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Pre-budget
lobbying Lanka
throttles judiciary |
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Systems
subverted
Atrocities
against women
The
little parade commander
The
murky motives behind Mali's crisis France
keeps up air strikes, African troops plan advances
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Lanka throttles judiciary
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka has done a great disservice to his country by appointing a legal adviser to his Cabinet as the new Chief Justice (CJ) of the island nation. The new CJ, Mohan Peiris, is a retired Attorney-General, but known for his closeness to the President more than his achievements as a legal luminary. Peiris has replaced Shirani Bandaranayake, who was sacked on Sunday following her impeachment by the Sri Lankan Parliament dominated by members of Rajapaksa’s party. The parliamentary committee constituted for her impeachment found her guilty of having unexplained wealth and misusing power. But the truth is that she has an independent mind and is not pliable. She fell out of favour with the President after delivering a judgement not in accordance with the wishes of Rajapaksa. It is not without reason that the Asia Director of the International Commission of Jurists, Sam Zarifi, has remarked that “Mohan Peiris’ appointment as the new Chief Justice, after a politically compromised and procedurally flawed impeachment, adds serious insult to the gross injury already inflicted on Sri Lanka’s long suffering judiciary.” The dismissal of Shirani has come under sharp criticism also from various sections within the island nation, including lawyers. Rajapaksa, however, does not appear to be bothered about what the critics of his action have to say. He has been enjoying a high popularity rating since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009 with the decimation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his rule. His following among the people remained intact when he fired the army chief under whose command the LTTE was eliminated. However, today Rajapaksa is being accused of perpetuating his family rule. His elder brother is the Speaker of Parliament and two of his other brothers hold important positions in the government. His eldest son is a lawmaker. With the judiciary also coming under his grip, he can continue with his authoritarian rule unchallenged. But with his latest action, Rajapaksa has damaged the image of Sri Lanka considerably in the comity of nations. The island nation will now be known for having a judiciary hardly different from a kangaroo court.
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Systems subverted
An
instance of cheating becomes a ‘scam’ when it gets exposed. And when there is no exposé, it is convenient to assume there is no cheating. That, however, we all know is not true. There is cheating, nepotism, parochialism and outright corruption around us all the time. It is practised on a vast scale especially in the recruitment of teachers and police constables, which are the only two recruitments happening in significant numbers in both Punjab and Haryana. Illegitimate hiring of teachers in 2000 by then Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala may stand proven in court, but no Chief Minister of the state in the past decade and a half can claim to have made recruitments without taint. Bansi Lal, Bhajan Lal, Chautala, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, all have had recruitments made under them set aside by courts. In all recruitments, an entire chain of procedures is followed, which is supposed to make it tamperproof. But when the man on the top of the chain decides to sabotage it himself, and makes it lucrative for the entire structure of checks and balances to look the other way, transparency stands little chance. Even in the Chautala case, the beans were spilled only when an officer complicit in the scam fell out with the powers that be. Politically, mass recruitments such as those of teachers and policemen are handy in two ways — for the bribe taken in each case, and the large number of people from a constituency of your choice you get to ‘oblige’ with an appointment letter. As seen in the latest case, it is only agencies outside the government that are able to expose such corruption — the CBI, CAG, judiciary, and, of course, aiding all of these by keeping up the pressure is the media. From the ‘mother of all job scams’ in the region, the Ravi Sidhu case, to a Central minister going to jail in the 2G scam, and now a former Chief Minister, it is the increased vigil that is exposing a ‘scam after scam’. Let us not despair, it is perhaps only exposures that are increasing, the scams were always there.
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It is easy to sit up and take notice, What is difficult is getting up and taking action. — Honore de Balzac
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Atrocities against women
Gang-rapes
in India are getting quite frequent. Then there are other forms of attacks on young women which call for serious notice. There are crimes like throwing acid on young women as revenge attacks. Notwithstanding the restrictions on the sale of acids, the perpetrators manage to get hold of acids which, when thrown on unsuspecting victims, result in serious damage and disfigurement of the victims. Very often the future of the victim is taken away. Perpetrators of such attacks also deserve the maximum punishment permissible under the law. The Union Home Minister appealed to all the parties to send their recommendations to a committee headed by the Home Secretary to examine the various suggestions and draft recommendations. The Government of India had also requested a former Chief Justice of India, J.S. Verma, to head a judicial committee and submit a report within a month, suggesting amendments to criminal law to deal with such attacks on women. Political parties have come out with various suggestions regarding the amendment of laws. The BJP demanded holding of a special session of Parliament to draft new laws. While the demand for a special session has not been conceded, the various suggestions regarding the amendment of law, imposition of several forms of punishment, etc, have been forwarded to the concerned committees. Let us briefly go into the ways and means of preventing such crimes before they happen. The police has the greatest responsibility as it has the capacity to prevent such crimes as much as possible. Take the recent case of gang-rape. If only the Delhi Police patrols had been more active that night, the unauthorised bus in which the crime was perpetrated could have been intercepted, particularly since it had tinted glasses which are against the standing orders of the government and Delhi Police. It was not stopped at any point of time when it plied on Delhi streets that night. Apart from mainly checking for buses with tinted glasses, there should be special police patrols throughout nights for making surprise checks not only on buses but also other forms of transport. The other important steps to be taken by the Delhi Police included registration of cases promptly on receiving complaints of harassment or attacks on women. The Delhi administration has since introduced a special telephone number ‘181’, for reporting attacks and other problems of women. The police has also announced that they would be posting Home Guards on all buses plying during the nights. The Delhi Police should also periodically hold classes for girls in schools and colleges, and educate them on various do’s and don’ts. Apart from the police, there are other entities that should also ensure that attacks on women do not take place. They are civil society as a whole, the judiciary and senior constitutional authorities. It is the responsibility of people like film producers, club owners and other entertainment organisers to ensure that the shows or films do not carry vulgar contents which tend to excite the base instincts of men and encourage them to resort to violence for sex. Organisers of functions in clubs and those holding periodical rave parties, drawing a large number of men and women into participating in them, leading to near orgies, should all be condemned and stopped. Turning to the judiciary, the Chief Justice of India had recently condemned the habits of courts in giving frequent adjournments on lame excuses put forth by advocates. There should be a sense of responsibility on the part of the judges to ensure that such heinous cases are disposed of expeditiously. The Chief Justice of India, Justice Altamas Kabir, had recently inaugurated six fast track courts. Speaking on the occasion, the CJI said quite correctly that the due process of law would not be ignored for the sake of expeditious disposal of such cases. As regards the sentence for the accused in the rape cases, there have been several suggestions ranging from chemical castration to award of the death sentence. Talking about chemical castration, retired Supreme Court judge V.K. Krishna Iyer has pointed out that such punishments would be unconstitutional. Even on the suggestion of the death sentence, there are different views. The eminent lawyer, Ram Jethmalani, has said life imprisonment would be a better choice than the death sentence. However, cases like the one in which the Delhi woman was cruelly ravished and attacked by six persons or more, resulting in her death in spite of her being airlifted to Singapore and given the best treatment there, were not mere rapes. The crime was rightly classified as a murder in the charge-sheet filed by the Delhi Police. Now comes the role of the juvenile accused who, in fact, played a major role in the gang-rape case. He was the one who enticed the victim into the bus, stating that she would be dropped near her house and he also participated in the gang-rape. It has been reported that in the meeting held by the Home Minister and attended by the Chief Secretaries and the DGPs for examining the various suggestions for amendment to the existing criminal laws dealing with rapes and gang-rapes, the Chief Secretary and the DGP of the UP government put forth a suggestion that only those who are under 16 years of age should be treated as juveniles. These suggestions were accepted. Newspapers carried a report that the Supreme Court had awarded the death sentence in the case of a five-year-old girl who was raped and killed in 2001 in Meerut, UP. The accused in this case had admitted the crime and the Meerut court awarded the death sentence to the accused person. The Allahabad High Court, however, set aside the conviction saying that it was based on circumstantial evidence, ignoring the fact that the accused had admitted his guilt and the victim’s clothes were recovered from the residence of the accused. The case subsequently went to the Supreme Court which set aside the judgment of the Allahabad High Court and awarded the death sentence. But tragically enough, the death sentence was commuted in February 2005 by former President Pratibha Patil. It is not known on what grounds the former President set aside the death sentence awarded by the Supreme Court. More comment on the role and responsibilities of senior constitutional authorities like the President is not necessary except to hope that such instances would be rare in
future. The writer is a former Governor of UP and West Bengal.
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The little parade commander No
other police force had such a humble beginning as the Sikkim Police. It was set up with a workforce of only one head constable and five constables by a resolution by the King of Sikkim in Council in November, 1897, at Aritar, an obscure place on the Kalimpong-Lhasa trade route. Over the years, the Sikkim Police grew into a large force serving in all the districts of Sikkim. Guarding the frontiers of the state to fighting crime and maintaining internal peace became its prime functions after the merger of the kingdom with India. In November 1997 the Sikkim Police was to complete 100 years of its journey from Aritar to Gangtok. It was my privilege to be its DGP in its centenary year. The centenary celebrations were planned with great gusto and imagination. The prime objective was to generate the people's interest in their own police. The chief event was the huge parade comprising different ranks. Paljor Stadium was carefully chosen as the venue of the parade. Stately pines overlooking it on the one side and the panoramic view of Gangtok spread on the other, made it a vista of unique splendour. Citizens of Gangtok turned up daily to the stadium to watch the rehearsals. Perched on the steps of the stadium in their colourful 'bakhus', it was a pageantry of colour and human charm in this setting. Never before were they interested in their police as when witnessing them march in parade in front of them. The lady police — beautiful young women — in uniforms, especially designed for them, attracted the people of Gangtok immensely. The parade practices became eventful for the curiosity and interest generated by them among children. Not only did they keenly watch the parade rehearsals, they formed a squad of their own and marched in step with the police. Sudesh Subha, a lad of six years, though physically challenged in one hand, outdid all his peers. Watching the policemen in parade, he picked all their skills including the words of command. His steps were perfect, his commands loud and clear. Carrying a small baton in the manner of holding a rifle, he acquired all the attributes of a little parade commander. We decided to get a police uniform stitched for him fitting his size. It was also decided that he would march ahead of smart SD Negi, the parade commander, on the final day of the celebrations. It was a huge colourful parade, a spectacle indeed, the sight of which regaled the citizens of Sikkim. But what delighted them was also the sight of the little Sudesh Subha marching ahead of the parade commander, saluting the Governor of Sikkim in perfect steps and giving right commands. Like the parade commander, he marched alone ahead of the parade squads, yet his steps were in perfect harmony with them and in tune with the drum beat. Looking right to the dais, he gave a smart salute to the Governor, who reviewed the parade. The parade over, Subha marched to the Governor who lifted him up in his arms and announced a reward for him. The Sikkim police will forever remember the little commander who is now a strapping young footballer playing in Paljor
Stadium.
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The murky motives behind Mali's crisis
France's intervention to stop the advance of Islamic Jihadi in Mali has similarities with French action to protect the people of Benghazi from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya two years ago. In both cases the motives of all players in the crisis are more complicated than they publicly pretend. Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) is demonised as threat to France and Europe because it might establish a Taliban type regime in Mali. But Aqim has never launched a single attack in France or Europe since it was established in 1998. Its activities in the vast wastelands of the Sahel have been confined almost entirely to smuggling cigarettes and cocaine and kidnapping foreigners. January 10, 2013: Islamist groups capture
Konna. Mali's interim President calls on France to help. Witnesses report arrival of foreign troops and weapons at military base in
Sevare, 37 miles to the south. January 11: Government troops launch counter-offensive against Islamists backed by France, Nigeria and Senegal. President Hollande confirms French troops are 'actively supporting' operation. January 12:
Dozens of Islamists killed as Konna is retaken by Malian army. French pilot is killed after helicopter is shot down in the fighting. January 13:
France targets Islamist bases around the northern city of
Gao. Niger, Togo and Benin say they will send troops, while Britain pledges logistical support. French warplanes target rebel positions near
Daibaly, 250 miles from Bamako. January 14: Second British support plane leaves RAF Brize Norton but is delayed by technical fault in Paris. Islamists retake
Diabaly. France admits things are 'progressing well' in the east but not in the west. Witnesses say rebels advancing from Mauritanian border where they had retreated under French air attack.
Aqim may hold the official al-Qa'ida franchise but the movement, founded in Algeria as a breakaway from an even more ferocious Islamic revolutionary group, has always been suspected of links with Algerian intelligence. It still has some hardcore bastions in the Kabylia in northern Algeria, but its nucleus migrated south more than 10 years ago. It was previously under pressure from Colonel Gaddafi, who maintained a sort of order on Libya's southern flank, but this disappeared with his fall. It has money and has probably recruited some foreign Jihadi wishing to wage a holy war. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the al-Qa'ida-linked Ansar Dine are the two Tuareg groups that took over northern Mali — an area the size of France — in April 2012. The MNLA, the more secular and nationalist of the groups, wants independence for a homeland for the Tuareg ethnic group. Ansar Dine, led by a famous Tuareg rebel, Ag Ghaly, joined hands with the smaller Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) to brush aside the MNLA. The Islamist parties achieved notoriety by banning music, for which Mali is famous, and destroying ancient Sufi shrines in Timbuktu. These movements have their sponsors, open and covert. Morocco has been enthusiastic for foreign intervention in Mali, probably as part of its rivalry with Algeria for influence in the region. Algeria has opposed intervention by France in the past and has always been more concerned by ethnic separatists, like the MNLA, than it is by fundamentalist Islam. Many of the MNLA fighters were previously with Colonel Gaddafi, who opposed Tuareg separatism, but offered opportunities for Tuareg in his security forces. For all the rapid advances and retreats in this war, the two Islamist groups have only an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 fighters and the MNLA about the same numbers. The great majority of Mali's 15 million people live in the south far from the empty lands of the north. The small Islamist groups would find it near impossible to take the whole of Mali, which is the size of South Africa, despite French protestations to the contrary. But the vastness of the country also means that the central government, even with French air support, will have difficulty in eliminating the Islamists. —The Independent
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France keeps up air strikes, African troops plan advances
France
kept up its air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali as plans to deploy African troops gathered pace amid concerns that delays could endanger a wider mission to dislodge al Qaeda and its allies. France has already poured hundreds of troops into Mali and carried out days of air strikes since last week in a vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance that combines al Qaeda’s north African wing AQIM with Mali’s home-grown MUJWA and Ansar Dine rebel groups. Western and regional powers are concerned the insurgents will use Mali’s north as a launchpad for international attacks. West African defence chiefs were to meet in Bamako on Tuesday to approve plans to speed up the deployment of 3,300 regional troops foreseen in a U.N.-backed intervention plan to be led by Africans. Speaking from a French military base in Abu Dhabi at the start of a day-long visit to the UAE, President Francois Hollande said French forces in Mali had carried out further strikes overnight "which hit their targets." "We will continue the deployment of forces on the ground and in the air," Hollande said. "We have 750 troops deployed at the moment and that will keep increasing so that as quickly as possible we can hand over to the Africans." France plans to field a total 2,500 soldiers in its former colony to bolster the Malian army and work with the intervention force provided by the ECOWAS grouping of West African states. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, accompanying Hollande on a visit aimed at firming up trade relations and making progress on a possible sale of 60 French Rafale fighter jets, said he was confident Gulf Arab states would also help the Mali campaign. Fabius said there would be a meeting of donors for the Mali operation most likely in Addis Ababa at the end of January. He predicted the current level of the French involvement in Mali would go on for "a matter of weeks". ECOWAS mission head in Bamako Aboudou Toure Cheaka said the West African troops would be on the ground in a week. Their immediate mission would be to help stop the rebel advance while preparations for a full intervention plan continued. The original timetable for the 3,300-strong UN-sanctioned African force — backed by western logistics, money and intelligence services — did not initially foresee full deployment before September due to logistical constraints. Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Guinea have all offered troops. But regional powerhouse Nigeria, which is due to lead the mission, has cautioned that even if some troops arrive in Mali soon, training will take more time. The plan is being fast-tracked after a plea for help by Mali's government after mobile columns of Islamist fighters last week threatened the central garrison towns of Mopti and Sevare, with its key airport. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said France's goals were to stop the Islamist rebels, to "safeguard the existence of Mali" and pave the way for the African-led military operation. U.S. officials said Washington was sharing information with French forces in Mali and considering providing logistics, surveillance and airlift capability. "We have made a commitment that al Qaeda is not going to find anyplace to hide," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters as he began a visit to Europe. As French aircraft bombarded mobile columns of Islamist fighters, other insurgents launched a counter-attack further to the south, dislodging government forces from the town of Diabaly, 350 km from Bamako. French intervention has raised the risk for eight French hostages held by al Qaeda allies in the Sahara and for 30,000 French expatriates living in neighbouring, mostly Muslim states. Concerned about reprisals at home, France has tightened security at public buildings and on public transport. The U.N. said an estimated 30,000 people had fled the latest fighting in Mali, joining more than 200,000 already displaced. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed the French-led military intervention in Mali and voiced the hope that it would halt the Islamist assault. France, which has repeatedly said it has abandoned its role as the policeman of its former African colonies, is among the toughest proponents of a speedier deployment of the African troops, and convened a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the crisis. French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters after the meeting that the US, Canada, Belgium, Denmark and Germany had also offered logistical support for France’s Mali operation. No Europeans or other African Union members will be allowed in the defence chiefs meeting in Bamako on Tuesday, a western diplomat said, requesting not to be named. "They don't want any French pressure at the meeting," the diplomat said. — Reuters
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