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| February 06, 2008 | Wednesday | Muharram 27, 1429 |
OIC should soul search
Fat free
OTHER VOICES: European Press
THE Senate on Monday presented a foretaste of things to come in the next elected parliament, given that elections are held and are seen to be as free and fair by all concerned. In the last animated debate held in the upper house between the erstwhile treasury and opposition members before the Feb 18 elections, President Musharraf’s recent actions came in for a lot of flak. Conspicuous by their absence were the loud cries raised from the treasury benches in defence of the president in the face of the opposition’s onslaught. It seemed Mr Musharraf’s defence rested with the sole spokesman, the caretaker law minister Syed Afzal Haider, who had little else to say besides ‘let bygones be bygones’ — the learned senator’s known penchant for learning from history notwithstanding.
For Senators Raza Rabbani of the PPP and Prof Khursheed of the JI, who went on a rampage, it was understandably difficult for bygones to be bygones. They insisted that the forthcoming parliament would not indemnify the president’s actions since Nov 3, 2007; it would restore the sacked judges and call all who complied with Mr Musharraf’s arbitrary orders to account. However, the issues of the re-lection of the president by the last assemblies or his impeachment by the coming parliament were conveniently left untouched, which may be seen as the opposition offering Mr Musharraf a fig leaf of sorts. Clearly, there is a lot at stake in the whole gambit of power politics. If the caretaker law minister was implying that now is not the time to rake up the past and it would be wiser to move on, he seems to have spoken prematurely. This is a sensible approach when one phase of history has ended and the next one is beginning. Although the wise always learn from history, it does not help to cling on to what is past. One has to move forward. But will this hold true in a scenario where the struggle for power has yet to end. The elections will decide who will get what, how much of it and how. If truth be told, given the current caretaker government’s poor credentials of impartiality, perhaps Mr Musharraf alone holds the key to ensuring a fair election. A new beginning will be possible if the polls result in a consensus government which revokes the extra-constitutional measures taken by the president. Then a lot of heartburn may be saved, parts of recent history forgotten, if not forgiven, and a fresh start made to put the country back on the road to democracy.
THE OIC’s criticism of the UN Security Council’s failure to help the people of Gaza does not hide the fact that the Muslim world itself has done nothing to come to the help of the Palestinian people. On Sunday, OIC’s Secretary Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Inamul Haq criticised the world body’s executive arm for failing to agree on a ‘presidential statement’ that could help alleviate the suffering of the Gazans following Israel’s blockade of the strip. The amazing point about the draft was that, if passed, it would have been a non-binding resolution. But even this resolution was not adopted because of what Mr Ekmeleddin called ‘politicising …mainly by western countries’. Mr Haq, who is the current chairman of the OIC foreign ministers’ executive committee, said the Israeli blockade was a violation of the Geneva Conventions and international human rights. In spite of this, he said, the UN council had failed to act to lessen the Palestinian people’s suffering.
The two office bearers of the OIC commended the Egyptian president for his role during the blockade. It is not clear what good President Mobarak precisely did. He let the Gazans purchase food, medicines and other essential items, but the mass crossing occurred because the desperate Gazans themselves blew up the Israeli-built wall. No Arab or Muslim government came to the Palestinians’ help. This inaction thus symbolises the policies of OIC.
Formed as far back as 1969, the OIC is little better than a debating club. Even though it is the second largest grouping of countries — second only to the UN — the OIC has failed to evolve into a dynamic organisation that could address the problems facing the Muslim world, especially the territories still under occupation. It is true that the economic, military and scientific backwardness of the OIC countries militates against a powerful response to the challenges facing it, but where the OIC’s failure is glaring is in the realm of economic, cultural and scientific cooperation. There is no dearth of resolutions and committees on a host of issues to ensure greater cooperation among OIC members, but there has been no follow-up. To give one example: the Muslims have long complained that the international media is biased against the Islamic world because it is in non-Muslim hands. But the OIC members themselves have done precious little to counter the propaganda against the Muslim world, especially in the wake of 9/11. This failure is lamentable, because the OIC has enormous assets that include oil, a huge landmass strategically located, a big population, and considerable scientific talents. Before criticising others, OIC leaders should first do some soul searching.
THE Pakistan International Airlines, which came under some fire for violating court orders that forbade it from sacking crew members, told the Supreme Court that ‘physically unfit, obese or unpresentable’ senior flight attendants were harming its image. What should worry us is that obesity affects people’s health more than the image of organisations. The national trend is to turn a blind eye to the health aspect of obesity. Physical fitness is a basic requirement of many professions that require physical stamina and all sports, yet we are encountering a spurt in the growth of girth of people around us. Not only does it affect their performance, it is symptomatic of a larger malaise that plagues our culture: our indifference towards our health.
True obesity has emerged as a global concern. According to the latest WHO estimates, there are as many as 155million obese people across the globe. In Pakistan, a national health survey estimated that an unbelievably high number of people — 25 per cent of the population above 15 years — were overweight (10 per cent being actually obese). What is more worrying is the high incidence of obesity in young children. School surveys show that four per cent of government school children from low-income families were overweight, as opposed to students in elite institutions where six per cent were obese and 20 per cent overweight. Given the onslaught of the American fast food culture, the figures must have escalated. Unfortunately, corpulence means much more than being out of shape. It breeds serious conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disorders, depression and infertility. Rising statistics of obesity are a result of a collective denial of health-related truths with childhood obesity being viewed as ‘good’ health. The fact is that the battle of the bulge can only be fought —preferably preemptively — with a balanced diet, regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle. A lot of blame goes to our culinary tastes — our fondness for red meat and excessive use of oil and ghee — and lack of opportunities for physical activities. It is time nutritionists and trainers joined forces with health services and schools to create awareness through aggressive campaigns in the media, schools and public seminars to battle the obesity epidemic.
Clan politics:
Kiev Post, Ukraine
THE nepotism of the pro-presidential ‘Our Ukraine’ political clan reached new depths when Viktor Yushchenko named his oldest daughter Vitalina to lead the ‘Warm a Child with Love’ charity. Just what a 26-year-old knows about running a multi-million-dollar charity and dealing with Ukraine’s most powerful (and in some cases, corrupt) businessmen is beyond most people.
‘Our Ukraine’ presents itself as a political force that best exemplifies European values. Certainly, nepotism permeates all societies to some degree. But among the pillars of modern western civilisation is the notion that the most qualified woman or man gets the job, regardless of family, ethnicity or race.
Vitalina might be bright, but appointing his daughter to such a position only casts a shadow on Yushchenko’s self-declared commitment to transparency and honest politics.
Her appointment is the latest chapter in a series of nepotism jokingly referred to by Ukrainians as kumivstvo, referring to Yushchenko’s tendency to appoint family and relatives to government posts.
….If Ukraine is to prove itself as a European culture its leaders should abandon their Byzantine traditions and recognise the value in appointing people based on their skills and talents, not bloodlines. A competitive application process for positions such as Vitalina’s would be a good start. — (Jan 31)
Car emissions:
The Scotsman
SIR Mark Moody-Stuart, the former chairman of Shell UK, wants the EU to ban the sale of new cars which do less than 35 miles to the gallon, as an aid to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Is he right, or is this just another oil man trying to find a technical fix for climate change that still lets us burn (some) petroleum?
The Society of Motor Manufacturers thinks the idea is a bad one, saying that drivers are already discouraged from buying the most polluting cars through high road tax. There is some truth in this argument: sales of new cars in the £300-a-year top tax band fell last year by 15 per cent. At the same time, sales of low-emission cars…went up by 17 per cent.
In fact, the EU is already taking action on car emissions. The European Commission wants to force motor manufacturers to reduce the emissions of the average car from 160g/km in 2006 to 130g/km in 2012 — a cut of nearly a fifth. Admittedly, the UK government is trying to get the date for implementation pushed back to 2015 to protect Jaguar and Land Rover, but that is trivial.
In the UK… the jump in car usage by nearly a fifth since 1990 has left the total amount of engine pollution exactly where it was.
... So far, the emphasis in climate change policy has been on fiscal incentives rather than outright bans and proscriptions....The recent example of the ban on public smoking shows that people are prepared to accept major limits on their personal freedom in pursuit of collective goals... — (Feb 4)