LEFT-UPA NUKE COMMITTEE TO BE AN OPEN ENDED AFFAIR

By M RAMA RAO

New Delhi, 28 August (Surya): It is now clear that the proposed Left-UPA committee on nuclear agreement with the United States will be an open ended affair. That means no time limit will be officially set for the panel to complete its deliberations.

‘Why should we fix a time frame’, asked D Raja CPI national secretary here today. Both he and other Left leaders told Surya that it is upto the government how it wants to wrap up the committee’s work.Primarily, the Left wants the proposed committee to examine six issues. A B Bardhan, CPI General Secretary spelt out these issues after national executive held day-long deliberations here today.

These issues are 1. What is the impact of the Hyde Act of America on the nuclear agreement with the US?

2. Does the text of the agreement expect our foreign policy to be in tune with the foreign policy goals of America?

3. What is the impact of the deal on our indigenous nuclear power programme and strategic nuclear plans?

4. Whether the nuclear energy will be cost effective from national energy security needs since nuclear power will go up from 3% to 7 % over a time?

5. What type of nuclear safeguards we are accepting?

6. Is US drawing India into its strategic alliance? Also the implications of US president’s annual certificate for nuclear material supplies?

Fielding questions from reporters, CPI senior said, the government should have consulted the Left parties before entering into a dialogue with the US on nuclear issue. “We are supporting the government. Because of us the UPA has majority on the floor of Parliament. So we could have welcomed prior consultations. But the government has thrust the accord on us”.

Bardhan nevertheless made it clear that neither the CPI nor the other Left parties have any intention of destabilising the government. “We have no intention either to destabilise the country or force an immediate election on the nation”.

He added: “We have taken a democratic path to express what our concerns and objections are to the agreement with the United States. What is wrong?”

DIFFERENCES IN LEFT

The Left parties are split vertically on the question of remitting the nuke issue to a committee. Both the RSP and the Forward Bloc are opposed to the move and they have said so to the Government today when Pranab Mukherjee who heads the core committee of the Congress met the leaders of the two parties separately here today.

Abani Roy, General Secretary, RSP, told the Surya, “Our objection (to the committee) is fundamental. When we are opposed to the agreement, how can we welcome the committee idea? It is also objectionable to us”.

Forward Block leaders echoed the same though in a muted fashion.

Both CPI and CPI (M) are taking these objections in their stride. Survaram Sudhakara Reddy, CPI national committee secretary, said the RSP is known for its different stand on many issues. So their objections are not a surprise to us. A CPI (M) leader pointed out that the RSP and FB were parties to the committee demand which was articulated by Left parties on August 20. “The demand was incorporated in the joint statement we had issued on that day”.

PARLIAMENT DEBATE UNLIKELY

The turn of events indicate that the planned debate on nuclear deal in Parliament has its relevance. It is likely therefore it may not take place. More so because the Left parties will be busy with mass rallies along the east coast from Kolkata to Vizag against the naval exercises off the coast in the Bay of Bengal from the first to 15^th September. The session is slated to end on Sept 14. On its part the BJP is also averse to the debate now as it perceives any objections to the nuke deal would alienate from the party the middle classes and upper middle classes who view the US as an El’Dorado.

Indian Naxalites and Tigers cozying up again

By M Rama Rao

New Delhi, 28 August (Asian Tribune): The People's War Group of Naxalites based in Andhra Pradesh is increasingly turning to the LTTE once again in what experts view as mutual interest. While the Naxalites are interested in learning from the Tigers the techniques of training child soldiers and flying unmanned aircraft, the LTTE is desperately in need of a sanctuary and support system after it suffered reverses at the hands of Sri Lankan army in the eastern province during the past two months.

This convergence of interests has resulted in a fillip to Naxal presence in southern Tamil Nadu districts like Theni, Tirunelveli, Thuthookudi and Ramanathapuram. Traditionally, Naxalites are confined to Dharmapuri, Vellore, and the northern districts of Tamil Nadu bordering Andhra Pradesh. The Periyakulum forests of Theni district has become the new home for Naxal training camps, officials on the Naxal trial said.

The southern Tamil Nadu districts are believed to have strong sympathy for the LTTE, which has led security agencies to suspect a renewed nexus between the Naxals and the LTTE. The ties between these two extremist groups date back to the time Tamil Nadu Communist Party- Marxist-Leninist was formed in 1984-85. Its military wing, the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA), had close ties with the LTTE and indulged in several bomb blasts and looting of weapons. By mid 1990s however the police managed to eliminate some of its senior leaders and the resultant leadership crippled them. More over the TNLA was proscribed under POTA on July 2, 2002 .

Experts here believe a new context for the revival of the old linkages might have been provided by some recent developments. Firstly, the technical capability of the LTTE could be a compelling factor behind the Naxals choosing to align with them to intensify their armed struggle against the state.

In particular, the recent measure by the government to use aerial surveillance in the forest regions of Chhattisgarh could have prompted the Naxals to seek training from the LTTE which to date is the only terrorist outfit in the world that has such capability. The Tigers are known to have unmanned aircraft, small planes and helicopters at Wanni hideout besides a functional airstrip. The Tigers have also conducted a spectacular air attack on an air base near Colombo airport recently.

Although the Government of India has recalled the two unmanned aerial vehicles deployed in Chhattisgarh, the very fact that the government is deploying the aerial vehicles delivered a strong warning to the Naxals of possible aerial attacks on their camps in the future.

Experts believe that the second strong motivating factor for the Naxals to cozy up to the LTTE could be their increasing use of child soldiers. There is evidence to show that Naxalites particularly in Orissa and adjoining Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh areas are expanding the Bal Militia Wing.

Recently, some 10-12 children were found distributing leaflets with the Naxals in Kisinda village, Sambalpur, Orissa.

Given that the LTTE is notorious for its extensive use of child soldiers as part of their strategy, it is possible that the Naxals would seek their training in the mobilization, recruitment and use child soldiers in their struggle against the state.

The LTTE, for its part, has equally strong reasons for befriending the Naxals in India. It has suffered serious reverses in Sri Lanka over the past few months culminating in its eviction form the east. This has caused them great problems not only because of the loss of resources and territory but also because of greater concentration of the Sri Lankan Army in the north.

Hence, the likelihood of the LTTE infiltrating into India to escape from the crackdown of the Sri Lankan security forces is high. In addition, they would also be looking to set up new training camps for their cadre.

For meeting these objectives, a Naxal presence in Tamil Nadu would help them. The security implications of this possibility are obvious, experts here said underlining the need for state governments in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to remain vigilant.

A view here is that Tamil Nadu is vulnerable to Naxal-LTTE violence. Caste politics, Dalit oppression, and continuing strands of Tamil nationalism are the soft underbelly of Tamil Nadu. Unlike Jayalalithaa's hard approach to extremism, the DMK strongman Muthavel Karunanidhi's government is said to adopt a soft approach towards the Tigers because of local political compulsions.

ADB RECIPE TO CHECK GROWTH DISPARITIES

By M Rama Rao
New Delhi( Asian Tribune, Aug 8, 2007): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has come up with its own recipe for checking disparities, which, it says, in its flagship annual statistical publication, ‘Key Indicators, 2077’, are ‘widening’ and can ‘threaten’ the very growth process in India and other Asian countries.

The flipside of ‘growth story’, the Manila based regional lender says, is ‘unevenness in growth in incomes’ across urban and rural areas. That is not something unexpected during growth process, according to it.

“Some unevenness in growth is to be expected during the development phase. It (the rising inequality) is not unusual during major structural change”, the study says and makes out a case for checking ‘weaknesses and imbalances’ in policy formulation and implementation.

The ADB makes two interesting observation, which should be of interest to Yojana Bhavan. “Slow growth in rural incomes has resulted from weaknesses in public investments in rural infrastructure and a policy environment that has kept private investment away. Growth in urban areas has been insufficient to absorb surplus labor from rural areas”

The Bank study holds the view that new opportunities generated by urban growth in developing Asia have favored the highly-educated, further aggravating the earnings gap between the rich and poor. This is largely because of the interplay between market-oriented reforms and globalization.

Asian Development Bank hastens to add that its observations are not a call for rollback of market-oriented reforms or international integration. And calls for ‘policy action’ on three fronts to mitigate the hardships of disadvantaged sections.

First counter negative impact of market forces through mechanisms like well designed social protection programmes and skill upgradation. Second, generate new employment ‘that do not bypass the poor’ through the public and private sector participation. Third, radically improve the quality of basic health care and education available to the disadvantaged sections

CHALLENGE: The key challenge to public policy in Asia, the report concludes, is not just increasing the quantum of public expenditures, but ensuring that these are well targeted, effective, and funded through mechanisms that do not detract from economic growth.

Another ADB report makes out a case for focus on environment clean up, saying most Asian countries are facing massive pollution of both surface and groundwater. Some two billion Asians – roughly 66% of the population in Asia – lack access to adequate sanitation, such as toilets, pit latrines, septic tanks, and sewerage systems. This accounts for nearly three-quarters of all those in the world without such facilities.

Experts from the world over are going to work on a blue print for action on sanitation at Stockholm and water issues from August 12-18. “Sanitation must get top priority from the political leadership everywhere. They need to see sanitation as paying its way and not as being either unaffordable or a luxury,” according to Arjun Thapan, who heads the ADB’s Water Committee. He adds, “Politicians must also understand that postponing action will cost a great deal more”.