of the 39 are showing
signs of defecting and other parties are playing hard-to-get.
Extensive horse-trading in terms of personal favors, policy changes,
election deals, and what are euphemistically called "suitcases" (of
money) is already under way to secure the votes.
The support will probably be tested in a parliamentary confidence
vote sometime in the next two weeks so that Singh can demonstrate he
heads a stable administration in advance of the IAEA formal meeting.
President Pratibha Patil is meeting Singh on July 10 to discuss a
confidence vote.
If the government were defeated, India would have an early general
election - maybe in November - instead of on its due date of April-
May next year.
The deal would lead to contracts worth billions of dollars for
European and U.S. nuclear power companies, with France and Russia
currently in the lead alongside the United States. Slowly, it would
help India to expand its currently tiny nuclear power generation at
the same time as maintaining a controversial nuclear weapons program.
Singh is probably privately pleased to be rid of the Leftists. In
addition to trying to scupper the nuclear deal, they have blocked
many economic policies including cutting subsidies, allow foreign
direct investment in general retailing and in defense manufacturing,
as well as raising foreign investment limits in insurance companies.
The Left's exit does not mean that all these policies will now be
implemented. In each case, it has been allied with vested interests
such as big Indian retail groups and the defense establishment which
still wield blocking power.
Some people however will benefit quickly. Anil Ambani, who heads ADAG
Reliance companies is close to Samajwadi leaders and has lost out to
his rival brother, Mukesh Ambani who runs the RIL Reliance companies,
while the Samajwadi has been at loggerheads with Gandhi. He might
well now find it easier to iron out any foreign direct investment
wrinkles on his proposed merger with MTN, the South African telecoms
company, and he might also gain an advantage on other government
projects.
It has always been arguable whether the deal is good for India
because, as the Left and others say, there is a serious risk that
India will have to toe the U.S. line on foreign policy. That would be
tested quickly if the international confrontation with Iran escalates
because India does not believe in the use of force against its ally.
Most of the nuclear power gains will take many years to be realized,
although India's current nuclear power stations will be able to
obtain supplies of much needed uranium. There will be other gains for
Indian companies involved in nuclear-linked technology because they
will find it easier to obtain components, and tender for contracts,
internationally.
But before all this can happen, the government has to get through the
next couple of weeks and prove it has a parliamentary majority. My
bet is that it will succeed - although it will probably be a last
minute cliff-hanger as potential supporters hold out for as many
benefits as possible.
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