Terrorism, the uncharted frontier

By Madhab Khanal

If human ingenuity, intelligence and daring are some of the essential qualities for the advancement of civilisations, these very endowments are equally responsible for promoting a parallel growth of different forms of destructive cultures that have infested the entire humanity today. Terrorism is undoubtedly one such aberration that many countries of the world are suffering from at this hour. A close look at the phenomenon reveals that it is obviously the outcome of an inevitable clash between political utopia and mundane reality, religious bigotry and secular vision, and economic affluence and stark destitution. Blatant hypocrisy coupled with moral bankruptcy among political leaders in several countries of the Third World has further emboldened a growing spirit of defiance among the younger generation against the accepted norms and values of civic society.

Today humanity is forced to live under the lurking shadow of terrorism that has been changing its pattern every now and then, and its magnitude and lethal impact are found being further augmented each time it strikes. Its web has expanded so menacingly that even to contain it is a Herculean task for a single nation, let alone its eradication from society altogether. The claims of its success notwithstanding, the current military adventure undertaken by the United States against the operational hideouts of Osama bin Laden and his notorious al-Qaida ruffians in Afghanistan appears to be the beginning of an endless crusade that could possibly involve heavy loss of human life, create an unintentional division among the peoples of the world, and drain out an outrageous amount of funds. Even after taking such a risk against all these odds there is no prophetic certainty that terrorism will be rendered emasculate for a long time to come.

Obviously, the United States had sufficient reason to avenge the grisly attacks on its prestigious symbols on September 11 which killed several thousand innocent people in less than an hour. But the story of Osama bin Laden’s campaign of global terrorism had already unfolded two years back when his former associate Jamal Ahmed al-Fahd testified before a Manhattan federal courtroom in connection with the US embassy bombings in Africa. During the court hearing the former bin Laden accomplice also disclosed that the shadowy al-Queda network had bank accounts from Khartoum to Hong Kong and was forging alliances with extremist groups in several Muslim countries. But even after hearing the entire testimony, the US authorities turned a blind eye to the looming threat. The Bush-Gore electoral duel with their occasional election squeaks during the presidential campaign kept entire North America preoccupied for almost a year and bin Laden was classified as simply ‘one of the threats’ in the official jargon of the FBI.

No one can dispute that the Afghan war’s legacy of political chaos, abundant supply of arms from the West including shoulder-fired missiles and trained guerrillas and the installation of the repressive Taliban regime in Kabul were all perfectly congenial for fostering bin Laden’s new brand of terrorism. It is estimated that the US funding during the war for dislodging the Soviet grip on Afghanistan was between three to four billion dollars. The Americans never realised that the war and the CIA’s covert campaign in Afghanistan would have unintended consequences. Needless to reiterate that the US very unwisely thought the only thing that mattered was killing as many Soviet soldiers as possible. They never gave a damn for Afghanistan’s political future. Even after the Soviets left the US kept pouring money and arms into the region to fight possible pro-communist uprisings. Thus one is very easily tempted to conclude that Osama bin Laden is, in fact, a terrorist monster created by none other than the United States itself.

The factors that motivate terrorists to launch attacks have never been given any serious consideration by Western countries so far. Their foreign policies are primarily structured on ethnic, religious, economic or strategic considerations and do not reflect their professed ideals. Those countries that do not fall within the ambit of their specific interests have been generally relegated to the bottom of their priority in every respect. The US and its Western allies were simply gratified with the expansion of their sphere of political influence in various parts of the world. When many countries of Asia and Africa were literally bleeding from the increasing acts of terror perpetrated by packs of dehumanised bandits and psychotic criminals the West remained absolutely unconcerned. It was only after the ghastly attacks of September 11 that they have realised terrorism needed to be wiped out from the civilised world.

There certainly exists a correlation between the US involvement in several international situations and the mounting terrorist attacks on its interests. Even the experts in terrorism and international crime admit that any attempt to combat terrorism ought to be preceded by addressing the factors that motivate it. They maintain that annihilation of bin Laden and al-Qaida network would not necessarily put an end to global terrorism. After bin Laden some other barbarian will emerge to take over his mantle and continue the Satanic game. There was terrorism before bin Laden and it will continue to remain an endemic threat to the civilised world even after him.

Before embarking upon the armed intervention in Afghanistan the US president made a fervent but very blunt invocation to the community of nations that they either support him or side with terrorism. No country aspiring to forge an economic or strategic alliance with the United States could dare disregard the de facto decree from Uncle Sam. The UN simply ignored the spirit of Article 2 (4) of its Charter and gave the US its thumping support. Pakistan, the erstwhile staunch supporter of the Taliban, had no option but to keep its Western allies in good humour and put all its strategic facilities at the disposal of the invading forces. So much so, even the Russian Federation, which until the demise of the Soviet Union symbolised the mainstay of the ‘evil empire’ lost no time expressing its solidarity with the United States. But no power concedes anything without demanding something in return. What these countries will demand is yet to be seen.

It is immaterial whether the allied forces in Afghanistan apprehend the elusive Saudi extremist or not; what is important at this hour is how far the operations have been successful in weakening the threats of further attack. By launching an armed intervention in Afghanistan the United States has definitely pushed international politics or to a uncharted frontier.

The seven persons’ city

By Razen Manandhar

Everything is changing. New parks, new roads, denting and painting of streets, public places, etc. It looks as though a bride ready to get married.

(Or like reconditioning a car, god knows). Whatsoever is the cause, I really like it.

It is really like a living in a metropolitan city now. It is never too late to do good things. After decades, the government or the local authority is doing something for the people who live here.

"Ba, do you know? Our poor old city is changing over night. Everything is changing — just everything. You can’t simply believe it, I swear," I told my father early in the morning.

Without waiting for his reply, I continued — "It must be the job of the mayor who has been the bull’s eye of our jokes in the college every day. Now I come to realise that he is a genius. He has done really a good job Ba."

Father strangely stared at my eyes, smiled mysteriously and patted on my back.

"What Ba? Don’t you believe me? All the old eyesore structures are out, plain open spaces in. They say they will make green parks in open spaces," said I.

"Go on boy. Ha ha," Ba shrugged his shoulders and turned his face.

"Oh. How can I explain to you? They are widening major roads, black-topping even newly made roads, repairing drains, cleaning posters, pulling down hoardings."

"So what?," Ba replied indifferently. "I have never seen him careless about urban development issues".

"OK Ba. You are the one who always complains about the unplanned mushrooming of houses, encroachment by the government and the public, and lack of facilities for the citizens. Aren’t you excited?"

I peeped out of my old small window and I gave a long lecture — "We have been in many cities of the developed countries. They had everything in cities that we don’t have. Wide roads, lamp posts, well managed bus stops, traffic signals, cooperating traffic police, clean streets and many many more things. Read newspapers. The government has vowed they would make this city a real metropolis in the coming two weeks. Last but not the least, the municipality listened to the voice of seven hundred thousand people."

"Seven hundred thousand? No my son. Whoever is listening, he is not listening to the voice of seven hundred people but only seven persons."

My father broke the silence. And he broke it in such a way that I found myself at the middle of a labyrinth.

"Seven persons have changed this city? Is it possible?"

"Yes. And that is true. That is why I said you need not be excited at the facelift you and I see in these days."

"The government has no time to listen to the local people. This very Kathmandu makes an anybody from Biratnagar or Dadeldhura a prime minister. Thousands of NGO-crats come here to beg dollars to western countries but none of them have time to develop this wretched Kathmandu. Just don’t ever be in illusion that whatever is going on is for the sake of the common people like you and me. This is not our city. This belongs to the seven persons, only they can develop this city."

Suddenly, the background music changed and I got serious. Lots of things came to my mind and they disappeared one by one.

"Ba, Ba, then why can’t we make those seven persons live here permanently? Or we can make them mayors of this city, can’t we?" My little sister threw a genuine suggestion from her living room.

Poverty and foreign assistance

By T R Basyal

Despite five decades of developing planning and foreign assistance flows. Nepal’s underdevelopment is still acute. Of the total population 38 percent lives below the absolute poverty line. Among the economically active population, 47 percent is under-employed with 76.1 of the population engaged in largely subsistence agriculture. The macroeconomic is characterised by structural imbalances on different fronts. The government revenue to GDP ratio has not exceeded 12 percent resulting the government’s increasing reliance on borrowed resources to maintain its widening expenditure requirements. As percentages of GDP, during FY 2000/01, Nepal’s saving investment gap was 9.7 percent (gross domestic saving minus investment), the government resource gap (revenue minus expenditure) was 8.2 percent and the fiscal deficit i e government borrowing was 5.8 percent.

On the basis of the ratio of government outstanding debt to the annual government revenue (410 percent) and that to annual exports (350 percent) during FY 2000/01, the government would rank among the most debt-ridden in the world. The rising debt-servicing liability and other regular expenditures of the government are hampering resource allocation to the development process in general and poverty reduction initiatives in particular. The need for a sound macroeconomic environment and a prudent economic framework makes it imperative that more revenue be mobilized to reduce the excessive reliance on fiscal deficits and loans and that greater priority be placed on proper utilization of domestic and foreign resources as the overriding concerns of public resource management.

Absence of the prioritization of resources, unscientific expenditure pattern, and non-application of sound project management principles have severely restricted the utilization of the productive potential of the nation and slowed down economic growth. Foreign resources have been accepted and used without adhering to any definite policy. Even when the government comes out with some initiatives regarding utilization of aid, the donors, being mostly concerned with pushing forward their individual aid strategies, are reluctant to respect and respond to government priorities. As a consequence, aid recourses are underutilized and the debt-servicing capability of the economy has not improved. Due to the inappropriate policies, the private sector is still deprived of the opportunity of utilizing foreign resources, thus reducing the prospect of enhancing the productivity and capability of the economy. Foreign resources would have been better utilized, had the donors provided such assistance based on Nepal’s real needs and requirements, instead to sticking to their priorities and interests.

HMG in April 2000 initiated a comprehensive package of priority reform for poverty reduction and building a sound framework for expenditure economic development. HMG also presented at the NDF meetings held in Paris in April 2000 a country memorandum entitled: "Nepal’s Reform agenda for poverty reduction". Implementing such a comprehensive plan of reform actions naturally need collaborative action between HMG and the donor community. The Memorandum emphasized the critical importance of foreign assistance and capital inflows in order to meet the complex and daunting developmental challenges. Also underscored was the necessity for increased availability of resources in the form of grants and other confessional financing coupled with the need for a debt relief facility. The Memorandum reiterated that increased resources in the form of debt relief would help the government channel substantial resources toward alleviating poverty, addressing major socio-economic challenges, and reducing the social costs and other adverse impacts associated with the ongoing socio-economic reform implementation process.

The debt relief facility was thus envisaged as an effective tool for facilitating implementation of the reform process in this country. However, the donor community has so far shown its indifference and inability to assist Nepal to place itself in the list of countries eligible for debt relief. The donors are found to be sticking to their respective schemes or projects without giving adequate attention to HMG’s situation and needs a discouraging note for a country like Nepal where development challenges are so complex and overriding. If the donors fail to match their commitment to providing adequate amounts of grant, both for the government and the private sector, in the envisaged areas and sectors so prominently highlighted at the NDF meetings, or if they attempt to impose their own agenda giving least priority to HMG’s concerns, priorities and programmes, then the relevance and significance of such consultations would be largely eroded. So the donors proactive support for putting Nepal in the category of debt-relief countries and operationalizing the debt relief mechanism is highly desirable.

HMG’s draft foreign aid policy also specifies various problems relating to foreign aid in Nepal. According to the policy, the pattern of foreign aid has been donor-driven. A large number of foreign-aided projects failed to deliver expected results and suffered from lack of domestic ownership. Securing the quantum of aid has been a more powerful motive than considerations as to enhancing quality aid and addressing development goals. The priority areas are infrastructure development, agriculture-irrigation and forestry, and human resource and social development. The donors should support HMG’s aid policy considerations if the aid flows are to become beneficial for Nepal and her economy. However, donors do not enthusiastic in supporting the visions and strategies reflected in the draft foreign aid policy, thus compounding the foreign aid-related problems and also reducing the scope for raising the effectiveness of aid resources in the future.

While the co-operation and understanding of the donor community is absolutely essential to mobilise greater confessional resources for uplifting performance and the prospects of development, much also needs to be done by the government on the domestic front. There is the need for doing away with administrative hassles and procedural complexities as otherwise only unproductive investments backed by equally inefficient. Keeping fiscal deficit within limits through improvement on domestic resource mobilisation, curtailment of unproductive expenditure, prioritisation and efficient utilisation of development expenditure, maintenance of credibility in the government’s policies and programs and sincerely pursuing the norms of financial discipline are other necessary steps for the government. Keeping debt-financing and debt-servicing requirements under prudent and sustainable limits by maintaining long-term indebtedness within manageable proportions so as to release adequate resources for development activities is equally important for poverty reduction.