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Thermal plant closure
Takeover of Tripoli |
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Shameful surrender
Strains in Sino-Pak ties
Status update
Precedents in Afghanistan and Iraq are not encouraging and serve as a warning
Scramble for a stake in the new Libya
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Thermal plant closure
After spending Rs 550 crore on the renovation of the Bathinda thermal plant between 2001 and 2006 the Punjab government has decided to dismantle it. If the reason for the plant’s closure is environmental pollution, as has been reported in the media, then the government may have to shut all other government-run thermal plants in the state too. According to the latest CAG report, all thermal plants in Punjab violate air/water pollution norms and operate without the consent of the Punjab Pollution Control Board. The coal-run thermal plants belch out fly ash, which is toxic and causes respiratory and eye troubles. If the people of the area feel relieved by reports of thermal plant closure, their relief may be short-lived. Apart from the existing two thermal plants four more are being set up within a 50-km radius of Bathinda. The town is set to meet the fate of Uttar Pradesh’s Singrauli, which has five thermal plants and fly ash released by them has made fertile land unfit for cultivation. Even if the private firms setting up the thermal plants in Punjab are forced to strictly follow the anti-pollution norms, which is unlikely given the flexible ways of governance, the concentration of so many thermal plants in such a small area is ill-advised. In its zeal to nurture Bathinda, represented in the Lok Sabha by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the myopic Badal family ruling the state keeps announcing projects for the area regardless of their long-term consequences. Clean energy sources are paid little attention, while private firms are handed over power projects without competitive bidding and disregarding the adverse effects on the environment. The viability of such plants is also in doubt. Due to shortage, coal prices are climbing and imports have become inevitable. As global oil prices soar and the cost of coal transportation escalates, will the power produced by private thermal plants be affordable to consumers? Will the state have to subsidise it? Experts need to discuss these issues. |
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Takeover of Tripoli
It seems almost certain that the 42-year-old reign of Col Moammar Gaddafi in Libya has come to an end. The dictator is no longer in control of even the country’s capital, Tripoli. There are different stories making rounds about his sudden departure from his palace in Tripoli. Rebel forces, with the backing of NATO air strikes, have captured most parts of Tripoli. The rebellion against the Gaddafi regime that began nearly six months ago has finally brought about the much desired regime change in this oil-rich North African nation. The fight by the rebel forces earlier appeared to be disorganised and not strong enough to bring down the dictatorship. But with large-scale defections from the government’s forces, the rebels have now surprised everybody, though pockets of resistance from Gaddafi-loyalists still remain. Col Gaddafi’s son Saif Al-Islam, who had emerged as the real ruler after the rebellion broke out, is making claims in desperation. The rebels are receiving congratulatory messages from different Western capitals. Many Arab governments have also hailed the takeover of Tripoli by the anti-Gaddafi forces. Even the Arab League chief, Nabil Al-Arabi, extended his support for the efforts to capture power by the rebel organization, the National Transitional Council. Wherever Colonel Gaddafi is hiding, he should at least now accept the will of the people and call it quits. The problem, however, with him is that he has been so power-drunk all these years that he has never bothered about what people think of his rule. The Arab Spring that has resulted in the dethronement of another Arab dictator — after Algeria and Egypt — poses a fresh challenge for Libya. How to run the country’s affairs during the transition period — from now till a democratically elected government is formed — is going to be a difficult task. Rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil is being promoted by the West as the man who can be given the command of the new government. But that may not be as easy as it appears. More claimants for the top job in Libya may emerge soon. There is no democratic culture in the region. The West and the rest of the world must come to the rescue of the Libyans in their hour of crisis. |
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Shameful surrender
In sports, defeats are routine, with somebody or the other bound to lose. But it is the competitiveness, the fighting spirit and the never-say-die attitude that draw spectators, reveal character and display skills. An improbable victory snatched from the jaws of defeat or losses by narrow margins stop hearts or fill them with unbounded joy. But the Indian cricket team’s abject surrender to England in the Tests, barring the defiance by Rahul Dravid, showed neither talent nor temperament nor displayed any application or attitude. The comprehensive defeats in all the four Test matches, the first series defeat for Mahendra Singh Dhoni as skipper, also signalled the first whitewash for the Indian team in the last 11 years. Outplayed in all departments of the game, the Indian team and the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) have, however, shown no inclination so far to own up responsibility for the pathetic show. Dhoni’s own alibi have ranged from poor luck to injuries to ‘too much cricket’ while the BCCI is yet to utter a single word of remorse for precipitating the most humiliating series loss in recent years. The Indian cricket fans will undoubtedly forget the nightmare of the Test matches if India were to win the ODI ( One Day International) series that follows. But nothing can absolve the BCCI and our ‘crorepati cricketers’ of unprofessional conduct . While the English team is openly discussing how their pre-series planning against the Indian team paid them rich dividends, the Indian team on the field has looked bereft of ideas. Many of them appeared unconcerned about the basics of the game and many an Indian fan would have flinched to see the Nawab of Nazafgarh standing at short mid-on with his hands in his pockets as the bowler approached the crease. Getting into the Tests with a solitary practice match and arriving in England barely a week before the series, the Indian team was clearly unprepared and unfit. Sacking coaches and dropping players are the easiest options. But the BCCI is required to make both short-term and mid-term changes in its priorities and planning. It can make a beginning by identifying and grooming different sets of cricketers for the different versions of the game. |
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Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act. — Truman Capote |
Strains in Sino-Pak ties
In an unusual outburst, China has for the first time publicly blamed Pakistan for the trouble in its Xinjiang province where around 20 people were killed in a flare-up a few days back. Even as the ISI chief, Lt.-Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, was visiting China, the state-run Xinhua news agency lost no time in declaring that “initial probe has shown that the heads of the group had learned skills of making explosives and firearms in overseas camps of the terrorist group East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Pakistan before entering Xinjiang to organise terrorist activities.” It was a stinging indictment of an “all-weather friend” and the world duly took note of it. China launched a major crackdown against Uighur Muslim separatists after massive riots in Xinjiang in 2009 between Han Chinese and minority Uighurs that resulted in the killing of almost 200 people in the region’s capital, Urumqi. Xinjiang, China’s Central Asian frontier bordering Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia, has been a hot-bed of ethnic conflict and a sometimes violent separatist movement by Uighurs, who argue that they have been marginalised in their own land with the heavy influx of Han Chinese in the region. The Uighurs remain economically disadvantaged, suffering a long systematic policy of repression at the hands of the Chinese government. The fundamental causes of Uighur disaffection remain domestic and the tag of terrorism is merely employed by the Chinese government to provide a cover for their harsh policies. Beijing has been pressing Pakistan to get a handle on ETIM militants for some time now, but so far it had refrained from raking this issue publicly. After all, Pakistan is a close ally of China and the two share a relationship that has been described as “higher than mountains and deeper than oceans.” Pakistan enjoys a multifaceted and deep-rooted relationship with China underpinned by mutual trust and confidence. Islamabad has prioritised close ties with China, and Beijing has provided extensive economic, military and technical assistance to Pakistan over the years. In fact, Pakistan enabled China to cultivate ties with the West, particularly the US, in the early 1970s, as Pakistan was the conduit for the then-US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger’s landmark secret visit to China in 1971 and was instrumental in bringing China closer to the larger Muslim world. Over the years China has emerged as Pakistan’s largest defence supplier. The Pakistani nuclear weapons programme is essentially an extension of the Chinese one. This is perhaps the only case where a nuclear weapon state has given weapons-grade fissile material — as well as a bomb design — to a non-nuclear weapon state. China was perhaps the only major power that openly voiced support for Pakistan after Osama bin Laden’s assassination in May by publicly affirming that “Pakistan has made huge sacrifices and an important contribution to the international fight against terrorism, that its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity must be respected, and that the international community should understand and support Pakistan’s efforts to maintain domestic stability and to realise economic and social development.” It is an openly stated Chinese policy that it would like to be an “all-weather strategic partner” of Pakistan. To underscore its commitment, China has agreed, more recently, to provide Pakistan with 50 new JF-17 Thunder multi-role jets under a co-production agreement, even as negotiations continue for more fighter aircraft, including those with stealth technology. Despite this, Pakistan wanted more from China — underscored by its expressed desire to have China take over the operation of Gwadar port in the Arabian Sea, west of Karachi, in which China has invested heavily in recent years and which serves as an important role in the projection of China’s naval prowess in the region. Two weeks after the Abbotabad raid that killed Bin Laden, the Pakistani Prime Minister was in China during which Pakistan’s Defence Minister suggested that the port could be upgraded to a naval base for Chinese use. China, however, immediately rejected this offer, not wanting to antagonise the US and India with the formal establishment of a base in Pakistan. It is in this context that China’s latest public criticism of Pakistan should be viewed. China has for long not been sympathetic to the Indian concerns about the export of terrorism and extremism from the jihadist infrastructure in Pakistan, fully aided and abetted by the Pakistani state. Beijing did all it could to prevent the United Nations Security Council from declaring the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) as terrorist organisations. It was forced to change its position only after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. Today, the strategic realities in Af-Pak are undergoing a rapid change. China has a huge stake in the stability of the region, not only because it would like to use the economic opportunities in Afghanistan and the larger Central Asian region but also because the dangers of emboldened radical Islamists are as severe for Beijing as they are for New Delhi. Since ethnic rioting in 2009 in Xinjiang, Beijing has been especially wary of radical Islam filtering in from the Central Asian nations and Pakistan and Afghanistan. Amid worries about the potential destabilising influence of Pakistani militants on its Muslim minority in Xinjiang, China has started taking a harder line against Pakistan. This presents a unique opportunity to India to make a case to China that building a moderate Pakistan is as much in Chinese interest as it is in India’s. This will also test China’s true intentions towards India. Recent Chinese posturing on elections in Arunachal Pradesh and revelations that China might have been behind the biggest global cyber attacks that targeted India along with a host of other nations point to trouble ahead for Sino-Indian ties. But the deteriorating regional security environment and the rising tide of Islamist radicalism might just force Beijing to change its course towards India. There is no harm in making one last
try. The writer teaches at King’s College, London. |
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Status update
In current times life has been reduced to the level of a status update. Unless one constantly lets people know where one is and what one is up to, one could become totally irrelevant. Thus the propensity of regulars on websites like Facebook to keep updating friends about their whereabouts (at times falsely) and their activities (mostly falsely) by the hour, or even by the minute. The level of these updates is often so outlandish that unsuspecting visitors to the site could come across a status like ‘having a bath right now’ and be suitably shocked. ‘Out for golgappas’ is an update that one saw recently, and one wondered what kinds of people eat golgappas in these risky monsoon days, while secretly feeling jealous of those who have the gumption to do so. Others are more imaginative. ‘Going for a movie alone…does anyone want to join me?’ a young lad posted on his account recently, thereby drawing responses by the dozen from pretty-young-things who ended up having a cat-fight on the comments page before long. The boy seemed so much in demand that the house watched with bated breath as to who would win the argument. The lad himself seemed at a loss as to which contestant to choose as his date and maintained a discreet silence. No one knows whether and with whom he finally went for the film. Some ‘updaters’ have great presence of mind, such as a journalist friend from Delhi who often comes up with imaginative updates and links them to the hot news of the day. He recently posted an update with a picture of his sumptuous breakfast spread, stating that while many people were going on fasts these days, he had absolutely no intention of joining them. One middle-aged newcomer on Facebook got a rude shock last week when he updated his personal profile details and Facebook promptly declared that he was ‘now married’. He has been the subject of much mirth and leg-pulling since then, with friends wondering why he’d got married again and how their ‘bhabhi’ of two decades was taking it! Offline too, the demand for an update is compelling. Husbands, for example, have to update their better halves about their whereabouts a dozen times a day! The walkers club at one of the parks has a rather drastic viewpoint. Most of its members are senior citizens and they have a hearty laugh at what the world has come to. They take life with a pinch of salt and even mock death itself. When they do not see a regular walker for a few days they wonder where he is. On such occasions one can even hear them remark: ‘We didn’t see his picture in the obit column either!’ Updating all and sundry on a regular basis is thus vital nowadays, else we may as well not
exist! |
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Precedents in Afghanistan and Iraq are not encouraging and serve as a warning The civil war in Libya went on longer than expected, but the fall of Tripoli came faster than was forecast. As in Kabul in 2001 and Baghdad in 2003, there was no last-ditch stand by the defeated regime, whose supporters appear to have melted away once they saw that defeat was inevitable. While it is clear Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has lost power, it is not certain who has gained it. The anti-regime militiamen that are now streaming into the capital were united by a common enemy, but not much else. The Transitional National Council (TNC) in Benghazi, already recognised by so many foreign states as the legitimate government of Libya, is of dubious legitimacy and authority. There is another problem in ending the war. It has never been a straight trial of strength between two groups of Libyans because of the decisive role of Nato air strikes. The insurgents themselves admit that without the air war waged on their behalf — with 7,459 air strikes on pro-Gaddafi targets — they would be dead or in flight. The question, therefore, remains open as to how the rebels can peaceably convert their foreign-assisted victory on the battlefield into a stable peace acceptable to all parties in Libya. Precedents in Afghanistan and Iraq are not encouraging and serve as a warning. The anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan won military success thanks, as in Libya, to foreign air support. They then used this temporary predominance arrogantly and disastrously to establish a regime weighted against the Pashtun community. In Iraq, the Americans — over-confident after the easy defeat of Saddam Hussein — dissolved the Iraqi army and excluded former members of the Baath party from jobs and power, giving them little choice but to fight. Most Iraqis were glad to see the end of Saddam Hussein, but the struggle to replace him almost destroyed the country. Will the same thing happen in Libya? In Tripoli, as in most oil states, the government provides most jobs and many Libyans did well under the old regime. How will they now pay for being on the losing side? The air was thick on Monday with calls from the TNC for their fighters to avoid acts of retaliation. But it was only last month that the TNC’s commander-in-chief was murdered in some obscure and unexplained act of revenge. The rebel cabinet was dissolved, and has not been reconstituted, because of its failure to investigate the killing. The TNC has produced guidelines for ruling the country post-Gaddafi, which is intended to ensure that law and order should be maintained, people fed and public services continued. It is far too early to know if this is a piece of foreign-inspired wishful thinking or will have some beneficial effect on developments. The Libyan government was a ramshackle organisation at the best of times, so any faltering in its effectiveness may not be too noticeable at first. But many of those celebrating in the streets of Tripoli and cheering the advancing rebel columns will expect their lives to get better, and will be disappointed if this does Foreign powers will probably push for steps towards forming a constituent assembly of some sort to give the new government legitimacy. It will need to create institutions which Colonel Gaddafi largely abolished and replaced with supposedly democratic committees that, in effect, policed his quirky one-man rule. This will not be easily done. Long-term opponents of the regime will find it difficult to share the spoils of victory with those who turned their coats at the last minute. Some groups have been empowered by the war itself, such as the long-marginalised Berbers from the mountains south-west of Tripoli, who put together the most combat-effective militia. They will want their contribution to be recognised in any new distribution of power. Libya does have several advantages over Afghanistan and Iraq. It is not a country with a large and desperate part of the population destitute and living on the margins of malnutrition. It does not have the same blood-soaked recent history as Afghanistan and Iraq. For all the demonisation of Colonel Gaddafi over the last six months, his one-man rule never came near rivalling that of Saddam Hussein for savagery. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the outside powers reacted to military success by overplaying their hands. They treated their opponents vindictively and assumed they had been defeated never to rise again. They convinced themselves that their local allies were more representative and effective than they really were. It is in the heady moment of victory that the ingredients are created which produce future disasters.
—The Independent
Out with the old, in with the new
The Gaddafi regime
Potential troubles ahead During his 42 years in charge, Muammar Gaddafi kept a tight grip on the political system and created an "institutional wasteland" says Middle East expert Professor Fawaz Gerges. The rebal leadership has been riven by its own disputes, including between the two most prominent military chiefs. One, Fatah Younes, was killed in murky circumstances in July, prompting the break-up of the rebel cabinet because of its failure to investigate properly. The Islamists Ideological differences exist between nationalists and Islamists in the anti-Gaddafi camp. Western intelligence officials reportedly expressed alarm about the rise of Islamism within the rebel leadership. Some fear that militant Islamists could exploit the security vacuum. The regime tried to exploit a split by saying it had stuck a deal with the Islamists to attack the other rebels, and that militants were behind the Younes killing. Region/Tribes With the destruction of the state, tribes and regional power-brokers have key roles to play in post-Gaddafi Libya. However, rebels in Misrata, the country’s third city, have already refused to take orders from the Benghazi-based rebel leadership. And long-marginalised Berbers who swept down from the Nafusa mountains to take strongholds west of the capital will want their role recognised. Will the new institutions be strong enough to adjudicate disputes?
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Scramble for a stake in the new Libya THE WORLD’S leading powers yesterday were scrambling to prevent the violent overthrow of the Gaddafi regime from descending into chaos, even as they to be handed out by a new government in Tripoli. Last night Western diplomats had a host of concerns, ranging from how Colonel Muammar Gaddafi should be dealt with to post-revolution security and whether the rebel alliance, represented by the Transitional National Council (TNC), would hold together now that its immediate and unifying goal has been achieved. The TNC, said President Obama, should avoid civilian casualties and pursue a transition to democracy that was "just and inclusive" for all of the people of Libya. A season of conflict, he said, "must lead to one of peace". In London, David Cameron warned of "undoubtedly difficult days ahead" but said that ordinary Libyans were "closer to their dream of a better future". But signs of disagreement over the fate of Colonel Gaddafi were an early hint of possible problems. Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary general, insisted that all UN member countries (of which Libya is one) should comply with the decisions of the International Criminal Court. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Colonel Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Abdullah al-Senussi, his head of intelligence — who was last night reported dead — for crimes against humanity. But the rebels, who have captured Saif and possibly two other Gaddafi sons, indicated that they should face trial in Libya, before a Libyan court. Later, Saif escaped. Similar tensions may emerge over a transitional role for the UN as a new government is installed. While some Western countries might favour such a step, Mansour Saif al-Nasr, the rebel movement’s spokesman in Paris, ruled out suggestions that a UN force should provide security on the ground, as well as humanitarian aid in the coming weeks. Some of these issues could be settled at an international meeting next week of the Western "contact" powers on Libya, to be attended by top TNC figures, announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which along with Britain led the Nato air support operations for the rebels. Hardly less pressing is the reconstruction effort that will be needed after months of fighting that has caused considerable infrastructure damage and reduced the flow of oil from Libya, the world’s 12th largest exporter, to a trickle. Resources will be available — the World Bank says it will quickly resume involvement with Libya, while Britain and Germany were among countries promising to unfreeze tens of billions of dollars in assets held by the old regime, to help a new government to establish order and revive the economy. Italy, Libya’s former colonial power and largest trading partner, has meanwhile sent a team to the rebels’ "capital" of Benghazi to work on plans to restore oil and natural gas production to pre-war levels. The Italian energy group ENI is the largest foreign producer in Libya. But international competition to secure a foothold in the new Libya is likely to be intense, involving not only the traditional industrial powers but also China, which has already moved to bolster its oil and raw material supplies in deals with other African countries. —The Independent |
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Mustafa Abdul Jalil: The former regime justice minister switched sides after seeing regime forces kill protesters. As head of the rebel leadership he faces a daunting task.
Mahmoud Jibril: The diplomatic chief is seen as someone with whom the overseas leaders can do business. He has visited Brussels to discuss post-war relations with EU.
Abdul-Hafiz Ghoga: The deputy leader of the council and a former Benghazi human rights lawyer who represented families of prisoners killed at a Tripoli jail 15 years ago.
After 42 years in power, Muammar Gaddafi was never likely to go quietly. As rebel forces moved into Tripoli, he issued a final plea to his supporters to rally to his cause.
Saif al-Islam: Once seen as the likely successor, he played an increasingly prominent role during the uprising. He now faces charges of crimes against humanity.
Khamis: Youngest son and military leader, ran a tank-led rearguard action to defend the leader’s compound. Recent reports suggested his body had been found.
Mohammed: The second son, with al-Saadi, to be detained by rebels, although last night he was reported missing. He tried to distance himself from the regime.
Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi: The Prime Minister was recently reported to be on Tunisian Island of Djerba. Why, and even if, he was there remained a mystery.
Abdullah al-Senussi: Intelligence chief who also faces war crimes charges. Last seen at the weekend blaming West for the destruction. Reports, unconfirmed, said he may have also died. 
Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah: The former interior minister slipped into Egypt to become the highest profile defector since ex-foreign minister Moussa Koussa.