General’s dilemma

Sri Lankan military chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka has abruptly left office two weeks earlier than he wished after the government ordered him to do so. It is widely believed that Fonseka is contemplating a plunge into politics and will contest President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The opposition has promised that in the event he contests as a common candidate of the opposition and wins, they will abolish executive presidency. However, they know very well that abolishing the executive presidency is easier said than done. Previous candidates too have promised this and reneged on the promise after winning. An opposition leader, who has been twice unsuccessful in his bid to win the presidency, wants Fonseka to relinquish executive powers if he wins and appoint Ranil Wickramasinghe as executive prime minister. According to the opposition proposal, this has to be done within 180 days of winning the presidency. However, this looks like a tall order!

Fonseka who is used to receiving only cheers is now beginning to taste jeers. He will learn soon that what a dirty game politics is. He always thought all glory for defeating the Tamil Tigers should come to him alone. A famous journalist has said that he is suffering from “I, me, myself syndrome.” The war victory was made possible due to teamwork and cannot be claimed by just a single person. Sri Lankan Army couldn’t have achieved this without the help of the air force and navy and all three units wouldn’t have functioned effectively without proper coordination, which was provided by Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Then there was the political leadership of the president who stood all the international pressure to call off the war and his success in winning the vital support of our two neighbors, India and Pakistan, and a steady flow of arms from China. Can you imagine that Fonseka alone could have handled all these? Then why this “I, me, myself” talk?

S.H. Moulana, Riyadh published 20 November 2009

Indo-Pak wall

I absolutely agree with Noel Frank’s letter (Nov. 16) that there is no problem between the people of India and Pakistan as they live and work together in the Kingdom and other Gulf countries. There are many such positive stories of cooperation and friendship and the media should play a major role in highlighting such stories rather than going for sensational and negative ones. Also, hate mail should not be highlighted and given importance as it will only encourage more such mails and end up creating ill will among citizens of the two countries. The time has come for the people of India and Pakistan to play an active role in influencing their government to move forward in a spirit of cooperation rather than mistrust.

Mohan, By e-mail published 20 November 2009

In deep slumber

Today, I heard a commentary on NPR about the recently published book, “White Tiger”, although I have not read it myself.

Indian people are talking about getting over the obsession with Pakistan. They have joined the elite nations of the world and they don’t want to be slowed down by small problems like Pakistan. India has to fly high and look upward. Yes, they are right. The fact is that once ideology is killed, nothing is left but chaos. Pakistan is still struggling with the basics of survival. From A to Z corrupt leadership has bankrupted Pakistan’s reserves, moral, financial and ethical. Money- and power-hungry leaders are playing blame game and fighting over leftovers like wild dogs. But who is to blame? Our leaders, Pakistanis or India or the US? It is the Pakistani people who accepted corrupt people as their masters and they are to be blamed.

We are still in deep slumber while the world is using us, conquering us and ridiculing us. Remember fellow Pakistanis, Allah does not change the fate of a people who don’t want to change it themselves.

Dr. Ghazanfar Ali, Dallas, TX published 20 November 2009

Foreign-aid syndrome

This is a rejoinder to Zafar Raja’s letter, “Blame game” (Nov. 18).

It is sad that so many lives have been lost by the terrorist actions and consequently many families have been devastated. At the moment this carnage remains unabated and the end does not appear to be in sight. Raja surely knows that majority of these insurgents or “unpatriotic forces”, as he calls them, were created and supported by the ISI, initially to get rid of the Soviets in Afghanistan and later on to destabilize its northern and eastern neighbors. Now these groups have become entrenched in their home sanctuaries and become well armed, bold and dangerously powerful. They have started to bite the hand that fed them. Under pressures from NATO, the Pakistani Army has finally got its act together and is earnestly going after these jihadist and terrorist groups. There is no point in blaming your neighbors for dirty doings unless you clean up your own act first. So far India has exercised remarkable restraint in the face of numerous terrorist attacks originating from Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. India is on the roll and is emerging as an economic power to reckon with. A stable and friendly Pakistan would be in its best interest. It has no designs on Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal except that it shares global concerns about the dangers of the WMD falling into the hands of the religious fanatics.

Pakistan is rich in natural resources, with fertile agricultural land and hard-working people as India, but unlike India, Pakistan has hardly tasted the fruits of independence. Pakistanis deserve a much better fate. A good start would be to get rid of the foreign-aid syndrome, curb religious fanaticism, and learn to live in peace and harmony with its neighbors.

Iqbal Paul, Montreal published 20 November 2009

Corruption and politics

Madhu Koda, an Indian politician, was charged with laundering money worth over 4,000 crores, ($866 million approximately), almost a fifth of the annual budget of Jharkhand, the state from where he hails. Koda and his cronies have amassed a vast fortune from the coffers meant for Jharkhand’s people. Politics without corruption seems to be just unthinkable in India.

Electoral politics is funded by black money. So whatever money is spent for fighting or winning election, the same is recouped after grabbing power.

Koda is not the first case. It is the trend in Indian politics. All laws and regulations are only meant for ordinary people.

Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, Jeddah published 20 November 2009