C-FAR #328 October, 1998
More Joys of Multicult
"Police caught 152 men urinating in public
yesterday - the first day of a crackdown by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
They were freed after paying fines of 20 rupees (HK$3.60). The drive, called
Operation Piddle, was launched by city mayor Prasanta Chatterjee in a bid
to clean up Calcutta before the religious festival season begins this month.
The arrests were made in the central area. Mr Chatterjee said: 'Lack of
civic sense has turned the entire city into a stinking public urinal.'
He said habitual offenders could be fined 500 rupees and jailed for up
to 30 days. 'The majority of the city's 10 million commuters prefer to
relieve themselves on the roads, although there are . . . lavatories in
many areas,' municipal commissioner Asim Burman said. Most are unfit for
use, however, because of poor maintenance." (South China Morning Post,
September 19 1998)
Sounds A Bit "Racist"
Agence France-Presse reports: "The Burmese
junta yesterday turned to poetry as its latest weapon in a propaganda offensive
against Aung San Suu Kyi. The New Light of Myanmar daily published a poem
entitled You Go Home, which plays on the Nobel peace laureate's long residence
in Britain and her marriage to a Briton. The free-verse poem, which did
not identify the National League for Democracy leader by name, was translated
into English from the original Burmese. 'You/ Left our land/ Went everywhere/
Loitering/ Rogue,' it said. She had "Acted blindly/ Got bloated, Listened
to/ Alien voice,' and 'Returned to whiteland. Bad mood of/ Blind elephant/
Serves no purpose/ Return to your spouse . . . go back/ To him." Aung
San Suu Kyi's marriage to Briton Michael Aris is frequently cited by the
junta as evidence she is not committed to her homeland." (South China
Morning Post, September 30 1998) While the verse is not likely to rival
Shakespeare or Pound for quality, it does make one wonder about the double
standards of the politically correct who see "racism" as occurring
only in Whites.
East Africa Learning How Corruption
Hurts Business
East Africa is one of the world's poorest regions
and is also one of the most corrupt. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania recently
ranked among the most corrupt nations from a field of 85 surveyed by corruption
watchdogs Transparency International. International businessmen and visitors
put Tanzania on a par with Nigeria as the fourth most corrupt country.
Kenya shared the 11th spot with Vietnam, while Uganda came in 13th.
As a whole, the survey was a gloomy message for
the region. While all three governments pay lip service to the battle against
graft, analysts say little has been achieved. 'In Kenya and Tanzania we
are just seeing the beginnings of official recognition that this is probably
the biggest factor ... holding back economic growth," said Robert
Shaw, a director of the Institute of Economic Affairs in Nairobi. Shaw
sees Uganda as a separate case with corruption there more confined to the
army. ... 'It is so entrenched, particularly in Tanzania and Kenya,' he
said. With per capita income in the region ranging from about $200 a year
in Tanzania to around $300 in Kenya, analysts say corruption is placing
an unacceptable burden on already impoverished societies. High-profile
cases spark investor, donor concern. When at least $100 million disappeared
from Kenya's budget in the early 1990s to pay the Goldenberg International
company under a gold and diamond export compensation scheme, high-level
corruption was catapulted into the spotlight. Kenya produces little gold
and no diamonds. Donors declared themselves fed up with graft. In 1997,
with the Goldenberg scandal still unresolved, the International Monetary
Fund suspended aid to Kenya, throwing the economy into recession. Tanzania
and Uganda remain donor favourites.
Yet, they too have had high-profile corruption
scandals. In Tanzania, donors have vigorously attacked the award of a expensive
-- and, they say, uneconomical -- electricity generating contract to Malaysian
contractors IPTL. In Uganda, parliament in August suspended the privatization
process pending a report on claims it had become riddled with corruption.
Military procurement and supply contracts, not transparent for reasons
of 'national security,' are also described as a fast-growing problem in
Uganda by representatives of Transparency International. Tanzania's ranking
a surprise With all the focus on Kenya, many pundits were surprised at
Tanzania's ranking in the survey -- the first time it has been included.
Brian Cooksey, acting chief executive for the local chapter of Transparency
International, says President Benjamin Mkapa has given the issue a high
profile since his 1995 election -- but so far without results.
'The president is committed but it doesn't look
as if anyone under him is committed,' he said. 'For businessmen investing
in Tanzania, there is increasingly a need to pay grease payments to senior
officials,' said Cooksey. 'In Tanzania it is clear that corruption and
bureaucracy create a negative investment environment -- they are extremely
discouraging factors.' ... Foreign aid may have spurred corruption .The
link between poverty and corruption is not a one-way street. It may be
no coincidence that some of the world's poorest, most aid-dependent countries
are also among the most corrupt. 'In my own view, aid has contributed immensely
to the problem of corruption,' said Cooksey. 'Aid is cheap money, it is
easy money, and it is often unaccounted for.' Donors, Cooksey says, have
to take more responsibility for their role in encouraging graft."
(Reuters News Service, October 5, 1998) Many of these chronically corrupt
countries remain great aid favourites with Canada. From 1994 to 1996, Canada
gave Kenya $106.09-million in aid; $22.84-million to Nigeria, $109.24-million
to Tanzania, $55.62-million to Uganda, and $63.17-million to Vietnam. (Canadian
International Development Agency Statistical Report on Official Development
Assistance, 1995/96, p.35,36,40)
Tidal Wave Aid Diverted to Civil
Service Pay Hikes
New Guinea may be just a few decades from being
a stone age society of head hunters, but they've learned the ways of graft
and rip-off quickly. The latest target was a pool of foreign aid rushed
by well-meaning Westerners after a recent disastrous tidal wave. Agence
France-Presse reports: "The Government has used eight million kina
(HK$26.9 million) worth of disaster relief funds donated by aid agencies
and foreign countries to give civil servants a pay rise, reports said yesterday.
'It's the wrong signal that this country is sending out,' opposition MP
Andrew Baing told Parliament, according to the Post-Courier. 'The money
must be used for disaster.' A tidal wave struck northern Papua New Guinea
in July, killing more than 2,000 people and displacing thousands. It hit
as the country was recovering from a drought that left more than one million
people close to starvation. Prime Minister Bill Skate admitted the funds
were used for purposes other than disaster relief, but accused the opposition
of confusing people. ... From a 20 million kina relief fund, Mr Skate said
10 million was used for the drought, two million to help the tidal wave
survivors, and the remaining eight million to 'assist people affected by
price increases caused by the drought and the economy'. Opposition leader
Bernard Narakobi said the Government was "not good at using aid money"
and accused Mr Skate of 'misappropriation'. The Prime Minister had spent
the money without cabinet approval, he said. 'We have no money for the
needy [but] we apparently have money to pay those who already have money
in their pockets,' Mr Narakobi said. (South China Morning Post, September
5 1998)
Cultural Views Kill Wildlife
"The Asian demand for aphrodisiacs threatens
the survival of sea horses, conservationists say. The captivating creature,
believed to be the miniature offspring of the mythical horse that pulled
the chariot of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, is being hunted relentlessly
in Sri Lanka's coastal waters to satisfy the market for its reputed stimulative
properties. The vulnerability of sea horses and the threat of their extinction
came into focus when two traders, attempting to export several hundred
tonnes of the dried creatures, were detained by Customs officials. 'The
sea-horse trade has become so lucrative that these creatures have become
one of the most hunted species of fish in our waters,' said Jagath Gunawardena
of the Society for Environmental Education. China, South Korea, Japan and
Indonesia are some of the bigger markets for the fish, which measure about
8cm (3.5 in.) in length. Conservationists say the trade in Sri Lanka is
so well organised that sea-horse breeding grounds, mainly off the northwest
coast, are in danger of being fished out." (South China Morning Post,
September 11 1998) Gov't Funds Giveaways but Spurns Hong Kong Vets
"Cliff Chadderton of the War Amps [outspoken
opponent of the Holocaust Memorial and/or War Museum plan] and a patron
of the Hong Kong Veterans Association of Canada ... notes that under the
Geneva Convention no government can waive the rights of its citizens, and
all governments have a duty to protect the rights of their citizens. [He
refers to the WWII Hong Kong Vets who endured unimaginable privation and
summary execution at the hand of their Japanese captors.] ... Brian Mulroney
paid some $20,000 compensation to every Japanese-Canadian ... while dismissing
the ex-PoWs, all of whose lives had been shortened through savage mistreatment.
... Of the 2,000 Canadians who survived Japanese mercies, only 361 are
still alive. ... In light of recently surfaced documents, it turns out
that in 1955 Canada joined Britain (and Australia and New Zealand) in keeping
secret a clause in the [1951-52] treaty that would have required Japan
to pay more fitting compensation ... [than the] $1 (raised to $1.50) that
they got for every day they endured forced labour and Japanese brutality.
Too bad they aren't Burmese or Swiss. [Japan settled on 10 years worth
of goods and services valued at $25,000 for Burma and paid maltreated Swiss
nationals the equivalent of $40,000] ... [Chadderton] rebuked Foreign Minister
Lloyd Axworthy for his 'screw you' attitude to Hong Kong vets in the Commons.
He urged Prime Minister Jean Chretien to atone
for Canada's 1955 betrayal and pay to Hong Kong vets what amounts to the
same compensation Canada paid the Japanese- Canadians it wrongly interned
and treated a lot better than its soldier-citizens were treated by the
Japanese. [According to early estimates, Ottawa will treat Nunavut nationals
to an annual stipend of $21,700] In the House, Axworthy reacted to Reform
questions about Hong Kong vets rather as Allan Rock and the PM react to
hep C victims - with disdain and indifference. ... The Hong Kong vets have
pursued claims against Japan to the UN Human Rights Commission. Chadderton
is upset because Ottawa has impeded rather than helped them and withheld
helpful information." (Toronto Sun, June 9, 1998) Last May, as Japanese
Emperor Akihito's motorcade made its way through the streets of London,
more than 1,000 veterans along the route turned their backs on him (an
act of contempt for which they would have been executed in the camps).
John Stewart, technical advisor for Bridge over the River Kwai "wrote
later that the reality of what happened during the construction of the
railway was much worse than what was portrayed on the screen. [David] Lean,
said Stewart 'soft-pedalled all the horror bits.' ... [Few people] seem
to realize that this bridge was not sabotaged by commandos (led by William
Holden in the movie), but rather blown up by U.S. and British bombers.
Fewer still realize that the central portion
of the bridge was rebuilt, as war reparation, by the Japanese and that,
as an act of defiance, the work crew defecated into the forms of the central
pilings before the last concrete was poured." (Globe and Mail, July
18, 1998) Entitlement? Restitution? White supremacy? Good grief. Let's
try to keep things in perspective.
Before We Ship More Aid to North
Korea, Consider ..
In an article headlined " North Korean Leaders
Hungry for New Mercedes" David Murphy wrote: "As its people starve,
North Korea is trying to buy a fleet of Mercedes cars worth US$20 million
(HK$154.8 million). A Daimler-Benz executive who visited the country last
month was asked by officials to supply 200 of the latest S500-class Mercedes.
Told there would be a delay of several months because of high demand, the
officials offered to pay a premium of five per cent for rapid delivery.
'They wanted the new S class, they didn't want the old model,' said the
businessman, who was accompanying International Olympic Committee President
Juan Antonio Samaranch on a trip to Pyongyang. Last year, the Government
imported 400 status cars including 200 new Mercedes, according to a North
Korean expert. He estimated there were between 7,000 and 8,000 Mercedes
of various ages in the country, where most people cannot afford a bicycle.
'They are buying Mercedes every year,' he said. Daimler-Benz supplies between
700 and 800 shock absorbers to North Korean every year. A European who
travelled to North Korea to witness the recent 50th anniversary of the
state described a large car park behind Kim Il-sung Square filled with
hundreds of Mercedes - the chauffeur-driven cars of senior Workers' Party
cadres and generals attending the ceremonies. The US$20 million Pyongyang
is willing to pay compares with the US$103 million in food aid pledged
to the country this year under the banner of United Nations organisations,
principally the World Food Programme. (South China Morning Post, October
5 1998)
Genetics, Anyone?
" Six-finger villagers blame gods. People
in the small western Indian village of Golida are blaming the gods for
a mysterious affliction that has left a quarter of a clan with six or more
fingers on each hand. About 75 members of the 300-strong Koli Patel clan
have been born with the deformity. Shisabhai Koli Patel, its 70-year old
patriarch, believes his children grandchildren and great-grandchildren
are victims of a curse put on them by Mataji, a local goddess worshipped
by the villagers. He told [a] magazine that the villagers were under the
spell of a witch doctor, who himself also had six fingers on each hand.
The Koli Patels believe they are the descendants of Latin American Indians
who were brought to India hundreds of years ago as slaves. (South China
Morning Post, September 21, 1998)
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