8/31/15 8/31/15

2015 at Dawn.com)

Throughout the summer, the headlines have reflected the heart-wrenching reality of Europe’s worsening refugee crisis.The messy, incompetent and often cruel response to the influx of embattled men, women and children arriving on its territory is a huge blot on Europe’s reputation. It is also a source of disappointment for many who believed in the creation of an open, more tolerant society and thought Europeans had learned the lessons of a shameful, tragic past.Alas, many have not. The hostile reaction of governments in Britain, Hungary, Slovakia and others to the refugees arriving in Europe from war-devastated countries illustrates a callousness, intolerance and indifference that many hoped would never be seen again in Europe.News from the different “fronts” in the crisis — the Mediterranean sea, the scene of many shipwrecks and deaths, the Balkans where desperate refugees are using land routes to reach Europe and Calais where thousands are stuck in a no-man’s land between France and Britain — continues to dominate the media, elbowing out news of Eurozone troubles, including early elections announced by Greece.The focus is on the harsh statements and even harsher actions by European nations. British Prime Minister David Cameron infamously referred to “swarms” of immigrants while his foreign secretary Philip Hammond warned of “marauding migrants” on Europe’s doorsteps. Meanwhile, the huge camp of refugees seeking entry into Britain set up in Calais in France is kept in check by a swelling police presence and more fences.Many governments, especially in the former Communist central and eastern European states are gearing up for military action to keep out the desperate people on their doorsteps. More and higher fences are being erected. Some countries such as Slovakia and others in Eastern Europe have said openly that they will only take in a limited number of refugees — and only those they can identify as Christian. Not surprisingly, the refugee crisis dominated a summit on the western Balkans attended by EU leaders last week.United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged countries “in Europe and elsewhere to prove their compassion and do much more to bring an end to the crisis”. The thousands of migrants and refugees who brave perilous journeys “should not, when they arrive, encounter new challenges”, Ban said during a visit to Paris.Yes, the crisis has brought out the worst in Europe. But — at least in some cases — it has also brought out the best.Take the governments in Italy and Greece which have been struggling to cope for months with the arrival of an ever-rising number of refugees, their appeals for a more equitable sharing-out of the “burden” rejected by other members of the European Union. Italians coastguards continue to save hundreds of endangered refugees on the high seas. While far-right groups in both countries are up in arms against the refugees, ordinary Italians and Greeks — suffering from their own Euro-imposed troubles — are providing food and shelter to the new arrivals.Even as Britain’s Cameron panders to the xenophobic sentiments of the anti-foreigner UK Independence Party, many British citizens are helping out in the Calais camp. And a letter from the Jewish Council for Racial Equality to Cameron says British Jews are appalled by Britain’s response to the situation in Calais. “Our experience as refugees is not so distant that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be demonised for seeking safety,” the letter said, adding: “People fleeing conflict and persecution are not to blame for the crisis in Calais; neither is our welfare system, nor the French government. Above all, we in the UK are not the victims here; we are not being invaded by a ‘swarm’.”Most importantly, perhaps, Germany has emerged as the country most willing to welcome the new arrivals. As the country gears up to receive an unprecedented 800,000 refugees, many of them from Syria, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has lashed out against “vile” anti-migrant violence and warned: “There will be no tolerance of those who question the dignity of other people.”Public opinion appears to be largely behind her, with 60 per cent of Germans polled by public broadcaster ZDF saying that Europe’s biggest economy is capable of hosting the asylum-seekers.Desperately seeking a joint EU response to the crisis, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have said the refugees need to be distributed more equally among the 28 European Union countries, a demand backed by the European Commission. But there is strong opposition to such collective action from Britain and the eastern European states.Germany has in fact taken more than 40% of the Syrian refugees who have reached Europe; Sweden has taken another 20% and Greece, Italy and Spain account for another 25%.As the weeks drag on — and far right parties become ever more vocal in their anti-foreign rhetoric — the need for a joint EU response to the crisis will become more urgent. Merkel and a few others may worry about the erosion of European values — but others are busy building the walls and fences required to secure Fortress Europe.

5/27/15 5/27/15

View from Abroad: A week of tears, tragedy and shame (Originally published 23/05/2015 at dawn.com)

They may disagree on many issues, but as they struggled to respond to their respective refugee crises, the European and Asian governments acted with an equally distressing disregard for human life.The Europeans showed little concern for the human rights and much — touted “European values” of tolerance etc that they often preach on the international stage and in their dealings with other states. The Asians illustrated an equal ruthlessness and lack of humanity.The Europeans turned a deaf ear to the Vatican’s appeal for mercy and charity. The Asian nations had little pity for the plight of fellow Muslims.In Europe, as the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea worsened, with thousands of desperate African, Arab and Asian refugees continuing to arrive on Italian and Greek shores, the 28 European Union countries squabbled over the number of people they could “realistically” be expected to allow on to their territory.Plans were drawn up for a naval operation against the human traffickers. There was toxic talk of keeping out as many as possible of the world’s huddled masses.Take a look: In Asian seas, Rohingya migrants have nowhere to landIn Asia, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) showed itself to be even more inhumane as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia left thousands of Rohingya refugees adrift on the high seas, adamant that they could not be expected to open their doors to Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority.The Rohingyas were eventually given temporary shelter by Malaysia and Indonesia, but only after repeated scoldings by the United Nations to protect migrants and refugees stranded on the vessels, to give priority to saving lives, protecting rights, and respecting human dignity.Amazingly, Mynamar where persecution against the Rohingyas is rife escaped Asean censure. Thailand which has received many of the migrants said it was not going to be taking in any more. None of the other Asean states said a word of protest.A meeting to discuss the problem has been called at the end of the month — but many believe that Myanmar is unlikely to attend.Significantly, UN officials, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein have also appealed strongly to European leaders to put human life, rights and dignity first when agreeing on a common response to what they called the “tragedy of epic proportions” unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea, where some 1,600 people have died this year trying to flee their strife-torn homelands.Certainly, it isn’t easy for any country to open its doors to thousands of foreigners in one go and to provide them with food, water and shelter — and a future.But in a world of war, violence, extremism, persecution and poverty, the mass movement of desperate people is inevitable. Pakistan opened its doors to millions of Afghans. Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are taking in displaced Syrians.The situation of so-called “stateless” people is even worse. Palestinian refugees have been in camps for decades as have so-called “Biharis”. The Rohingyas, chased out by the Buddhist extremists in Myanmar, are unwelcome across Southeast Asia. Lampedusa in Italy is crowded with men, women and children of many different nationalities — but as they flee war and poverty, often leaving their documents behind, they might as well be stateless.The number of migrants entering the EU illegally almost tripled last year. Of the nearly 170,000 migrants who crossed the Mediterranean to Italy in 2014, more than 3,200 lost their lives trying to reach Europe. During the first two months of this year, arrivals were up 43 per cent versus the same period last year.The outlook for Asean is equally grim. Nearly 31,000 refugees took to the boats in the last three months of 2014, followed by another 25,750 in the first quarter of 2014. Europe’s initial response to the mass arrival of the refugees was feeble, disjointed and inadequate. But the reality of the human tragedy unfolding in what many now call the “sea of death” finally forced governments into action — of sorts.It’s still not clear if the distribution of the hapless people among EU member states will take place as the European Commission would like. Britain and France have already said no. With Europe’s Far Right xenophobic leaders breathing down their necks, others are not too keen either.Asean’s callousness is not unexpected. Countries in the region don’t really have a tradition of caring much about human rights and have a policy of not interfering in the affairs of others.Still, the lack of humanity initially shown by the region towards the desperate Rohingyas is cause for dismay. Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions. Almost 140,000 were displaced in clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012.In addition to taking in the refugees, Asean must demand that Myanmar stop the continuing violence against Rohingyas. The credibility and reputation of the region is at stake. Asean may want to focus on high economic growth and its plans to build a frontier-free common market. But it would be a pity if it lost its soul in the process.

3/23/15 3/23/15

View from abroad : Transatlantic alliance: fact and fiction (Originally published 21/03/2015 at dawn.com)

So here’s the fiction: America and Europe stand united against the “rest of the world”. The transatlantic alliance is strong, solid and a bulwark against the machinations of China and the world’s other emerging nations.Washington and Brussels are like-minded, like-thinking entities which see eye to eye on almost everything. Together, they can still rule the world.Perhaps in the 20th century — but no longer. Here are the facts: the world has changed from unipolar to multi-polar or even “no-polar”. For all its military might, the US no longer rules the world. For proof, look no further than the way Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is obstructing progress on US-Iran nuclear talks.And here are some more facts: America and the EU are divided over the death penalty, Guantanamo Bay, illegal renditions, the use of torture and the revelations of spying by the National Security Agency as revealed by Edward Snowden.They disagree over how to deal with Russia and Ukraine. And while America sees China mainly as a strategic competitor, Europe is happy to work with Beijing on tackling many 21st century challenges.Certainly, there are some points of convergence. Significantly, negotiations are underway on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), seen by many as the last attempt by a declining West to impose its economic rule-making model on a watching world.But even as they seek agreement on TTIP, many European states are posing the BIGGEST challenge to the US by deciding to join the Chinese-led, Chinese-inspired $50 billion Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which Washington continues to firmly oppose.So far, EU members Britain, France, Germany and Italy have said they want to be founding members of the AIIB. But other Europeans will undoubtedly join their ranks.The story is not just about Washington vs Beijing; it’s about a changing world order, the shift of power from west to east, the rise of China and its challenge to years of US domination.It’s about the need to change and reform post-World War II multilateral institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.And it’s about a world desperately in need of cash, especially for badly-needed infrastructure projects — and a rising China which has more money than it can handle.To be fair, US Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew has said that the US was not opposed to the creation of the AIIB. “There are obviously vast needs in Asia and many parts of the world for infrastructure investment,” he told a Congressional hearing on the status of the international financial system.The US concern, he said, has always been whether such an international investment bank will adhere to the high standards such as in protecting workers’ rights, the environment and dealing properly with corruption issues.The bank, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 during a visit to Indonesia, is expected to be launched formally by the end of this year.All Asian countries can apply to become founding members until March 31.Chinese experts say they are looking less for European financial support and more for Europe’s management experience to share with the AIIB.France, Germany and Italy announced they would join the Bank after Britain said it was doing so last week. Australia, a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific region which had come under pressure from Washington to stay out of the new bank, has also said that it will now rethink that position. South Korea is also expected to join.Other European countries are expected to follow the bigger EU nations’ lead. And why not? Like most Asian countries, Europeans are looking to invest in new infrastructure to raise levels of connectivity across the continent.Policymakers are hoping that China will be an important contributor to the 300 billion dollar infrastructure fund announced earlier this year by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.Britain hopes to establish itself as the number one destination for Chinese investment. China is also a strong investor in Germany and in France.Analysts point out that the US has misplayed its hands and that the best way to ensure that China doesn’t dominate the AIIB is to fill it with other powers. This, they argue would result in much stricter governance rules and safeguards.The AIIB is not the only regional project China has proposed that Washington will have to grapple with. Beijing’s “one belt, one road” Silk Road projects are moving rapidly from theoretical to actual, much to the dismay of America and some European states.The Asian Development Bank has estimated Asia’s infrastructure needs at $750 billion a year, far beyond the ADB’s capacity. With connectivity the buzzword across the region, the new Bank is expected to be very busy pumping money into major infrastructure projects.China has also been quick to respond to huge and acute infrastructure needs in the developing world, in contrast with the lengthy project processes required by other lenders.In response to the Chinese initiatives, the Japanese government has also said it wants to focus on infrastructure projects in developing countries.World leaders at the G20 Summit in Brisbane in 2014 recognised infrastructure demand in the developing world as a new source of global growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.The transatlantic trade deal may see the light of the day by end-2015 — even though negotiations are tough and public resistance to the pact is high. But even if they do clinch an agreement on trade, America and Europe will not always share a similar vision of life in a rapidly-changing 21st century.