Bush Urges Chinese to Open up Society
China Loosens Control on State Assets Assessment
Local Legislature Adopts Secret Ballots
China to Tighten Insurance Regulation
Full Trading Rights to Be Granted to Foreign Firms: Report
New Regulation on Administration of Foreign Civil, Commercial Lawsuits
Taipei to Focus on Free Trade Agreements
China Bank Eases Approval on Forex Business
Fiscal Policy to Remain Proactive: Experts
China Cuts Interest Rates
Gov't, BOJ to Map out Measures to Stop Deflation
China to Revise Commodity Inspection Law
NPC Makes Progress in Legislation and Supervision
BOJ Keeps Monetary Policy Unchanged Defying Pressure
Central Bank: No Relaxation of Monetary Policy
Online Discussion Creates Controversy over Election Law
Gov't to Revise Law to Have Kyoto Protocol Ratified
Shiokawa Calls for Tax Cuts in FY 2003
Ruling Party Lawmakers Submit Separate 5-Day Workweek Bill
Korea Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged
Cabinet OK's Bill for Privatization Committee
Seoul's 'Sunshine Policy' Not Bearing Fruit, Warns the US
As Prelude to December Presidential Race, Local Polls Raise Hope for Election Reform
ULD Belatedly Embraces Reform in Selecting Candidates
Politicians, Civic Leaders Support Suffrage for Overseas Ethnic Koreans

Bangladesh: Cabinet Okays Draft of Power Reforms Act 2002
Bill for Women's Seats to Be Tabled Soon in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Regulators Snub Call Metering
Multinational Pharmaceuticals in India Surge on New Drug Policy
India's Budget to Be Presented on Feb 28 at 1100 Hrs
Economic Survey in India Suggests Lower Interest Rates
Sovereignty Lies with the People- Prof. Peiris
Rule of Law Should Be Upheld in Seats of Higher Learning
Nepal: No Citizenship from Mother
Pakistan Constitution Being Reviewed: NRB
Pakistan Constitutional Amendment Likely to Empower President
New Law on Reserved Seats Soon

Tax Reforms Encounter Mixed Success in Uzbekistan
Armenian Commission Endorses Armenian President's Proposed Constitutional Amendments
Armenian President Explains Why Opposition Constitutional Amendments Will Not Be Put to Referendum
Kazakh Parliament Approves Amendments to Laws on Terrorism, Religion
Tajikistan: Osce Launches Project to Improve Election Laws
Final Results of Uzbek Referendum Published
New Law to Ban Taliban from Afghan Politics

Coalition Drafts Bill to Regulate Nuisance Email
China Vows to Increase Financial Supervision, Reform
China Sets up Advisory Panel on Information Technology
China Bank Strengthens Network Security for Next-Generation Internet Banking
China to Launch Unified Index Very Soon

Law Enforcement Cooperation in Pacific

A recent drugs case in Fiji has led to another call for Pacific Island countries to urgently act on legislative priorities for law enforcement cooperation. This follows convictions by a Fiji court in connection with the seizure of more than 300 kilograms (661.38 pounds) of heroin valued at several hundred million dollars. "From a regional perspective, this was another example of how several countries and agencies can work together to crack down on cross-border crime," said Mr. Noel Levi, CBE, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. "It is also the reason why more Pacific Island countries need to introduce modern legislation on illicit drugs, extradition, proceeds of crime (forfeiture of assets), mutual assistance and money laundering," Mr. Levi said. "That is the thrust of the 1992 Honiara Declaration on law enforcement cooperation adopted by the Pacific Islands Forum in 1992," Mr. Levi said. "Transnational crime is increasingly complex and sophisticated, and our best response is to try and coordinate our efforts so that the region becomes less attractive to criminal elements," he said. Mr. Levi acknowledged the on-going work by Pacific Island Forum members as well as the specialist law enforcement agencies such as the South Pacific Chiefs of Police Conference (SPCPC) and the Oceania Customs Organization (OCO). He also welcomed the continuing support by donors for law enforcement training programs, which would help to address a lack of resources and funding in Pacific Island countries.

From http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/ 02/19/2002

Putin Faces Domestic Criticism over Russia's Central Asia Policy

Russia's policy-making elite is divided over how to respond to the sweeping geopolitical shift that has occurred in Central Asia - the region Russian strategists have portrayed since the end of the 19th century as the country's soft underbelly. The sudden arrival of US forces in Central Asia has prompted unprecedented criticism of the Russian government's handling of post-September 11 developments. President Vladimir Putin, however, provides no indication that he is feeling pressure to change Russian policy. Several Russian media outlets portray the US presence in Central Asia as a significant threat to Russian national security. The establishment of US bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan "is comparable, in its geopolitical significance, with the unification of Germany," the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper said. Some Inside-the-Ring Road analysts in Moscow have accused the government of "losing" Central Asia. "In the result of the destruction of its old enemy [the Taliban in Afghanistan], Russia has lost its geopolitical bridgehead in Central Asia," one observer said. All this criticism, notes Vyacheslav Nikonov, president of Politika Foundation, a Moscow-based think tank, "begins to create problems for President Putin, for it questions the rationale of his [foreign policy] course aimed at the support of the anti-terrorist operation and closer relations with the West in general, and the US in particular." Publicly, Putin appears unaffected by the criticism. In a February 11 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Putin indicated that the domestic debate surrounding the anti-terrorism campaign was being blown out of proportion. The Russian president seems to believe that the benefits of deepened economic cooperation with the United States, driven by the two countries' anti-terrorism alliance, outweigh the loss of geopolitical stature in Central Asia. "Decisions are taken on the basis of what we need in reality, not on the moon," Putin said in the interview. "If we were to view the U[nited] S[ates] as an enemy, even within the anti-terrorist coalition, then we would have to behave differently. But if we believe that we can be partners, and, in the more distant future, even allies, then our behavior … should not be doubted." If there is reason to doubt Russia's intentions and future actions, it is found in the ongoing, hawkish statements coming from leading figures in the Russian defense and political establishments. For example, the director of Russia's Federal Border Guard Service, Konstantin Totskii, demanded in a recent interview that US forces "go home" as soon as military operation in Afghanistan are wrapped up. "We cannot agree with the US' and other countries' permanent presence here [in Central Asia]," Totskii told the Trud newspaper. State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznyov voiced similar dissatisfaction with American policies in what Moscow considers its legitimate zone of influence. "Russia will not endorse the emergence of permanent US military bases in Central Asia," he said during a recent tour of the region. Regardless of whether or not US forces remain in Central Asia, Russian interests in the region have suffered considerable damage, analysts say. The US presence, for instance, will damage Russian efforts to promote regional economic integration and a collective security initiative. "The most important lesson [of the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan] is that there is no Commonwealth of Independent States. There is only Russia instinctively trying to retain around itself the thoroughly corrupt chieftains of the impoverished imperial borderlands," bitterly writes Vladimir Voronov in the Sobesednik weekly. "I am not sure about 'economic unity' but there is definitely nothing left of the military alliance - save the half-dead Dushanbe regime [in Tajikistan] that would not survive even one day without [the help of] our 201st division." Military analysts say US bases in Central Asia threaten to render the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty (CST) redundant. [For background information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Three members of the CST - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - have established strategic partnerships with the United States that diminish the appeal of a military alliance under the CST. In addition, Russian security officials claim there is a score of top secret Russian military facilities in Central Asia that US and NATO officials are keen to gather information on. In Kazakhstan, there is the Sary-Shagan anti-missile launching site and the radar station, which is part of Russia's early-warning system. In Kyrgyzstan, there is a Russian navy long-distance communications center, and a testing site for the nuclear subs' rockets on Lake Issyk-Kul. There is also a space surveillance station, located in Nurek in Tajikistan's Pamir foothills. Putin does have a legion of defenders. These analysts say the US-led campaign against terrorism significantly reduced the threat posed by Islamic radicals in Central Asia. As far as Russia is concerned, the stability offered by Central Asia's autocratic regimes "is far better than chaos on our southern frontiers," notes Nikonov, the political scientist. A few analysts say Putin put the best spin possible on events for Russia. They add that in the aftermath of September 11, Moscow could not have prevented Central Asian leaders, especially Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov, from entering into new strategic partnerships with the United States. Thus, Russia did the best it possibly could to portray the geopolitical changes as having occurred with Russia's consent. "We ceded Central Asia," admits one analyst, "as something that was impossible to retain - this is the major result of the [new] Afghan war for us." In theory Russia could have pursued more robust and aggressive foreign policy in its former southern backyard, but only if it had been prepared to significantly expand the amount of military resources that it commits to Central Asia. At the moment, Russia, both economically and militarily, is not ready to do this. "The reason for this is not Putin's policies, but our objective weakness," says Nikonov. (by Igor Torbakov)

From http://www.eurasianet.org/ 02/12/2002

Bush Outlines Vision for 'Pacific Century'

President George W Bush on Tuesday said that Japan would play an "indispensable" global role in what he predicted will be the "Pacific century". Addressing the Japanese parliament, Mr Bush said, "We stand more committed than ever to a forward presence in this region...The success of this region is essential to the entire world, and I am convinced the 21st century will be the Pacific century." In his speech, Mr Bush also praised Japan's strong support for the US-led war on terrorism. He said, "Your response to the terrorist threat has demonstrated the strength of our alliance, and the indispensable role of Japan - a role that is global, and begins in Asia." He also noted that Japan economy "is on the path to reform" and urged the nation's legislature to help stem the spread of terrorism in the region. Mr Bush also indicated his determination to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula. He said, "We seek a region in which demilitarized zones and missile batteries no longer separate people with a common heritage, and a common future." Mr Bush's recent "axis of evil" remarks have drawn criticism from US allies who have labelled the comments as "simplistic" or belligerent. He has said that North Korea, Iran and Iraq pose a threat because they seek weapons of mass destruction that could be used by terrorists. The US President is expected to lunch with Japan's emperor and empress, after heading to Seoul later Tuesday. His trip to South Korea will require equal delicacy in explaining his "axis of evil" concept encompassing North Korea, Iran and Iraq. He is expected to assure Seoul that his policy is not meant to undermine its own "Sunshine Policy" to resume friendly relations once again with the North.

From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 02/21/2002

India, Singapore, Sri Lanka Tripartite Economic Pact

The Sri Lankan Government is taking steps to initiate a tripartite trade and economic pact among Sri Lanka, India and Singapore shortly, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told a group of investors and business persons in Singapore yesterday. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was addressing a seminar organised by the Singapore Trade Chamber in collaboration with the Board of Investment at the Marin Mandarin Hotel. The Prime Minister, who is on an official visit to this island State, disclosed that this matter has been brought to the notice of Singaporean leaders. He said Sri Lanka must develop close relations with India and Singapore to spur development and strengthen the economy. The Premier stressed that establishing peace in Sri Lanka was vital to develop the country economically. "Singapore has achieved a very high level of development with only three million people. With nearly 19 million people, it should not be impossible for Lanka to achieve rapid development," he observed. "If we take appropriate measures to create a peaceful environment, that will help achieve speedy development and generate a large number of employment opportunities. Our doors are always open for foreign investors." He reiterated that a political solution was essential to solve the current crisis. "The day-to-day needs of the people around the country must be identified. This is why we lifted the ban recently and started sending goods to the people in Northern areas." Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the Government has decided to observe a permanent ceasefire, which will also help to start peace talks. The war has completely crippled the Lankan economy, resulting in a negative growth rate. The government aimed to increase this up to four per cent. The seminar was also attended by participants from neighbouring countries who too forwarded number of questions to the Prime Minister. The investors asked the Prime Minister about the novel programs initiated by the Government on par with the Government's 100-day -development program and how this program affects foreign investors. The Premier replied that the government has implemented many investor-friendly projects in line with the 100 days program. The BoI has identified and taken steps to solve many problems related to foreign investment, so that investors could begin operations in Sri Lanka without facing any difficulties. Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees Minister Dr. Jayalath Jayawardana, UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrama, Sri Lankan envoy in Singapore Chitrangani Wagiswara and BoI Chairman Arjun Mahendran were also present.

From http://www.dailynews.lk/ 02/16/2002

Bush Urges Chinese to Open up Society

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- In a speech to students at Beijing's top Tsinghua University broadcast live across the country Bush defended American values saying they have much to offer as a model for the Chinese people as their country develops. Avoiding explicit criticism of China's political systems he said many Chinese had been given a "misleading and ... harmful" view of America. "We are a free nation, where men and women have the opportunity to achieve their dreams," Bush said. "You can support the policies of our government, or you are free to openly disagree with them." As China developed he said it was important to expand personal and political freedoms, to embrace diversity and dissent, and to respect the rule of law. "Those who fear freedom sometimes argue that it could lead to chaos -- but it does not," Bush told the assembled students and faculty. "Life in America shows that liberty, paired with law, is not to be feared." "In a free society," Bush said, "diversity is not disorder. Debate is not strife. And dissent is not revolution." "America shows that a country can be vast and can be varied, but still one country," he added. Alluding to his own strong personal faith Bush said: "Freedom of religion is not something to be feared -- it is something to be welcomed." And he noted how much China had changed since he first visited the country in 1975. "In 1975, everybody wore the same clothes. Now people pick their own clothes," Bush said. He pointed to the upcoming 2008 Olympics as a great opportunity for China to demonstrate its openness to the world. The speech, designed to dispel doubts and mistrust of America, came on the final day of Bush's two-day visit to Beijing, last stop on his six-day swing through East Asia. Afterwards, in an open Q and A session, Bush was pressed by several students to explain America's stance on the sensitive subject of Taiwan. In response he reiterated Washington's commitment to help defend Taiwan if it was attacked, but said he hoped there would be a peaceful solution to the issue "in my lifetime." He also repeated America's policy that there is only one China, and Taiwan is part of it -- a statement welcomed by a round of applause. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and part of Chinese territory -- it has repeatedly threatened to attack the island if it makes moves toward declaring formal independence. Bush also faced several questions from students on America's controversial planned missile defense shield. He said China had nothing to fear from such a system. "Our nation will develop defenses to help our friends, our allies and others around the world protect ourselves from ... weapons of mass destruction," he said. Earlier in the day Bush held talks with Hu Jintao, the man who will succeed Chinese President Jiang Zemin later this year. He also met with Chinese premier Zhu Rongji seeking reassurances on access to Chinese markets now that the country is a member of the World Trade Organization. Also discussed were China's rules on bio-engineered foods, which threaten $1 billion in U.S. soybean sales -- but U.S. officials say that issue remains unresolved. Bush is to visit the Great Wall later Friday -- a traditional destination for visiting U.S. presidents since Nixon's landmark tour in 1972 -- before flying back to Washington.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/21/2002

China Loosens Control on State Assets Assessment

Appraisal of state-owned assets no longer needs administrative approval from the authorities as before, according to new regulations by the Ministry of Finance with effect from January 1, 2002. Under the regulations, assessment of state assets will be given go-ahead so long as it is verified and put on records by the authorities. The actions that require assessment include: --complete or partial transformation into a limited liability company or joint stock company with limited liability; --overseas non-monetary investment; --merger, split and liquidation; --changes in equity ownership and complete and partial transfer of property rights of ex-listed company shareholders; --transfer, swap and auction; --ascertainment of value of assets in action.

From http://ce.cei.gov.cn/ 02/05/2002

Local Legislature Adopts Secret Ballots

GUANGZHOU (Xinhuanet) -- The legislative body in south China's Guangdong Province has decided that secret ballots will replace the previous show of hands in its meetings. Following advices from some of its deputies, the Fifth Session of the Ninth Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, recently held here, has adopted secret ballots to ensure respect to deputies' objective feedback in its decision-making process. "This is not simply a procedural change," said a deputy to the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress from Yangjiang City. "It is an important step towards democracy." To improve the quality of its meetings, the provincial legislature has introduced special sessions to discuss major issues during its report reviewing process.

From http://news.xinhuanet.com/ 02/06/2002

China to Tighten Insurance Regulation

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) will tighten supervision in line with the basic rules of the World Trade Organization WTO), aiming to develop a sound and healthy insurance industry in China. CIRC president Ma Yongwei made the promise on Feb.8 at a national meeting for insurance enterprises and regulatory administrations, saying that CIRC will further rectify and enhance the system of regulation index of solvency to complete evaluation of the local enterprises' solvency in 2001. Experts say CIRC's practice of strengthening marketing behavior and solvency evaluation is in the interests of the current insurance industry in China. Ma said China's insurance industry is facing great challenges following the country's WTO entry. CIRC will help the local insurance industry open wider and enjoy faster development, he said. Ma said that the priority of CIRC this year is to improve administrative approval procedure, carry out the insurance charge reform throughout the country, and enhance information in a timely way so as to guarantee effective, efficient regulation work. The meeting was attended by representatives of 52 insurance enterprises, including 32 foreign business, and 31 CIRC's branch offices throughout the country.

From http://ce.cei.gov.cn/ 02/09/2002

Full Trading Rights to Be Granted to Foreign Firms: Report

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) is drafting detailed rules on allowing foreign-invested companies full trading rights. "We have sent a draft proposal to the State Council for approval," an official with MOFTEC's Foreign Investment Administration Department said on condition of anonymity. He said the ministry has allowed some foreign-invested companies to export products that are not their own and bought from other manufactures. According to China's WTO agreement, about 50,000 foreign-invested companies are to be granted full foreign trade rights in the first year after its accession. "These foreign-invested companies will then be able to import and export all products that are not subject to State trading or designated trading," said Li Yushi, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Co-operation, MOFTEC's think-tank. The vast majority of these companies will be minority-held by foreign investors. On joining the WTO on December 11 of 2001, China has agreed to grant full trading rights to joint-venture enterprises with minority share foreign-investment in 2002 and to majority share foreign-invested joint-ventures in 2003. Within three years after the WTO accession, all enterprises in China would be granted the full right to trade, according to China's WTO commitment. At present, all 180,000 foreign-invested manufactures are given the "limited" right to import for production purposes and to export their own products when registering at the State Administration of Industry and Commerce. But MOFTEC has so far approved only six foreign-invested trading companies. These include four in the Shanghai Pudong New Area and two in Shenzhen. The ministry had granted foreign trade rights to 42,000 domestic companies by December 20. In order to accelerate this approval process and increase the availability of trading rights, China agreed to reduce the minimum registered capital requirement for domestic enterprises to obtain trading rights to 5 million yuan (US$603,800) in 2002, 3 million yuan (US$362,300) in 2003 and 1 million yuan (US$120,000) in 2004.

From http://ce.cei.gov.cn/ 02/01/2002

New Regulation on Administration of Foreign Civil, Commercial Lawsuits

It was announced on Monday that a new regulation to cut down time spent on the administration of foreign civil and business lawsuits will come into force on March 1. The regulation, another important part of China's judicial reform, aims to increase justice and efficiency, to raise China's judicial authority and credibility and to create a legal environment which better suits China's membership of the World Trade Organization, said Wan Exiang, vice-president of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC), in Beijing Monday at a press conference. The regulations say that the first trial of foreign civil and commercial lawsuits will be the responsibility of the administration of the courts of the economic and technological development zones approved by the State Council; the intermediate courts of provincial and autonomous regional capitals and the municipalities; the intermediate courts of special economic zones and major cities; other intermediate courts designated by the SPC; and higher courts. The administrative limits of the above-mentioned intermediate courts will be decided by local higher courts, according to the regulation. The regulation points out that disputes over the first settlement made by a court of an economic and technological development zone approved by the State Council will be handed over to the local intermediate court. The regulation will cover such cases as foreign contracts and tort disputes; letter of credit disputes; appeals for withdrawal, admission and enforcement of international arbitral settlement; examination of cases concerning the effectiveness of concerned arbitral articles; and appeals for admission and enforcement of settlement made by foreign courts. The regulation will not cover border trade disputes between China and foreign countries, or foreign real estate issues and property rights issues. The administration of civil and commercial disputes with Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan will come under this regulation, says the regulation. It also says that higher courts will carry out supervision of the administration of foreign civil and commercial disputes, and any acceptance by unauthorized courts will be handed over to authorized courts. Cases accepted before March 1 will continue to be dealt with by the courts accepting those cases, according to the regulation. Statistics show that from 1979 to October of 2001, China's courts at various levels dealt with 23,340 foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan civil and commercial lawsuits.

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ 02/26/2002

Taipei to Focus on Free Trade Agreements

TAIPEI - Taiwan's foreign trade agenda will concentrate on forging new bilateral free-trade agreements with the United States, Japan, Singapore, and New Zealand this year, in line with the country's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), officials said. The officials noted that mainland China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed in November that they would promote a regional free-trade zone and that Taiwan could be marginalized if it is left out of the free-trade agreement. Taiwan relies heavily on foreign trade and it is imperative that Taiwan sign free-trade agreements with other nations, the officials said. It is known that the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), and the Council of Agriculture (COA) are assessing the potential impact of such agreements. The COA is worried that the signing of bilateral agreements with the United States and New Zealand will probably send a second shock wave through the agricultural sector on the heels of Taiwan's WTO entry. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said that Taiwan's electronics and information products mostly go to the United States and that if free-trade agreements are signed, then most exports will benefit from the removal of tariffs. The MAC is concerned about the impact on cross-Strait relations by the formation of a free-trade zone comprising mainland China and Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian nations. However, it said that though Taiwan's promotion of bilateral free-trade agreements with nations in the region would have an impact on agricultural products overall, the impact will be more positive than negative. P K Chiang, vice president of the Legislative Yuan, is to attend a meeting on Thursday organized by a private group to discuss the economic prospects of Japan and Taiwan this year. He is expected to advocate that the two countries sign a free-trade agreement.

From http://www.atimes.com/ 02/21/2002

China Bank Eases Approval on Forex Business

BEIJING: China's central bank has eased approval procedures for domestic banks wanting to do business in foreign exchange, in a bid to help them compete against foreign entrants, the official Financial News reported on Thursday. The paper said the move would put local banks on an equal footing with foreign competitors, who already enjoy simplified approval procedures after China's entry into the World Trade Organization last December. "To suit China's financial reform and opening, the People's Bank of China has recently adjusted rules for approving foreign exchange business by Chinese banks," the paper said. China has pledged to open its sheltered banking sector to more foreign competition under WTO. Its terms of accession now allow foreign banks to do foreign exchange business with Chinese firms and individuals. Foreign banks will be allowed to do yuan business with domestic firms two years after China's WTO entry and with Chinese individuals five years after entry. The paper said the new moves would allow a Chinese bank licensed for foreign exchange to freely launch new services at branches, such as deposit-taking, with the exception of buying and selling foreign currency. Previously, any new business needed central bank approval. The central bank would allow new bank branches to file one application for both foreign exchange and domestic yuan currency business, it said. Bank branches that have already started yuan business no longer need to wait for six months before applying to be licensed for foreign exchange, the newspaper said. (Reuters)

From http://biz.thestar.com.my/ 02/22/2002

Fiscal Policy to Remain Proactive: Experts

The central government has already decided China will continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a steady monetary policy in 2002, said Hu Shaowei, a senior economist with the State Information Centre. The country is likely to issue about 150 billion yuan (US$18 million) of treasury bonds this year, Hu said. "This will provide an improved environment for the further growth of the consumer goods market," he said. The measures taken last year to raise salaries of public servants, provide compensation for laid-off workers and to increase pensions for retirees will undoubtedly help improve people's income levels, stimulating consumption this year, he said. "The country will continue to take measures to raise the income levels of its residents this year," Hu said. "The new measures include the 'fees-for-tax' reform in rural areas." The nation has also fostered a certain number of "hot areas" for consumption in past years, said Niu Li, another senior economist with the centre. More individuals have begun to buy their own houses thanks to the country's housing reform. The accelerated pace of privatization of the housing sector has also given rise to the consumption of related products such as furniture and home appliances, Niu said. Because of the price drop of cars in the wake of China's membership of the World Trade Organization, more people have begun to buy their own vehicles. The country's extension of the week-long National Day and May Day holidays have also resulted in booming tourism and holiday consumption. "These hot areas will continue to have a strong impact on the country's consumer goods market," Niu said. Ni Hongri, a senior researcher with the Development Research Centre under the State Council, said people will buy more imported goods this year because the prices of these goods will drop due to the tariff cuts. "People are now capable of buying goods which China cannot produce," Ni said. "The lower price of imported goods will also help suppress prices for similar domestic goods." But the three experts agreed that China's consumer goods market also had unfavourable elements. "The September 11 terrorist attacks have accelerated the recession of the economy in the United States, which will have negative effects on the world economy," Hu said. The number of people losing their jobs would rise in 2002 because of the accelerated reform of government and institutions, he said.

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ 02/25/2002

China Cuts Interest Rates

BEIJING, China -- China will cut domestic interest rates for the first time in nearly three years, the People's Bank of China has announced. The central bank said late Wednesday it would lower interest rates for deposits by 0.25 percentage points from Thursday. In addition, it will cut lending rates by half a point, the bank said in a statement. After the cuts, the rate on the benchmark one-year deposit would be 1.98 percent while the one-year lending rate would fall to 5.31 percent, it said. The move aims to stimulate China's slowing economy and create more jobs for its growing army of unemployed. Analysts said the cut would provide a boost but they questioned how effective it would be in drawing money out of banks as rates were already low. "This will overcome the negative impact of the slowing world economy on China's economic development and maintain continued rapid, healthy development of the national economy," the bank said. Analysts also noted that in China, where much of the available credit is still allocated by the state, the ability to stimulate fresh lending through interest rate cuts is limited. "We shouldn't expect the 100 percent response you see in other economies, but certainly it's very important right now to stimulate consumption and investment," said Yiping Huang, economist for Salomon Smith Barney in Hong Kong. The move had been widely expected by analysts since late last year as China's economic growth had been slowing. For that reason, they said, the impact on the financial markets would also likely be limited, though it could funnel some funds into stocks. "I think part of the motivation here is to keep money in the stock market," said Geoffrey Barker, chief economist at HSBC in Hong Kong. "As an effort to stimulate economic activity and growth that's only part of what they are trying to do." China's gross domestic product rose an estimated 7.3 percent annually in 2001 but is likely to slow to around seven percent this year, which is the level Beijing needs to maintain to create jobs for millions laid off from the ailing state sector. Analysts estimate growth slipped below 7.0 percent to between 6.0 and 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. China has yet to announce a figure for the fourth quarter. "This interest rate cut is a measure taken by the People's Bank of China aimed at falling economic growth and consumer prices for the past several months," the central bank said. China's benchmark consumer price index rose just 0.7 percent year on year in 2001 and fell 0.3 percent in December alone. "The narrower spread between lending and deposit rates is likely to put pressure on banks, forcing them to boost lending," said He Qiang, an economist at the Central University of Finance and Economics. "The deeper cut in lending rates will boost loans to enterprises but the impact won't be as big as in mature market economies," he said.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/21/2002

Gov't, BOJ to Map out Measures to Stop Deflation

The government and the central bank are poised to begin mapping out measures to halt the ongoing deflation with special emphasis on writing off of huge amounts of bad loans incurred by banks, officials have said. The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) will soon discuss ways to fight deflation on the bases of a report to be submitted Tuesday by a study group. The group comprises bureau directors, general-level officials from the Cabinet Office, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the central bank. A majority of government officials in charge of economic and fiscal policy view it essential to write off huge amounts of bad loans incurred by financial institutions and to facilitate the flow of funds from them into the market as ways to curb deflation. "There are no anti-deflation measures without efforts to clear bad loans," Eiji Kawade, deputy head of the Cabinet Office said. Moreover, calls are mounting within the government for infusions of public funds into financial institutions in order to encourage them to more quickly write off bad loans they incur. "We would like to implement anti-deflation measures under which we'll step up efforts to clear bad loans. If necessary, we'll even infuse public funds into financial institutions," Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Heizo Takenaka said. Moreover, the officials are urging the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to further relax its monetary policy to cope with anticipated corporate bankruptcies as a result of clearing bad loans. On the other hand, calls within the government urging the BOJ to buy foreign government bonds are diminishing because of the rapidly falling value of the yen. Implementation of such a policy, which would cause the yen to weaken further, could trigger massive sell-offs by foreign investors of Japanese shares and bonds, and thereby cause their prices to plummet. Instead, government officials are likely to demand the BOJ set an inflation target, which the central bank has refused for a long time on the grounds that inflation could be out of control.

From http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/ 02/10/2002

China to Revise Commodity Inspection Law

Chinese top legislature will amend the law on import and export commodity inspections, to honour commitments China made on its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the plenum meeting of the 26th session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress NPC), which opened in Beijing Wednesday morning, Li Changjiang, director of the State Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine, delivered an explanatory report on the draft amendments to the law. The draft amendments stipulate a uniform national certification system should be adopted for all import and export commodities, to conform with WTO rules. Currently the quality certification system is used for import and export commodities while the compulsory certification system is used for products sold only on the domestic market. Draft amendments have been drawn up for inspections "for the purpose of protecting people's health and security, protecting the environment, preventing illegal activities and safeguarding national security" replacing the out-dated "in the light of the needs in the development of foreign trade". "This conforms to the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)," Li stressed. The draft does not include commercial articles on specifications, quantity and weight of commodities found in the current law. The official said that the draft also does away with time limits when applying for reconsideration of a punishment which has been imposed or when bringing lawsuit against a punishment imposed. The current law on import and export commodity inspection was enacted by the 6th session of the Standing Committee of 7th NPC in February 1989, and was put into force on August 1 of the same year.

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ 02/28/2002

NPC Makes Progress in Legislation and Supervision

In 2001, the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, and its standing committee, passed 23 important laws including the family planning law and the amendment on marriage law. Most of the new laws affect the everyday life of citizens. The NPC Standing Committee has also strengthened its supervisory function over the government, courts and procuratorates. Since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinese lawmakers have been enacting new laws and amending outdated ones. The NPC Standing Committee has not only formulated the trust law, but also amended laws concerning trade marks, copyrights and foreign-funded businesses, in keeping with WTO rules. China has basically completed the modification of WTO-related provisions. The amendment of the marriage law attracted much public attention in 2001. After meticulously reviewing the draft, the Standing Committee publicized the whole text of the amendment draft, soliciting suggestions from citizens. In 2001, the family planning policy, one of China's basic national policies, became law for the purpose of controlling the population growth. The amendment of the law on trade unions allows for the legal rights of workers to be maintained. In implementing the sustainable development strategy, the Standing Committee passed two provisions for deserts control and the use of sea areas, showing China's concern over environmental protection. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, China's law-making body took quick action, amending the criminal law to enable China to more effectively deal with terrorism. The Standing Committee also enacted a law dealing with national defense education. New amendments to laws concerning judges, procurators and lawyers require them to pass national judicial exams before qualifying for such posts. The Standing Committee has put supervisory work on equal footing with its legislative function. It organized programs keeping a check on the implementation of laws concerning securities, villagers' committees, agriculture and water pollution. The NPC also deliberated plans, budgets and other reports on social maintenance, currency policy and social security from the State Council. According to NPC sources, in the coming fifth session, the Standing Committee will enact and amend laws and regulations concerning counter-monopoly and insurance so as to meet the requirements of China's WTO membership.

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ 02/28/2002

BOJ Keeps Monetary Policy Unchanged Defying Pressure

Reuters, Tokyo - The Bank of Japan decided Friday to keep its monetary policy unchanged, defying pressure from politicians and financial markets to take action to stabilise the banking system and pull the economy out of recession. Some economists had been expecting the central bank to take more steps to ward off a liquidity crunch at the end of the fiscal year and address concerns of a possible financial crisis after Japanese stocks marked 18-year lows earlier this week. "The BOJ's decision to keep monetary policy unchanged was a bit disappointing," said Takeshi Minami, strategist at UFJ Capital Markets Securities. The dollar slipped against the yen after the BOJ's nine-member board announced its decision, while bond prices were a shade higher after initially edging lower. Stock prices were mostly steady with the benchmark Nikkei average holding on to earlier gains. The BOJ loosened policy in December, saying it would pump more money into the banking system under its so-called quantitative easing policy. But despite short-term interest rates already at zero, the central bank's efforts to kick-start the economy have been dampened by a banking sector reluctant to lend to businesses and house holds. Japanese bank lending fell for the 49th straight month and money supply grew only modestly in January, Bank of Japan data showed on Friday, offering more evidence its ultra-loose monetary policy was so far having little economic impact. Some economists had expected the central bank would announce an increase in outright purchases of Japanese government bonds (JGBs), possibly to one trillion a month from a current 800 billion. "We were expecting them to move, though only incrementally to increase purchases of JGBs. So the fact that they've stood pat won't have a real big impact on the big macro variables," said Chris Walker, economist at Credit Suisse First Boston. "It will have an impact on the bond market, certainly, since it was looking for the BOJ to step in. An increase in JGB buying was expected to drive up bond prices and push down long-term yields, giving some short-term relief to banks, which hold an estimated 67 trillion yen in government bonds. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has repeatedly said this week that he government and the BOJ must work together to halt deflation, had said earlier on Friday he hoped the central bank would take appropriate and flexible steps. "I hope that the BOJ would consider the government's structural reforms and continue to take appropriate and flexible monetary policy in order to stop deflation," Koizumi said before the Upper House plenary session. The government has just pushed through a 2.64 trillion yen ($19.74 billion) extra budget, the second such additional spending package for the current fiscal year, he said, adding that his structural reform policy would help remove consumer uncertainty about the future and encourage spending. The BOJ, for its part, eased monetary policy at its December meeting by raising the amount of liquidity it aims to supply to the money market and by offering to purchase more Japanese government bonds (JGBs) from the banking system. It raised the target on current account deposits at the central bank -- a main yardstick of the amount of excess funds at the commercial bank's disposal -- to 10-15 trillion yen from 'above six trillion yen.' Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Friday called for the BOJ to increase its buying of government bonds to one trillion yen per month from 800 billion, and said the slide in Tokyo stock prices needed to be curbed.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/09/2002

Central Bank: No Relaxation of Monetary Policy

The central People's Bank of China Wednesday defended its three-year-old "prudent monetary policy,'' saying it would continue to pursue it rather than relax spending as advocated by many experts. In an article published on its website, it said the central bank will aim at loan growth of 1.3 trillion yuan (US$156 billion) this year -- the same as the actual figure of 2001. The People's Bank of China last week slashed its interest rate for the first time since June 1999. The rate cut triggered speculation that the central bank might have decided to abandon its prudent monetary policy. The central bank implicitly rebutted such speculation. It refused to interpret the rate cut as a sign of a relaxed monetary policy and said it wants an appropriate -- not blind -- growth of loans. However, the interest rate cut did represent an acknowledgement by China's senior policymakers that the environment for national economic growth is not favourable and steps need to be taken to keep the country's economy on fast track. A slowing trend in China's economy was already evident in the second half of last year. While the US Federal Reserve kept slashing its interest rates to simulate US economy, calls for a loosened monetary policy grew louder in China. However, observers said China's rate cut last week was aimed at preventing the money supply from sliding further rather than stimulating it to increase at a faster pace, which a real relaxed monetary policy ensure. In its article, the central bank also insisted that a relaxed monetary policy is not the right cure for China's economic slowdown. "The main problem of the Chinese economy is structural problems rather than an insufficient money supply,'' said the article. "If we rely solely on money supply, we will face more problems.'' The bank's chief Dai Xianglong said earlier this month that a relaxed monetary policy was likely to lead to the excessive expansion of commercial banks' credit business and exacerbate their chronic problem of bad loans.

From http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/ 02/28/2002

Online Discussion Creates Controversy over Election Law

The nation's election watchdog reconfirmed yesterday that the appearance of presidential hopefuls on Internet video panel discussions violates the election law. "It is illegal for telecommunications companies, including Internet firms, to broadcast debates among presidential contenders, as they are not categorized as news media outlets," said Im Myeng-jae, head of the Election Management Office at the National Election Commission (NEC). Only television or radio stations and newspapers are classified as official media outlets under the law, Im said at a public forum held in the National Assembly. Im made the statement one day after the NEC prohibited Noh Mu-hyun, a presidential aspirant in the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) from appearing on a live panel debate on the news Web site OhmyNews.com. NEC officials barricaded the Internet firm's interview room for hours, ultimately preventing Noh's participation. "Physical means of this kind should be employed only at times of national crisis," said Noh, a former human rights lawyer. Noh said online news and broadcasting should be used as alternatives to mass outdoor election campaigns, previously hotbeds of vote buying. In a similar case, NEC officials blocked Rep. Kim Geun-tae, another ruling party presidential hopeful, from appearing on another Internet program. Kim and other ruling party members said they would push for an amendment bill to allow presidential contenders to use the Internet as part of their election campaigns. NEC officials countered that the Internet might be used to manipulate opinion polls, citing the example of an Internet firm recently established by a presidential aspirant. The MDP said Tuesday that online votes will count for 2.5 percent of the total votes in its presidential nomination race. "It is ridiculous that few politicians have made efforts to revise the law over the past several years, if they really think the Internet is so important for their campaigns," a NEC official said. Recently, the Internet has become important in politics, as the ruling MDP decided to adopt online voting in its process for nominating a presidential candidate, together with other landmark methods such as U.S.-style primaries. (by Kim Hyung-jin)

From http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/ 02/07/2002

Gov't to Revise Law to Have Kyoto Protocol Ratified

The government has worked out a bill to revise the law governing measures to prevent global warming in order to have the Kyoto Protocol ratified by the Diet, government sources said Tuesday. Under the planned revisions, the government intends to compile a basic plan that will set numerical targets in order to ensure that Japan achieves the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent as required by the Kyoto Protocol. The government is poised to officially approve the bill at a Cabinet meeting by the end of March, and submit it to the Diet during the current session. As soon as the bill is passed into law, the government will immediately initiate procedures for having the Kyoto Protocol ratified. The bill stipulates that the plan must set numerical targets for reductions in emissions for greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, and provide for specific measures that the national and local governments must implement to achieve these goals. The bill also states that the plan must be reviewed in 2004 and 2007 by assessing whether the emissions have been reduced. Under the bill, prefectural and municipal governments across the country will be required to work out their own plans based on the basic plan. Experts in regional communities will also be asked to give residents advice on selecting household electrical appliances and on how to change their lifestyles to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol on reductions in greenhouse gas emissions was adopted at the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Kyoto in December 1997. It requires advanced countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent from the 1990 level over the 2008-2012 period. The United States, however, has withdrawn from the pact after President George W. Bush deemed it as "fatally flawed." (by Mainichi Shimbun)

From http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/ 02/19/2002

Shiokawa Calls for Tax Cuts in FY 2003

TOKYO - Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa suggested Wednesday he is willing to conduct tax cuts in fiscal 2003, which begins in April 2003, to boost the economy. "I want tax reforms for implementation in fiscal 2003 to include a time-limit, economic stimulus measure," he told the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Affairs. The government usually compiles tax reform measures in December for implementation in the fiscal year starting the following April, but this year plans to compile a basic policy on tax reforms for implementation in fiscal 2003 in June. Shiokawa also said tax reforms in fiscal 2003 should place a priority on tax cuts. (Kyodo News)

From http://www.japantoday.com/ 02/28/2002

Ruling Party Lawmakers Submit Separate 5-Day Workweek Bill

A group of ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) lawmakers is pushing for a new bill to introduce a five-day workweek, Rep. Song Seok-chan said yesterday. Song said 31 lawmakers signed the bill, which was submitted to the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee on Jan. 5. The bill is similar to the one drafted by the government; it calls for the reduction of legal working hours from the current 44 hours to 40 hours. Under the bill pushed by the MDP lawmakers, however, workers who have worked more than two years would earn an additional day of paid leave every two years, instead of every three years as proposed by the government. The bill drawn up by the lawmakers also calls for the full implementation of a five-day workweek by 2007, three years earlier than the timetable set out in the government's bill. An aide to Song said the lawmakers decided to submit the bill in order to hasten the process of implementing a five-day workweek, which was one of the present administration's reform pledges from the beginning. "Although the government announced its own plan on a five-day workweek in December, it has not followed with further legislative procedures, citing one reason or another," the aide said. "The lawmakers felt that submitting a bill of their own would provide the government with the impetus to move ahead with the bill," he said. Facing a breakdown in labor-management talks under the framework of the Korean Tripartite Committee (KTC), in December the government presented its own blueprint for a five-day workweek, which it had planned to send to the National Assembly by January. Under the government plan, the five-day workweek would start in July and initially affect only the public, finance and insurance sectors. Workers would receive between 18 and 22 days of paid leave, but the paid monthly one-day leave would be abolished. The government also pledged that the system's implementation would not result in wage cuts. The government immediately drew protests from both employers' groups and labor groups, which said the plan, based on recommendations of public interest members of the KTC, did not reflect their views. (by Kim Min-hee)

From http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/ 02/05/2002

Korea Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The central Bank of Korea left its key interest rate unchanged at 4.0 percent Thursday on expectations of better economic times ahead. The central bank says its 2001 GDP forecast is now 3 percent, with growth likely to hit 4 percent this year. Regional analyst IMA Asia is predicting 4.8 percent growth in Korea this year and 7.5 percent in 2003. "The economy is in better shape than two months ago. It's clearly in a rebound phase," Bank of Korea governor Chon Chol-hwan told reporters. The bank's monetary policy committee left its overnight call rate target unchanged at 4.0 percent for February. Joins Australia South Korea is the second major economy in the region to keep rates steady this week. On Wednesday, Australia's Reserve Bank left its benchmark cash rate at 4.25 percent, with analysts expecting the next move to be an increase in the second half of the year. Reuters news agency reported that the Bank of Korea's decision was in line with a unanimous forecast of 10 economists it polled. It also came one day after Moody's Investors Service announced it was reviewing a possible sovereign ratings upgrade for Korea. Moody's has kept Korea's long-term foreign currency country ceiling at Baa2 since late 1999.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/07/2002

Cabinet OK's Bill for Privatization Committee

The Cabinet on Friday approved a bill to establish an external advisory committee on the privatization of four public highway corporations, officials said. The government and the ruling coalition plan to have the bill passed by the Diet by April, they said. The government reportedly will decide who will serve on the committee immediately after the passage of the bill. The screening process will start in March. Up to seven committee members will be appointed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Under the bill, the committee will focus on the structure and business plans of the four corporations including Japan Public Highway Corporation, Metropolitan Expressway Public Corporation, Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation and Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority. The committee plans to have proposals devised for the prime minister by the end of December, they said. (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

From http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/ 02/16/2002

Seoul's 'Sunshine Policy' Not Bearing Fruit, Warns the US

WASHINGTON - A senior US official warned that South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's policy of engaging North Korea was doomed without reciprocal measures from Pyongyang, lamenting: 'Sunshine cannot cultivate a dry field.' The comments by Mr James Kelly, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, came two days before US President George W. Bush's departure for the region, that includes a visit to South Korea, which has been dismayed by the firm US line on North Korea. But Mr Kelly restated to a congressional committee US support for Seoul's 'Sunshine Policy', which is designed to draw North Korea out of 50 years of Cold War isolation and won its author, President Kim Dae Jung, a Nobel Peace Prize. 'We stand by President Kim's efforts to transform North-South relations via a coherent and comprehensive economic, political, social, and cultural opening,' Mr Kelly said in prepared testimony to the House International Relations Committee. 'However, sunshine cannot cultivate a dry field. Pyongyang must respond constructively or face a continued dearth of international relations, a self-imposed isolation that almost all agree will eventually bring about its self-destruction.' North Korea has reacted angrily to Mr Bush's robust rhetoric and branded the US President a moral leper. Mr Bush's inclusion of North Korea with Iraq and Iran in the so-called 'axis of evil' in his State of the Union address last month has raised doubts about the sincerity of the oft-repeated US offer to talk to North Korea.Those doubts have been bolstered by the US President's insistence that Pyongyang must downgrade its military posture and halt arms sales before talks can begin.

From http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/ 02/16/2002

As Prelude to December Presidential Race, Local Polls Raise Hope for Election Reform

The local elections scheduled for June 13, largely regarded as a precursor for the December presidential race, put Korean politics to an unprecedented test for election reforms. Successful candidates will assume offices. For the first time in history, the June elections, which will elect 4,428 local administrators and legislatures, will feature political experiments such as U.S.-style primaries. The June elections will be the third in Korean history: The nation reintroduced the autonomous local system in 1995 after a decades-long hiatus. However, the past two local elections have been marred by partisan dogfighting, regional favoritism and public apathy. Ko Kye-hyun, a policy director at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a leading Seoul-based civic group, said, "Political parties should restrain themselves from engaging excessively in the local elections so as not to repeat such errors." Most election experts, however, predict that partisanship based on regional rivalry will again dominate the local elections. In the June elections, voters will elect seven major city mayors, nine provincial governors and 232 heads of local administrative offices, along with 4,180 local legislative members. The experts expect the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) to sweep most constituencies in its power base, the Jeolla provinces, and say the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) will win in the Gyeongsang provinces. The focus of attention is the Seoul mayoral race and elections in Chungcheong Province, where rival parties are expected to wage a fierce battle. About five candidates from the rival parties have declared or hinted at plans to run for mayor of Seoul, an office that represents more than 10 million people. Opinion polls favor incumbent Mayor Goh Kun, affiliated with the MDP, although he reiterated that he will not seek re-election. "I will keep my repeated promises not to seek re-election," Goh said on Thursday. The MDP's top leaders, including presidential hopefuls, responded that they will not give up on Goh. "In order to win the June local elections and prolong MDP leadership in the December presidential election, we have no choice but to persuade Goh to run again," said an aide to Rhee In-je, the front-runner among MDP presidential hopefuls. "Rhee will personally visit in late March or early April and ask him to change his mind," he said. In the MDP, Rep. Kim Min-seok, former Health and Welfare Minister Kim Won-gil and party floor leader Lee Sang-soo have thrown their hats in the ring. In the GNP, former Vice National Assembly Speaker Hong Sa-duk and Lee Myung-bak, a former Hyundai Group executive, are vying for candidacy. Watchers pay keen political attention to the Chungcheong provinces, where the small opposition United Liberal Democrats (ULD) is based. The ULD's clout in the area has weakened over the past several years with the decreased number of parliamentary seats. And the GNP, the largest parliamentary force, has recently accepted a number of local community leaders from the Chungcheong region. "How Kim Jong-pil, a 76-year-old veteran politician who heads the ULD, will defend his home turf is a crucial question in the election here," said a ULD official who did not give his name. With partisanship and regional antagonism overheating the June election, the National Election Commission (NEC) said it has uncovered 2,275 cases of illegal electioneering as of the end of January. "We will keep cracking down on vote-buying in February," said Hong Jong-yoon, an official at the NEC. Hong also said voter turnout in the June election will likely reach record lows, due to public apathy and the World Cup soccer finals set for May 31 to June 30. "I hope a set of political reform measures, including the U.S.-type primaries that the rival parties adopted, will help increase voter turnout," the official said. The ruling MDP recently decided to allow nonparty members to cast ballots in its in-house elections for the mayor of Seoul and governor of Gyeonggi Province. The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) also decided to adopt primaries in selecting candidates for the June local elections, though it has yet to decide whether to include nonparty members in its electoral college. (by Kim Hyung-jin)

From http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/ 02/10/2002

ULD Belatedly Embraces Reform in Selecting Candidates

A lawmaker in the small opposition United Liberal Democrats (ULD) is following the examples of the ruling and main opposition parties by pushing for political reform plans, including the adoption of U.S.-style primaries in selecting local election candidates. ULD spokesman Chung Jin-suk yesterday said he was considering allowing party members in his constituency in South Chungcheong Province to vote for four ULD candidates, including one for the Gongju mayoral race, who will run in local elections scheduled for June 13. In the past, key election candidates of Korean political parties were selected by party leadership. "As a number of would-be candidates plan to join the nomination race, I think we need to select the candidates according to the wishes of general party members," Chung said. Political observers said that primary elections in the Gongju area, if held, would affect other ULD lawmakers, who have been lukewarm to rival camps' moves to allow the public more access to in-house elections. The ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) has decided to adopt U.S.-style primaries in choosing its presidential nominee. Its electoral college for key local posts, including the Seoul mayoral post, will be composed mostly of nonparty members. The largest opposition Grand National Party (GNP) is also considering following in the MDP's footsteps. The ULD, the conservative opposition party that holds 15 seats in the National Assembly, however, is expected to stick largely to the traditional nomination methods in the June local elections, observers said. According to party officials, chances are high that ULD members, three of whom hold top posts in the Chungcheong provinces, the party's political turf, including the post of Daejeon mayor, will run again in the upcoming election without going through any particular selection process. (by Kim Ji-ho)

From http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/ 02/14/2002

Politicians, Civic Leaders Support Suffrage for Overseas Ethnic Koreans

Politicians and civic group leaders yesterday called for the revision of a law that does not grant overseas ethnic Koreans voting rights in Korean elections. "It is imperative to reinstate the suffrage of overseas ethnic Koreans, which former President Park Chung-hee abolished in 1972," said Rep. Jong Bum-goo of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) at a public forum in the National Assembly. The lawmaker said former President Park, who ruled Korea for 18 years, abolished absentee voting rights overseas Koreans to prolong his leadership. It was a widespread belief at the time that overseas Koreans were predominantly anti-Park, he said. "I will push for an amendment bill to revive the suffrage of overseas Koreans from the coming December presidential election," Jong said. Echoing Jong's remarks, participants at the forum stressed that the amendment will enhance the national pride of ethnic Koreans all over the world. The forum is co-organized by Rep. Jong and two civic groups - Korea Sharing Movement and Hankyoreh (one nation) Network Committee. "The number of eligible Korean voters overseas surpasses 1 million," said Lee Kun-woo, who leads the group of ethnic Koreans in Japan on the legislation bid. According to an official document, there are about 5.6 million Koreans living abroad, with 2.6 million residing in China and Russia. Rep. Jong said he will first collect diverse opinions from citizens, fellow legislators and experts, as the revision of the law is still being debated. "Many people feel that ethnic Koreans should continue to be restricted from voting, since they are exempt from paying taxes and serving in the military," Jong said. Meanwhile in December last year, the Constitutional court made a landmark ruling that part of a 1999 law governing the legal status of overseas ethnic Koreans violates the Constitution. A court ruling also ordered the 1999 law to be revised by 2003 and experts said overseas Korean would receive various benefits, such as easier entry into South Korea and more employment opportunities. But the experts also expressed concern over the law's revison, due to possible diplomatic friction with neighboring countries and an onslaught of overseas Koreans into the nation. (by Kim Hyung-jin)

From http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/ 02/08/2002

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Opposition Grows against Revision of Autonomy Law

The government's controversial plan to revise Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Administration met a new challenge on Tuesday when the National Awakening Party's legislative faction said it would oppose any move to revise the Autonomy Law that took effect in January 2001. "We must join hands in rejecting the revision move to allow regional administrations to implement the law," legislator with the National Awakening Party (PKB) Effendi Choirie said at a meeting with leaders of the regional administration offices (Apkasi) and legislative councils (Adeksi) in the House of Representatives (DPR) here. PKB became the second big party that has come out openly rejecting President Megawati Soekarnoputri's move to revise the Autonomy Law after Golkar said earlier this month that it would reject any government plan before a thorough evaluation was carried out on its implementation. Golkar and PKB have over 170 representatives combined in the DPR. Once a close ally of Megawati, PKB's relations with her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) deteriorated after the latter actively supported the People's Consultative Assembly's Special Session that effectively ousted former president Abdurrahman Wahid in July 2001. Abdurrahman is PKB's founder and chief patron. Meanwhile, PDI Perjuangan Secretary General Sutjipto maintained on Tuesday that the revision was necessary. "There are many aspects in the Autonomy Law that need to be perfected. However, that does not mean that we intend to drop the spirit of proceeding with regional autonomy," Sutjipto said after the party's weekly meeting here. He did not elaborate. Megawati, who has been accused of trying to derail the decentralization process, insisted earlier that the revision was needed as there were several fundamental problems with the very concept of autonomy in its current form. The problems, she said, were related to the country's "statehood and nationhood". Adeksi, which claims to have the backing of 68 districts, insisted on Tuesday that there was no problem with the implementation of the Autonomy Law, and therefore the revision was not warranted. Adeksi Chairman Ali Hanafiah suggested that the government should provide guidelines for the implementation of the law instead of trying to revise it. Earlier, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno revealed that the revision plan had been discussed at a cabinet meeting on Jan. 23. He also said that Adeksi had approved the revision plan mainly aimed at creating harmonious relations between Jakarta and regional administrations. But PKB legislator Susono Yusuf said on Tuesday that the revision was designed to control the strengthening position of the regional administrations vis-a-vis the central administration. Susono said he had met with Sabarno to discuss the proposal and the minister admitted that the revision was designed to control regional administrations. "The existing Autonomy Law gives the regional administrations superiority, therefore revision is needed," Susono quoted Sabarno as saying. The revision plan goes back to an MPR decree No.IV/MPR/2000 mandating the government to make preparations for the revisions of Law No.22/1999 on Regional Administration and Law No.25/1999 on Balanced Finance. (by Annastashya Emmanuelle and Kurniawan Hari)

From http://www.thejakartapost.com/ 02/20/2002

Myanmar Enacts Aerospace Engineering University Law

YANGON, (Xinhuanet) -- The Myanmar State Peace and Development Council has enacted an Aerospace Engineering University Law under which a university is to be established along with, according to the official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar Saturday. The law, promulgated on Friday, states that the Ministry of Science and Technology may set up degree colleges, colleges, institutes and schools affiliated to the university with the approval of the government. The aims of the university are to contribute towards modernization and development of the state by aerospace engineering, to nurture the ethical, skillful and reputable aerospace engineers and to have the knowledge, standards and recommended practices prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organization. A University Council shall also be formed under the Ministry of Science and Technology to lay down educational policies and guidances of the university among others. Meanwhile, the Aerospace Engineering University, which is the first ever in Myanmar is due to open in August this year along with a Maritime University, also the first one in the country.

From http://news.xinhuanet.com/ 02/16/2002

Bangladesh: Cabinet Okays Draft of Power Reforms Act 2002

The cabinet yesterday approved the draft Bangladesh Power Reforms Act 2002 which proposes formation of a four-member regulatory commission to take major decisions regarding reforms and development of the power sector. The four members will be appointed for four years. The commission will take decisions regarding tariff and reforms in generation, transmission, and distribution of power. The draft also proposes privatisation of the distribution system in phases. It proposes continuation of the on going process of corporatisation of power plants and turning more plants into Strategic Business Units (SBU). The draft act is likely to be placed in the next session of the Jatiya Sangsad. The cabinet also approved in principle the proposals for reallocating the responsibility of power supply and re-demarcating command areas between Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Rural Electrification Board (REB). According to officials PDB will have to hand over some of its rural service areas to REB as per the draft reform act.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/12/2002

Bill for Women's Seats to Be Tabled Soon in Bangladesh

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutions yesterday examined the Constitution (Fourteenth) Amendment Bill 2001 seeking provision for 30 reserved seats for women in parliament for more 30 years and suggested its placing in the House. Parliament Secretariat sources said the bill proposes fresh demarcation of 30 constituencies in the country for reserved seats for women. Directly elected members of parliament in the newly demarcated constituencies will elect a MP for each of the women's seats from among many contestants. In the earlier provision, an MP had to vote for 30 women MPs in the reserved seats, mostly nominated by the ruling party. There was no scope of opposition candidates to be elected in the reserved seats. This proposal is a step forward towards direct election to the reserved seats for women, former chairman of the committee on private members bills Col. (rtd) Shawkat Ali told The daily Star yesterday. Yesterday's meeting of the committee, the first one, was chaired by its chairman Md. Mozammed Haque. The bill was raised at the meeting by ruling party lawmaker Abdul Mannan. The bill would be placed before the House immediately, the sources said. The House would refer it to any of the related committees for further vetting. As the provision for reserved seats for women got abolished with the dissolution of the Seventh Parliament, the current parliament has no seat reserved for the women. Various quarters, particularly women's organisations, have long been demanding increase in the number of reserved seats and direct elections to those. After a detailed discussion, the committee unanimously recommended placing of the bill before House. Committee Members Tajul Islam Chowdhury, Shawkot Ali, Md Abu Hena, Nazir Hossain and Abdus Sobhan attended the meeting while Law Secretary Afzal Hossain was also present.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/18/2002

Bangladesh: Regulators Snub Call Metering

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has ordered Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) not to implement the metered tariff on local phone calls until legal clarifications come from the Ministry of Law as to whether the BTTB can unilaterally impose such tariff. Yesterday, the BTRC sought legal opinion from the Ministry of Law concerning BTTB's proposed tariff plan, which BTRC regards as a challenge to its authority over tariff fixation. Earlier, the BTTB announced that the new tariff would be effective from the midnight of February 25. But sources said the state-owned telecom monopoly violated the telecom law by not obtaining the regulator's approval prior to launching the new tariff plan. According to the sources, the BTTB misinterpreted an article of the telecom law to claim that it does not require the regulator's approval prior to implementing any tariff plan. The government on January 30 formed the BTRC to deal with regulatory issues including tariff fixation. Information Secretary Syed Marghub Murshed is the chairman of the commission. According to BTTB's new tariff plan, local telephone calls at district headquarters will cost Tk. 1.50 for every five minutes during peak hours and for every eight minutes during off-peak hours, as opposed to the existing tariff of Tk 1.70 for each call regardless of its duration. At the district and upazila levels, every seven minutes would be counted as one unit during peak hours and 10 minutes during off-peak hour. The 15 per cent VAT per call will still apply. While this would virtually spell an increase in phone bills for most general users, it has particularly panicked Internet and cellular mobile users. Apart from the browsing fees charged per minute, Internet users will also have to pay Tk 1.50 to BTTB to remain online for every five minutes. Country's mobile users will incur similar expenses while calling a BTTB number. Currently, for a six-minute peak-hour call to a BTTB phone, a mobile user pays Tk.24.00 for airtime and Tk 1.70 as BTTB charge. From February 25, the same call will cost the mobile user Tk 3.00 plus 15 per cent VAT on top of the Tk 24.00. With only 6 lakh land telephones for 13 crore people, Bangladesh offer the lowest telephone access to its people. However, telecom connection fees remain highest in the world while telephone charges are much higher than in most countries. The T&T however remains a major contributor to the government exchequer. Last year it contributed Tk 1400 crore. (by Abu Saeed Khan)

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/21/2002

Multinational Pharmaceuticals in India Surge on New Drug Policy

BOMBAY: Multinational pharmaceutical companies will profit most from India's relaxation in government controls on drug pricing, said analysts and this was reflected in sharp gains in their shares on Wednesday. The move, announced on Tuesday to spur investment in the sector, is expected to halve the number of drugs on the government's price-controlled list from 74, they said. "The relaxation in price controls will benefit multinationals and leave domestic drugmakers largely untouched as typically, a larger proportion of MNCs' turnover comes from controlled products," said ABN AMRO analyst Giridhar Iyengar. Reflecting cheer over the news, shares in E Merck leapt early as much as 15.7 percent to 342.70 Rupees ($7.04), Pfizer jumped 12.2 percent to 473.80, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals firmed 10 percent to 374.15 and Burroughs Wellcome seven percent to 194. "Whenever there is talk of decontrol, multinational stocks surge," Iyengar said. E Merck is a 51 percent subsidiary of Germany's Merck and U.S. Giant Pfizer Inc owns 40 percent of Pfizer Ltd, and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline Plc owns 48.83 percent of GlaxoSmithKline Pharma and 51 percent of Burroughs Wellcome. "E Merck will be a major gainer as vitamins contribute substantially to turnover and all vitamins, except vitamin, E are expected to be decontrolled," Iyengar said. "Glaxo will gain with the freeing of anti-ulcerant Zinetacand vitamin products from controls, and Burroughs from the anti-infective Septran," he added. "Pfizer will gain as the decontrol of multivitamin combination Becosules will more than offset likely controls on painkiller Dolonex." "This is a positive policy that addresses not just pricing but R&D, Exports and regulatory infrastructure," said Dilip Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which represents top Indian drugmakers. Some of those initiatives, such as drugs patented in India exempted from price control for 15 years, are expected to boost major Indian drug makers like Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Cipla Ltd. The government has not released the new list of drugs underprice control but has set most of the criteria it is using to arrive at that list. Chemicals Secretary Vinay Kohli said on Tuesday price controls would be applied to drugs whose formulations had an annual turnover of 250 million Rupees and in which a single firm making the formulation had a market share of over 50 percent. Formulations with turnover of 100-250 million Rupees would be placed under price control if a single formulator had a market share of 90 percent or more. But Kohli said one or more criteria could be added to this, which could ease controls further, making it difficult for analysts to predict with certainty the final list. For example, shares in Novartis India rose as much as 7.5 percent to 249.90 Rupees and those of Aventis Pharma 10.18 percent to 405 Rupees, though key drugs of those companies are expected to be included in the price control list. Novartis' pain killer Voveran and Aventis' anti-diabetes drug Daonil and anti-allergy drug Allegra are expected to be included. "It's not clear if the final list will leave out thesedrugs based on some new criteria, but currently the rise in the stocks is probably part of a MNC drugmaker wave," said Iyengar. "The policy is still ambiguous and we prefer to wait forsome more clarity," said SG Asia analyst Jesal Shah.

From http://www.expressindia.com/ 02/06/2002

Economic Survey in India Suggests Lower Interest Rates

NEW DELHI (REUTERS): Interest rates on the state-run small savings schemes are too high and need to be brought down in line with inflation to help stimulate economic activity, a government report said on Tuesday. The statement gains significance as it comes two days ahead of the Union Budget when the government would have the option of cutting rates on small savings, a move that will lead to an overall fall in India's high interest rate regime. Lower interest rates will also ease the government's debt servicing burden and help contain the fiscal deficit, the Economic Survey for 2001/02 (April-March), an annual report card on the economy, said. "The fall in inflation unaccompanied by a compensating fall in nominal interest rates has also subjected the government to higher real interest rates along with the rest of the economy," the survey said. The year-on-year inflation rate, measured by wholesale prices, has been at 20-year lows for several weeks, sparking calls from industry and analysts for lower interest rates. "Making contractual savings subject to market related interest rates is therefore essential for containing the interest payments of the government as also for reducing interest rates for the economy," the Survey added. Interest payments on domestic borrowings are expected to lop 69 percent off the federal government's net revenues in the current financial year, it Survey said. The suggestions in the Survey are similar to earlier comments made by Finance Ministry and central bank officials. Expectations of cuts in the rates on small savings have driven trade in the bond market for several weeks pushing bond yields down to record lows earlier this month. However, yields have since bounced up after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was routed in elections to four states this month. While the BJP's defeat is not expected to unseat the central government, analysts fear that its leadership will be undermined and will make it difficult to take politically tough decisions such as lowering rates on small savings. Interest rates on small saving schemes are among the few rates still fixed by regulators in India. All bank interest rates are set by individual banks, except the rate on savings account which is set by the central bank. The small savings schemes are extremely popular in India as they also offer tax breaks. Net collections under these schemes are expected to total 470 billion rupees in 2001/02, taking the total amount outstanding under these schemes to 3.05 trillion rupees. Lower interest rates are seen as one of the key elements in reviving sluggish economic growth. India's gross domestic product growth slipped to 4 percent in 2000/01 compared to 6.1 percent a year ago. Growth is estimated to be around 5.4 percent in the current financial year.

From http://www.expressindia.com/ 02/26/2002

Sovereignty Lies with the People- Prof. Peiris

The sovereignty and territorial integrity of this nation lies with the people of Sri Lanka, Cabinet spokesman and Minister of Enterprise Development, Investment Promotion, Industrial Policy and Constitutional Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris said at a news conference at the Government Information Department auditorium yesterday. The people of this country gave an overwhelming mandate to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on December 5 to reach a negotiated settlement to the ethnic question, he said. This was despite a protracted PA campaign that the UNP was having a candlestine link with the LTTE. There is a small group of people who have raised their disenchantment but the numerical strengths of these people are totally disproportionate to the larger national interests. He was responding to a question from a foreign correspondent as to whether the backlash from political parties such as the PA and the JVP was a source of depression to him personally in the wake of the Government trying its utmost to solve what he described as a " national calamity," Prof. Peiris said that there was a reservoir of hatred which has occurred in this country for the last three and a half decades and that there were bound to be problems. Asked whether the time table for the talks with the LTTE was five, six or six and a half weeks, Prof. Peiris said that this country was having a conflict for three and a half decades and the time frame of a few weeks was hardly negligible. With all the obstacles of the power crisis, the Cost of Living and the economic constraints, the Government was able to sign the Agreement with the LTTE within 70 days of coming to office, he said. He also reminded about the acrimonious backdrop in which the December 5 polls were conducted last year and how the PA regime influenced the then state media to allege a sinister link between the United National Front led by Mr. Wickremesinghe and the LTTE. Prof. Peiris also explained that the Presidential Prerogative could be used only in the event of Sri Lanka's defence being threatened militarily by another sovereign nation and not instances where there were internal conflicts such as this between the Armed Forces of the Government and the LTTE. Prof. Peiris was responding to a question as to the credibility of news reports that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was constitutionally empowered to abrogate the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Government and the LTTE. Illustrating it further with an example, he said that the President of the United States was not empowered to intervene in a clash between two factions of refugees in Chicago. He said that it was the Police in the state of Chicago which needed to intervene in the matter, he said. Commenting on the use of the Executive Presidential Prerogative, he said that this was the time that everybody should be acting together in solving this national calamity without imputing powers. This is the time that collective action has to be taken to arrest the problem without insular and myopic considerations, he said. Responding to a question on news reports which suggested that there was a conflict between the President and the UNF led Government, he said that the time was opportune that everybody should rally round the nation to achieve national objectives. He said that the contentious issued that the President raised, had been addressed by him in his capacity as the Cabinet spokesman. Asked what the difference was between the current Ceasefire Agreement and the one between the PA Government and the LTTE in 1994/1995, Prof. Peiris said that the fundamental difference between the two was that there was no intermediary at that time. Now we have the good offices of the Royal Norwegian Government, he said. Asked about the press reports attributing to statements of the President that she was not shown the Agreement, he said that the President was kept constantly informed of the process by Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg. Mass Communications Minister Imtiaz Bakeer Markar was also present at the news conference. (by Ravi Ladduwahetty)

From http://www.dailynews.lk/ 02/27/2002

Rule of Law Should Be Upheld in Seats of Higher Learning

The Sri Lanka Open University's Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Board has expressed concern over the Colombo University Law faculty issue and aggression by students against the Vice Chancellor and the academic staff, a press release issued Tuesday said. The Board at a special meeting held to discuss the current atmosphere of student violence in the Law Faculty deplored unlawful acts of students committed in order to overturn decisions of the university made in accordance with established disciplinary procedures. The release describes acts such as putting up abusive and defamatory posters regarding staff, damaging their personal property and vandalising their rooms with human waste as uncivilised and criminal offences. They are also punishable under the 'Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act' of 1998 which was specifically enacted by Parliament to protect students and staff from such behaviour. The Board has emphasised that the rule of law should be upheld particularly in institutes of higher learning. They reiterate that acts of aggression by students against staff will have negative impacts on staff morale and lead to a breakdown in staff student relations and the functioning of universities. The Board has expressed the hope that the Colombo University Council will ensure that student discipline is maintained.

From http://www.dailynews.lk/ 02/28/2002

Nepal: No Citizenship from Mother

The Supreme Court refused appeals by women's groups for their children to obtain citizenship if only their mothers hold Nepalese nationality. The women said the 1990 Constitution, which bases citizenship on a father's nationality, is discriminatory. If citizenship were granted to children with Nepalese mothers and foreign fathers, an estimated 3.5 million people along the border with India could become citizens.

From http://query.nytimes.com/ 02/09/2002

Pakistan Constitution Being Reviewed: NRB

ISLAMABAD (PNS): The National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) is engaged in preparing not only specific constitutional amendments to strike a balance between the powers of the president and prime minister but is reviewing the entire Constitution to make changes to it. "We have started review of the Constitution from its first page," an official told The News. "We will take time to reach the stage of deliberating upon the powers of the president and prime minister to put in place a system of checks and balance." The official said that within the next two weeks, some shape of the comprehensive constitutional amendments would emerge that would pass through many stages before being unfolded. According to the August 14, 2001, democracy roadmap announced by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, the proposed constitutional amendments are to be put to public debate by May this year. In fact, the government has not mandated the NRB to review the Constitution in its totality, but it is conducting the marathon exercise to be ready for a briefing to the president on the likely radical improvements in the document, the official said. The official said the amendments approved by the president would be included in the package and the others would be ignored. "The NRB is trying to come out with an acceptable viable system." Even otherwise, the Constitution has to be elaborately amended to validate enormous steps, including law making, taken by the military government in the three years before an elected civilian administration takes charge. This time, the constitutional package is likely to be more detailed compared to the Eighth Amendment of 1985 that had amended more than 150 articles of the Constitution. While the NRB is seized with the exhaustive review of the Constitution, a few officials are mindful of the Supreme Court decision on the validation of the October 12, 1999, military take-over that the regime cannot change the fundamental structure of the document. The official said that six to eight hours long meetings were held almost daily in the NRB, focusing on the review of the Constitution. So far, the government has avoided amending the Constitution even though it was necessary, for example in the case of increase of seats of the national and provincial assemblies and introduction of the joint electorate system. It issues an ordinary chief executive order. The reason is that the government wants to incorporate all the amendments that it plans to bring to include in the constitutional package and put it to the public debate once and for all.

From http://www.paknews.com/ 02/06/2002

Pakistan Constitutional Amendment Likely to Empower President

ISLAMABAD: The government intends to introduce some significant changes in the constitution, which will envisage restoration of a scrapped presidential power to appoint the prime minister.

From http://www.paknews.com/ 02/12/2002

New Law on Reserved Seats Soon

ISLAMABAD: The government is all set to introduce a law under which the political parties getting less than 10 per cent of votes for the general seats, will not be entitled to contest elections for the seats reserved for women and technocrats. Official sources said that an ordinance had been sent to President Pervez Musharraf for signature and it would be promulgated within days. Any political party securing less than 10 per cent of the total votes in the general seats, will not be entitled to contest for any reserved seats. However, an exception is likely to be created for a situation in which only one party secured 10 per cent of votes. In that case the next party with five per cent of votes will be entitled to nominate candidates for reserved seats on the basis of votes it secured in the national and provincial assembly elections. Election to general seats of National Assembly and provincial assemblies will be held on the basis of single member territorial constituency method and they will be elected by a direct vote. The whole province will be a constituency for the reserved seats of women and technocrats. Such seats will be allocated on the basis of population. The National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) is at present working on a definition of the technocrat which shall be acceptable to all quarters. The NRB definition says a technocrat means a person with at least masters' degree or equivalent professional qualification and is a person of distinction, recognized nationally and internationally for his professional competence and has a minimum of 15 years' experience at a high level, either in administration or management or in the field of his specialization. The NRB definition so far is being opposed by certain quarters who think that it will generate a lot of controversy. According to the NRB definition very few prominent lawyers, engineers or scientists, having national and international recognition, will qualify for the reserved seats. "Even persons like Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan will not be qualified for a technocrat's seat," the official source said. (By Rafaqat Ali)

From http://www.dawn.com/ 02/26/2002

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Tax Reforms Encounter Mixed Success in Uzbekistan

Reforms in Uzbekistan appear to have succeeded in easing the burden on high-earning taxpayers. However, the changes don't seem to be having the desired effect of encouraging greater compliance with tax laws. Business-minded Uzbeks complain that the system still does not encourage entrepreneurial activity. A law adopted in late 2001 bases income taxes on a multiple of the minimum wage that shifts according to an individual's income. The change helped lower tax rates for many taxpayers. However, it also arrived at the same time as a new tax on gas consumption. Now that most Uzbek workers have received their first monthly paychecks since the changes went into practice, many are doing what they did under the old tax regime: resort to evasion. At present, the official minimum monthly wage in Uzbekistan is 3,430 soms, which is about $2 at the black market exchange rate. Under the new scheme, people who earn less than 15,720 soms per month pay 13 percent of their income as taxes. Those who earn between 15,720 and 31,140 (or eight times the minimum wage) pay the base 13 percent on the first 15,719, and 23 percent on the rest. A 33 percent tax rate applies to earnings above 31,140 soms. Pulat Ergashev, a bank employee, says the present system of taxation leaves little incentive for an individual to work. Ergashev [names in this article have been changed to protect those interviewed from possible retribution] says he falls under the first taxation category and pays 13 percent of his 12,000-som salary. But in January, he received a 50 percent bonus for overtime, so he actually received 18,000 soms, pushing him into a higher tax category. "It is better to have a second source of income and not declare it, though tax evasion is illegal," he says. According to Ergashev, the changes have induced many people to do just that. He claims that because of high tax rates most people operating private enterprises conceal their income and keep two books of salaries paid to staff. The first one is for official use, and reports low salaries. The real amounts of the salaries are reflected in the other book that is only for internal use. "If one declares the real size of salaries to the [tax] authority, then both the enterprise and the individual will have to pay 60 soms out of each 100 in taxes," Ergashev said. Ergashev added that because tax rates seem punitive for entrepreneurs, they have no incentive to expand their business activities. Government officials dispute this assessment. According to an official at Uzbekistan's Taxation Methodology Improvement Directorate, the new system of taxation is much simpler and more affordable for workers. "Besides, this year the tax rates have been decreased," the official said. "Last year people falling under the second category had to pay 25 percent of their income as taxes and the third category, 36 percent of the income." According to a tax directorate official, Uzbekistan's government decreases the number of taxes and tax rates for individuals. As an example, he cited the fact that starting this year, people will not have to pay taxes on vehicles. He claims this measure helps ease the burden of those who have cars but do not use them. People having cars used to pay taxes regardless whether they used them or not. But this year, in order to compensate for lost revenue in other areas, the government has introduced a new 20-som tax on each liter of gas. This new tax indisputably raises the tax burden on drivers. Sergey Abdurasulov, an electrician for a construction company, howled about the new gasoline tax. "Under the previous tax, I had to pay about [about] 7,000 soms a year for my Lada [automobile]," he says. "Now every day when I buy gasoline, I have to pay 100-150 soms as I buy 5-7 liters daily." According to Mr. Abdurasulov, in January alone, he had to pay almost 4,000 soms in gasoline consumption tax. It means about 50,000 soms a year. Taxi drivers say the new taxes have forced them to increase their prices - and lose customers. "There were few clients. But now there are none," says a disappointed Rashid Sayfulin. He buys at least 20 liters of gasoline in a day's work and pays 400 soms in taxes. In January 2002, he claims, the new taxes cost him 15,000 soms. A government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says that last year the state received 3 billion soms from the vehicle tax. This year, the government projects that it will gather about 20 billion soms from the new gasoline consumption tax. "We have to think where to cut, and where to add to make it easier for the people and ensure that the state treasury is not empty," he says.

From http://www.eurasianet.org/ 02/27/2002

Armenian Commission Endorses Armenian President's Proposed Constitutional Amendments

The Armenian parliamentary commission for constitutional reform on 8 February approved the amendments proposed by President Robert Kocharian that envisage a semi-presidential form of government, according to Arminfo, as cited by Groong. At the same time, the commission rejected alternative proposals drafted by the opposition (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 4, No. 42, 20 December 2001).

From http://www.rferl.org/ 02/11/2002

Armenian President Explains Why Opposition Constitutional Amendments Will Not Be Put to Referendum

Kocharian also said during his 13 February speech that that if the constitutional amendments proposed by the opposition are put to a nationwide referendum along with the amendments prepared by the presidential commission on constitutional reform, there would be a danger that neither package of proposals would be endorsed by the minimum required one-third of all registered voters, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 4, No. 42, 20 December 2001 and "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 January 2002). He implied that such a failure would weaken his standing in the run-up to the presidential ballot due in March 2003. Kocharian also said the referendum will take place either concurrently with local elections this autumn, or at the same time as the presidential poll.

From http://www.rferl.org/ 02/14/2002

No Place for Western Democracy in Fiji

SUVA, Fiji Islands ---Fiji is a divided and polarized society where Western concepts of democracy have no place, says Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, reports the Daily Post. He blamed the situation on colonial Britain and warned that London "should always be extremely circumspect when it comments on developments" in Fiji. His comments came in a speech to the Pacific section of the International Bar Association last weekend. "We do not even have an accepted national identity," he said of Fiji, which has a population of 830,000 with 52 percent indigenous Fijians and 43 percent ethnic Indians. Qarase said that while Indians and Fijians got on day-to-day, "ethnic tensions and rivalries are never very far away . . . the main political impulse is ethnic." Qarase said each election was an ethnic power struggle. The 450,000 indigenous Fijians had "no desire to go the way of other indigenous peoples who have been marginalized and dispossessed. For the Fijians, loss of political power and control to a competing race is more than just an election result. It is the thin edge of the wedge -- a reflection of their worst nightmares," he said. The indigenous population is aggrieved at the way Indians do not accept Fijians politically while Indians, who contribute to Fiji's development, believed they have done nothing wrong. Qarase said the political gulf is now probably wider than it had ever been. Bringing about co-existence could not be "accomplished by pretending that we are all the same and that Western-style democracy by itself can cure our racial ills," he said. Fiji has a complex ethnically based voting system, resisting calls for a one-person, one-vote common voting roll. "There is no chance of that, now, at any rate. Fijians have always been suspicious of the common roll," he said. Fijians feared it was an element in democracy that worked to their disadvantage and preferred ethnic-based voting. "It does not fit a concept of Western liberal democracy, but it does fit the Fijian concept of communal democracy," Qarase said.

From http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/ 02/12/2002

Canberra Pushes New Terror Laws

CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- The Australian government has put to parliament the first of its new laws to crack down on terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks. A bill introduced by Attorney-General Daryl Williams Wednesday targets security hoaxers. The legislation not only strongly increases penalties for "those who create a false belief", it also seeks to apply those penalties retrospectively to October last year. Williams said that since September Australian police had investigated around 1,000 anthrax hoaxes. "These false alarms cost the community not only in terms of unnecessary use of public resources but also increased fear and anxiety," Williams said in a statement released Wednesday. The maximum penalty for sending hoax material will be doubled to 10 years' imprisonment under the proposed new legislation. The bill also seeks to lift penalties for making serious threats via the postal or courier services from a one year jail term to ten years in cases of threats to kill, and seven years for threats to cause serious harm. Next week the government will also introduce more far-reaching anti-terrorism legislation, including controversial proposals to increase the powers of the nation's chief domestic spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO). That bill will create a new general offence of terrorism and an offence related to preparing for, or planning terrorist acts, and will allow terrorist property to be frozen and seized. Among the enhanced powers for ASIO would be the ability to arrest and detain suspects for up to 48 hours without charge and without access to legal representation if they are suspected of having information relating to terrorism activity. Security officials would also be able to intercept and read hitherto unread e-mails. Punishment for terrorist activity will also be increased with those found guilty of terrorism offenses facing life imprisonment. Civil rights groups in Australia have attacked the proposed laws with some saying ASIO's powers would be akin to those wielded by the KGB in Russia. But Williams says the new ASIO powers would only be used "where there is a very serious threat to life or property and there is a reasonable suspicion that a person may be able to assist by providing information that would hinder or prevent the activity occurring." Raised threat levels Williams says the proposed changes strike a proper balance between protecting public interest and protecting civil rights. The main opposition Labor party says it welcomes the strengthening of the government's counter-terrorism capability, but says it will move for a parliamentary inquiry to examine the increased ASIO powers and the proposed safeguards. Minor parties such as the Australian Democrats and the Greens, which together hold the balance of power in Australia's upper house, the Senate, are vowing to block the proposed ASIO changes in their present form. The annual report of ASIO, released Wednesday, states that much of the agency's investigative work last year was focussed on Middle East terrorist groups, some of which had a small number of supporters in Australia. ASIO also worked closely with other security forces to prepare for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which is being held next month in the Australian resort town of Coolum, Queensland. The report also says Australia's strong support for the United States and commitment of military forces to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan had raised threat levels. "This threat environment will impose significantly increased demands on ASIO and other Australian law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies," the report says.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/12/2002

Media Law Changes Rejected

The Howard Government's plan to overhaul media ownership rules suffered a setback yesterday when an industry regulator rejected one of its key elements. The Australian Press Council said a proposal aimed at safeguarding media diversity could undermine free speech. Communications Minister Richard Alston suggested newspapers be subject to charters of editorial independence enforceable by a government-funded watchdog. The charters would counteract the influence of large media companies, including foreign firms, who could own more media outlets under the planned changes. But in a letter addressed to Senator Alston, council chairman Ken McKinnon said any move to bring newspapers under quasi-government control was a direct threat to the freedom of the press. "The Press Council is opposed to any statutory supervision of editors, for any purpose, in any guise," Professor McKinnon said. (by Jim Dickins)

From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/ 02/19/2002

The Americanization of Central Europe

An economic colonization process is under way in Central Europe, a region more prone to fall under the influence of Washington than the European Union. While the European Union wades through a sea of red tape and bureaucracy before any measure is taken, the Americans are in there with the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), scouring the terrain for opportunities and making business and personal contacts to be followed up later. After this come the scholarships to study at Universities in the USA, where more personal contacts are made, to be called on in later business or political life. Subsidiaries are set up in the pristine conditions of the fledgling economies, creating jobs and wealth. At first sight, fine. No problem. However, upon closer inspection, the truth begins to dawn, but only after it is too late. The tens of NGOs operating in Slovakia, Prague and Budapest all follow the same directives. First, the local economies are encouraged to deregulate as much as possible, in the name of freedom of operation, but at the same time rendering them more fragile when faced by an economic giant such as the United States. What happens next is that the former state-owned enterprises fall prey to the Mafia, who grab everything in the deregulation process. Second comes the inevitable militarizing process, the invitation to join NATO. The colonization now complete, the process of political lobbying begins. Before the victim knows it, he has lost his identity, lost his sense of direction and lost his power to speak. He is paralyzed from the neck down and totally impotent. Old values disappear, the social fabric begins to break apart, in comes the pornography, the sleaze, the perversion and the drugs. All of this is done in such a way that the fledgling economy actually thinks it is being helped. When the effects of the love-potion wear off, it is too late. The victim has been raped.

From http://english.pravda.ru/ 02/16/2002

Central Asian Republics to Strengthen Customs Cooperation

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Central Asian republics have agreed to strengthen cooperation in customs procedures to facilitate trade in Central Asia. Experts from the People's Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan discussed customs modernization and cooperation at a recent meeting hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. Azerbaijan and Mongolia participated as observers. Customs cooperation is a key issue in the broad partnership between ADB and its developing member countries in Central Asia to promote economic cooperation. The participants agreed to establish a mechanism to facilitate customs cooperation. A Customs Coordinating Committee will be set up as a decision-making body with working groups at implementation level. Each country will submit a draft action plan and these will be consolidated for consideration at a high level Customs meeting. Possible key initiatives to be pursued are: a regional seminar on the Revised Kyoto Convention, to increase awareness of customs compliance and other provisions, particularly legislative and implementation aspects; joint processing routines at selected border crossings; regional training for common approaches and mutual understanding of customs operations; an assessment of simplified systems to facilitate through-transit traffic; and a donor support meeting.

From http://www.adb.org/ 02/13/2002

Good Governance Needed to Reduce Poverty in Pacific Region

SUVA, Fiji Islands ---The Vice chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, Savenaca Siwatibau, says, poverty has increased in the region. Radio Australia correspondent Ofa Kaukimoce reports. "Addressing a regional forum on social development, Siwatibau said in Suva that he does not believe that donor funding will solve the Pacific's poverty problem. The answer, he says, lies with good governance, adding that for Pacific leaders that is a "difficult political exercise." The former Reserve Bank of Fiji governor says it is for the countries themselves -- and the people -- to structure domestic forces in their respective societies to force their leaders to do the right thing. "He stressed the importance of having people with backbone and integrity in important institutions like the auditor general's office, the judiciary and the police. "Ofa Kaukimoce, Radio Australia, Suva."

From http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/ 02/07/2002

Tung Chee Hwa Wins Nomination of Over 700 Election Committee Members

Tung Chee Hwa, who handed in the Nomination Form for the Chief Executive Election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Tuesday, said that he is pleased to win nomination of over 700 Election Committee members. "This represents the support from various circles in the community to me and represents their high evaluation to me," said Tung at a media briefing after handing in the Nomination Form to the returning officer at the Registration and Electoral Office. "If I win the election and get appointment as chief executive for the second term, I will carry out my pledge to all the people of Hong Kong to the letter and improve our administration," he said. "Making use of the sound momentum of the economic growth of our country, I will work to ensure the economic restructuring of Hong Kong a success," he added. Tung also pledged to protect the weak in the community and called on the community to unite and make concerted efforts to overcome the difficulty and achieve a higher height.

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ 02/19/2002

Social Security System in Full Play

Up to 12.35 million people in China have enjoyed the minimum life security by January this year, with more than 90 percent being jobless or poverty stricken, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Up to 12 cities, provinces or autonomous regions in China have done a good job in their social security systems including Beijing, Shanghai, Guandong province, Jiangsu province and Heilongjiang province. China worked out the minimum life security system early in 1993, the so-called zero-norm system in western countries, to offer subsidies for the poverty-stricken people including those jobless and retired people, said the spokesman with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. All the cities and county governments of China have set up the minimum life security system by September 1999.

From http://ce.cei.gov.cn/ 02/08/2002

Corrupt Land Official Receives Life Sentence

HANGZHOU (Xinhuanet) -- An official in charge of land resources in east China's Zhejiang Province received a life sentence on Saturday for taking bribes and embezzling public funds.Court investigations show that Xu Youlai, former head of the land administration of Zhoushan, accepted over 896,000 yuan (about108,000 U.S. dollars) in bribes and pocketed over 526,000 yuan (some 63,370 U.S. dollars) of public money between 1995 and 2001. In addition, he appropriated nearly 2 million yuan of land reclamation fees from a special treasury account to finance a private firm in 2000, which caused heavy economic losses to the state. The Intermediate People's Court of Zhoushan also ruled on Saturday that Xu should be stripped of his political rights and all his personal property confiscated. Xu did not appeal Saturday's court decision

From http://news.xinhuanet.com/ 02/10/2002

Megawati Flays 'Trash Can' Bureaucracy

JAKARTA - In a stinging rebuke of the bureaucracy, President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday described the administration as a 'trash can' and told officials to go out and check reports instead of staying desk-bound. 'I have been leading a government which I think is like a 'trash can' because bureaucrats only want to receive good news,' Mrs Megawati said at the opening of a meeting of the office of the state minister for administrative reforms here. The behaviour of her bureaucrats was not very different from that of those under the past regime. 'Disappointing or negative reports must be given more attention,' she added. She noted that, whenever she toured the country, the local government's protocol officials always made sure she visited places which were performing well. 'What is the point in my visiting these places if I hear only good news?', she told the 900 government officials at the meeting, and urged them to become more pro-active. 'I don't want bureaucrats to just sit behind their desks.' --The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

From http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/ 02/12/2002

East Timor's Xanana Gusmao Runs for President

East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao on Saturday officially confirmed he was running for president of the former Indonesian territory. A foreign observer of the electoral commission said Mr Gusmao was backed by 10 political parties. He said Mr Gusmao's candidacy, nominated by the political parties, was witnessed by Dili's Bishop Carlos Belo and several foreign ambassadors. He said the former guerrilla and political prisoner had agreed to become a candidate for the parties on condition that they "respect his wish as an independent person." On February 13, Gusmao said he wished to run neither as an independent nor as a candidate for veteran resistance party Fretilin, which last year emerged the big winner in East Timor's first free election. He reportedly said he might yet stand with support from two opposition parties, the Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party. Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and Gusmao assumed leadership of the guerrilla army Falantil in 1981. He was captured in Dili in 1992 and jailed in Jakarta for life. Gusmao was freed in September 1999, eight days after East Timor voted to separate from Indonesia. East Timor has been under United Nations administration since 1999 and will become fully independent on May 20 after the April 14 elections.

From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 02/23/2002

Ex-Deputy Governor of Indonesia Prosecuted for Graft

Amid the war against corruption in the province, two former West Java senior officials are being prosecuted on corruption charges. On Tuesday, prosectuors called for Ukman Sutaryan, former West Java deputy governor, to face ten years in prison and a fine of Rp 30 million over a Rp 17.9 billion corruption case during his tenure between 1993-1999. Prosecutors also want him to return Rp 28 billion he allegedly acquired illegally to the state. Meanwhile, prosecutors asked for Ragam Santika, former secretary of the provincial administration, to be sentenced to eight years imprisonment and a fine of Rp 25 billion over a Rp 17 billion corruption case between 1994 and 1998, at the Bandung district court on Feb. 13, 2002. In court on Tuesday, Basyuni Musyarif of the West Java Chief Prosecutor's Office said defendant Ukman had to be handed a stiff sentence because he was found to have abused his power by embezzling almost Rp 28 billion from the province's budget between 1993 and 1999. "The funds were taken from the province's routine spending (Rp 17.6 billion) and development projects (Rp 10.3 billion). The funds were used to build the Al-Ihsan General Hospital, run the Al-Ihsan financial institution and a calligraphy workshop, all in the city, purchase a plot of land in Lembang and buy a Toyota car," he told the court. He said the funds were disbursed to the Al-Ihsan Foundation, which belonged to him, in contravention of official regulations. According to the prosecutor, the defendant colluded with Ragam to commit the embezzlement. Government prosecutor Fadil Jumhana, in Ragam's trial, said that prosecutors had material evidence that the defendant embezzled Rp 17 billion from the province's budgetary funds. He said the defendant had also helped Ukman to take Rp 16 billion from the province's budgetary funds and another Rp 1 billion from the provincial administration's Saung Kadeudeuh Foundation (YSK) to build the Al-Ihsan General Hospital. The two defendants conceded that the funds' disbursement occurred with the approval of the governor, R. Nuariana. The corruption cases were investigated by the local attorney's office after mounting pressure from the provincial legislative council, students, workers and local nongovernmental organizations. The local attorney's office has been under fire since it decided to hold Governor Nuriana as a witness and not as a suspect. Legislators have demanded that the governor be held responsible for the embezzlement because he gave his approval to the funds' disbursement. In the context of the war against corruption in the province over the last two years, the chief prosecutor's office has seen two of its heads, Harprileny and Sudono Iswahyudi, replaced. The West Java Chief Prosecutor's Office is still investigating Governor Nuariana over a 15 billion mark-up in the development of legislators' housing in Cipageran, Cimahi, and Misbach, former chief of general affairs at the provincial administration over a Rp 35 billion mark-up in a road repair project in the province. (by Yuli Tri Suwarni)

From http://www.thejakartapost.com/ 02/23/2002

Top Officers to Be Tried for Rights Violence

Indonesia moved closer to its first human rights trial on Thursday after state prosecutors submitted to the Central Jakarta Human Rights Court three dossiers indicting seven senior officials and security officers for crimes including genocide in East Timor in 1999. The Human Rights Tribunal will soon establish a panel of judges consisting of two career judges and three noncareer judges to hear the cases. The seven are among 18 suspects, including three army generals, a police general and several middle-ranking officers, indicted for the violence that occurred before, during and after the United Nations-sponsored referendum in 1999 that saw East Timor gain independence. Attorney General's Office spokesman Barman Zahir said on Thursday that two of the three dossiers dealt with alleged crimes committed by former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares and former East Timor Police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen. The third covered crimes committed by former Covalima regent Col. Herman Sedyono, former Suai military commander Lt. Col. Lilik Koeshadianto, Suai Police chief Lt. Col. Gatot Subiaktoro, Suai military commander Lt. Col. Sugito and Suai command chief of staff Capt. Achmad Syamsudin. "They are all charged with committing crimes against humanity including genocide" during the September 1999 massacre in the East Timor town of Suai," Barman told reporters at the Central Jakarta District Court after accompanying the ad hoc prosecutors submitting the files. "We hope to bring them to court soon," Barman said. At least 26 people, including a Catholic priest, were killed when pro-Jakarta militias, backed by military and police personnel, hurled bombs into a church in Suai after the East Timorese people voted in favor of breaking away from Indonesia. Before, during and after the United Nations-sponsored referendum in East Timor in August 1999, pro-Jakarta militias, allegedly backed by the Indonesian Military and police, went on a bloody rampage. They killed hundreds of people, razed entire towns, destroyed 80 percent of the former Portuguese colony's infrastructure and forced more than a quarter of a million villagers into West Timor. Barman said that the ad hoc prosecutors charged the seven suspects with violating Articles 7, 9B, and 42 of Law No. 26/2000 on the human rights tribunal. "(The articles) they broke were serious human rights violations including genocide and crimes against humanity. The most severe punishment is death and the lightest punishment is 10 years imprisonment for accountability of a commander whose subordinates committed an act of abuse," Barman said. Ad hoc prosecutors responsible for the indictments are Ketut Murtika for Soares' case; James Pardede for Silaen's; and Darmono for the Suai case. Critics say it would be preferable for the suspects to be tried in East Timor because Indonesia's legal system is notoriously inefficient and haphazard, and judges are often subject to pressure from the government and military officials. Meanwhile in Dili, East Timor leaders on Friday said they would "wait and see" whether Indonesia will bring to justice those responsible for the violence in their homeland. "I hope (the Indonesian move) will signal a good start of the justice process, but I prefer to wait and see," said East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was quoted by AP. "I am pleased with the news, it shows that some steps have been taken and we are moving forward," East Timor's foreign minister Jose Ramos-Horta said. "But we have to wait and see what is going to happen," he said. "Let's see whether those who are brought to trial will be given the proper sentences if found guilty." (by Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak)

From http://www.thejakartapost.com/ 02/23/2002

Hackers Ridicule Indonesia's MPS on Assembly Website

JAKARTA - Hackers forced the temporary closure of the website of Indonesia's highest legislative assembly yesterday after plastering it with sarcastic messages alleging its members were corrupt and out of touch with the crises facing the country. A group calling itself HiddenLine attacked the MPR website early yesterday and succeeded in delivering 'commentaries from the little people who love Indonesia' aimed at the nation's MPs. The hacked page carried sarcastic dialogues on several topics, ridiculing, among other things, the MPs' plan to give themselves wage raises, the government's failure to settle several human-rights cases and the poor asset disposal by the restructuring agency Ibra. One passage quoted former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who criticised the government for not paying attention to poverty and education while 'giving rise to a new generation of thieves'. But the hackers also took potshots at Mr Abdurrahman, ridiculing his habit of falling asleep in his chair during Cabinet meetings and formal events at parliament. Indonesian police, when contacted, were not aware of the cyber crime committed against the nation's highest legislative body. The Web address displayed test pages when visited late yesterday in a sign that at least the MPR's Web administrators were taking the problem seriously. A Web search revealed that a group of hackers by the same name has 'defaced' at least 48 public sites based in Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia. (by Robert Go)

From http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/ 02/26/2002

Indonesia's Anti-Corruption Campaign Doomed

JAKARTA - Public demand is mounting for party leaders holding public offices to relinquish their party posts, or at least cut back on their roles in their respective parties to avoid conflicts of interests. But up to now, none have made any move to give them up - and they are very unlikely to do so. The reason is not only because there is no ruling banning double positions, but also because the next general election is fast approaching. With virtually none of the country's cash-strapped political parties appealing to the people at large, they will have to rely on their financial ability to win votes in the 2004 general elections. These political parties are likely to use their power and influence to raise cash (or to extort money from wealthy business people) to finance their election campaign programs in 2004. During the Suharto regime, government projects were often awarded to business people willing to pay the highest "donation" to his ruling Golkar party and there is no sure guarantee that similar arrangements wouldn't happen again. Party leaders holding public offices in the executive branch include President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is also the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan); Vice President Hamzah Haz, who is chairman of the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP); and Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who is also chairman of the Crescent Star and Moon Party (PBB), another Muslim-based party. In the legislative branch, there are People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais, who is also chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN); and the House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung, the Golkar chairman. The recent floods that hit Jakarta and a number of towns on Java clearly demonstrate that these political parties are willing to go out of their way to win people's vote come the 2004 general election. Almost every day, Megawati, Hamzah, Akbar and Rais visited flood victims in the downtown and other cities on Java, distributing relief goods purchased with state funds. But every time these party chairs visited flood victims, they were accompanied by party cadres who would brag before flood victims that relief goods distributed to them were coming from their party leaders, even though they knew very well that the goods were coming from the government. All political parties, most notably PDI Perjuangan, Golkar, PAN, PPP and PBB, set up command posts to help flood victims, but they were merely distributing goods provided by the government. In some cases, these party command posts forced non-governmental organizations and relief agencies helping flood victims to channel their relief goods through them, or at least pay a certain amount of money to them so that the NGOs and relief agencies could distribute the goods directly to flood victims. These party leaders knew what their cadres were doing but did nothing to stop them or even voice objections to such practices. In a number of cases, Megawati, Hamzah, Rais, Akbar and Yusril have made working visits to the provinces using state funds and facilities for tickets, transportation and accommodation, but upon arriving met with party cadres or officiated at the local offices of their respective parties. Megawati has "unofficially declared Tuesday" as her party day, on which day she often does not have state functions - by design - so that she can chair party meetings at its headquarters. There is no doubt that conflicts of interest and the temptations to engage in corruption, collusion and nepotism, and especially graft, are abounding when public officials such as the president, vice president, ministers, DPR speaker and MPR chairman are still holding their positions in their respective parties. The refusal of these leaders to quit party posts reflects their unwillingness to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism and demonstrate their own tendencies to engage in those practices themselves. It also reinforces early suggestions that the "power-sharing" arrangement, put in place after the impeachment of former president Abdurrahman Wahid last July, was designed to distribute strategic posts "fairly" to political parties with the understanding that they would use corrupt state funds in their respective portfolios without being disturbed by other parties. Or, at least to use their respective public offices for the maximum benefits of their respective parties in view of the 2004 general election. This was played out very clearly in the corruption allegation against House Speaker Akbar, whose Golkar party is now the second biggest faction in the House. When the Attorney General's Office declared Akbar a suspect in a Rp54.6 billion (US$5.4 million) financial scam involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) early in January, virtually all factions in the House, including Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB), agreed to drop a plan to set up a Special House Inquiry Team to investigate Akbar, leaving the Attorney General's Office alone to proceed with the legal proceedings. In fact, these leaders knew that the country's legal system is corrupt and lacks the teeth to put big-time corrupters from the Suharto era behind bars. An investigation by the House would have complemented that of the Attorney General's Office but would also have potential damaging effects to Golkar and Akbar. So, despite all the fanfare, Megawati's anti-corruption campaigns are doomed to fail since she and other party leaders holding public offices are themselves benefiting from such practices, especially in view of the next general elections. A national survey by the Economic and Social Information and Education Research Institute (LP3S) showed that the country's political parties do not represent the interests of people at large and may be junked by the people come the 2004 general election. Given such, they will need to have a lot of cash with which to buy the people's support. (by Richel Langit)

From http://www.atimes.com/ 02/28/2002

A Stifled Experiment in Democracy in Cambodia

It was a first for Cambodia and a potential model for all coming elections: candidates taking questions from a moderator, the voters and each other on key issues. Candidates of the four leading parties taking part in the February 3 local elections faced an audience of around 300 registered voters in the grounds of a pagoda in southern Cambodia's Kompong Bay commune on the second day of campaigning. Lively and intelligent debate ensued on issues of local concern, such as the candidates' proposed plans for tackling high water and power costs, repairing bad roads and providing decent schools. As excited children scampered around, it was all videotaped for a broader airing. But this experiment in democratic expression-which was to be repeated in five other communes around the country-is unlikely ever to hit the country's TV screens as its sponsors, the Khmer Institute for Democracy and the United States-based National Democratic Institute, had hoped. The National Election Committee, which is seen as pro-government, has held out on giving its formal approval, even though a candidate from the ruling Cambodian People's Party took part. The NEC was also refusing to sanction the airing of voter information round tables which included policy statements from parties. It cites election law which permits propaganda by national parties but is silent over extending the privilege to local candidates. It also says, without explanation, that it fears some of the content could upset voters. Others say local debates are relevant nationwide. "The people vote not for the candidate but for the party," says election monitor Thun Saray. People need to know about the different parties' political platforms, he says. "This is many steps back compared to what we've achieved in freedom of the press," says opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Royalist Funcinpec party leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh says this situation must change before the 2003 general election. (by Leo Dobbs)

From http://www.feer.com/ 02/02/2002

Cambodian PM Fares Well in Polls

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Preliminary results from Cambodia's first-ever local elections show the prime minister's party winning a large majority of seats in the capital. The weekend vote -- hailed as a major step toward strengthening democracy in Cambodia -- was to choose councils to govern 1,621 communes or clusters of villages across the Southeast Asian nation. While official results won't be known for weeks, Hun Sen's good showing in the capital for the ruling Cambodian People Party, or CPP, is expected to be reflected across the country. The CPP has held power for more than 20 years in the countryside. About 85 percent of Cambodia's 11 million people live in rural areas. Cambodians showed up in large numbers to cast ballots in Sunday's vote, defying pre-election violence that saw more than 20 political activists die. Observers say the balloting went off without incident. But one opposition leader said he was concerned about the integrity of the vote counting. International observers have not yet commented on the vote's fairness. Phnom Penh According to initial results, the CPP has won 70 of Phnom Penh's 76 communes while the opposition Sam Rainsy party won the other six. The royalist Funcinpec party was third in the capital, although it won no seats, Yim Phal, the top election official for Phnom Penh, told The Associated Press. "The victory proves democracy is functioning at the grass-roots level," Phnom Penh Gov. Chea Sophara, a CPP member, told AP. Cambodia has suffered through a series of authoritarian regimes, including the murderous Khmer Rouge, which ruled from 1975 to 1979 and was responsible for the deaths of at least 1.7 million people in its quest to create an agrarian utopia. After the Khmer Rouge's fall, Cambodia slipped into civil war. A U.N.-supervised general election in 1993 restored a shaky multiparty democracy. A second general election in 1998 entrenched the CPP in power, with Hun Sen at the helm. Sunday's local election was the first test of popularity for Hun Sen since the 1998 elections. Hun Sen did not cast his ballot, saying he wanted to remain neutral. International observers criticized the decision, saying he has assuming the role of king. Share power Until now the communes have been ruled by chiefs appointed by the ruling party, many of them more than 20 years ago. But after the elections, the CPP will have to share power for the first time in village politics, but its expected victory will ensure that not much changes on the ground. Also, the communes will be supervised by Interior Ministry officials, who will have the power to take over the councils' duties. The councils will have limited powers on matters such as local security, public order, general social welfare, environment and culture, and will be allowed to raise limited local taxes. 'Cheating'Despite the peaceful polling on Sunday, the Sam Rainsy Party alleged widespread cheating in favor of Hun Sen's party. In Siem Reap province, ballots in some communes were already marked for the ruling party, it said. Also, damaged, soiled or marked ballots were given to voters, which meant they would become invalid.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/03/2002

Cambodia: Monarchy in Question as Hun Sen Sweeps to Victory

Prime Minister Hun Sen has swept to a landslide victory in Cambodia's local elections, gaining him international standing. The elections were disastrous for the Monarchists. In the run-up to the general elections of 2003, Prime Minister Hun Sen tightens his grip of his country's politics and earns for the first time the status of a popular leader, after years of being classified by the international community as using strong-arm tactics. Hun Sen's victory in the general election of 1996 after forcing a power-sharing scheme with the opposition under threat of secession, and the subsequent ousting of the leader of the Royalist Funcinpec Party, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the following year, raised eyebrows among the international community. The reasons for this were that he came to power in the 1980s, leading a Communist government installed by Hanoi. However, with the population behind him, his image can now change. Hun Sen had been beset with a civil war against the Khmer Rouge, which was finally ended in 1996. In the words of a European diplomat, "Three years of peace after 30 years of fighting is not a long time. Cambodians at the ground level probably value not being shot at any more". To broker peace, Hun Sen decided not to try any of the Khmer Rouge leaders, blamed for the death of 1.7 million people, despite the opposition of the USA. The country stabilised, Hun Sen can now proceed with reforms and a liberalisation of the economy, which is waiting for foreign investment. A populist and popular leader, Hun Sen's power base comes from the peasants in the countryside, where he has his roots. He can often be seen wading thing-deep in flood waters, working alongside the peasants to help stranded villages. Having lost a bet on a football match in the 1998 World Soccer Cup, he pulled out a pistol and blasted his t.v. set. Ordinary Cambodians can identify with this rough image, closer to them than the elitist royalists. The abominable performance by the Royalists in these local elections plunged the Funcinpec Party into crisis and raised questions about the continuation of the Monarchic cause in Cambodia. This party won seven of the 1,621 village communes in Sunday's election. These were the first local elections since King Norodom Sihanouk gained independence from France in 1953. Lao Mong Hay, Director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, claimed that "The future of our monarchy is not very bright after this commune election and the poor performance of Funcinpec. I don't know whether it can survive our king", referring to the aging King Norodom Sihanouk.

From http://english.pravda.ru/ 02/08/2002

Cambodian Election Results Announced

Secretary General Im Suosdey of the Cambodian National Election Committee has announced that the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won the national election held on Feb. 3. The CPP won majority votes in 1,599 of the 1,621 communes that participated in Cambodia's election. Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP, the royalist FUNCINPEC party, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), and five other parties competed in the election. The SRP won 13 communes and the FUNCINPEC party, 10. One unaccounted for commune will undergo a re-vote on March 3. Im Suosdey said the commune councils would include 7,698 people from the CPP and of the new people elected, 513 were females: 448 from the CPP, 35 from the FUNCINPEC party, and 30 from the SRP. The CPP has recognized the results and emphasized that the election has conducted in a fair, and non-violent atmosphere that reflects the Cambodian people's desire for democracy. The CPP has called on the entire people and other parties to respect the election results in order to maintain peace, social order and political stability.

From http://www.vnagency.com.vn/ 02/25/2002

Cambodia's Ruling Party Leads Local Elections

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuters) The elections for commune chiefs to lead clusters of villages were the first since Cambodia gained independence form France in 1953. They are seen as a dress rehearsal for next year's general elections and an important step in Cambodia's transition to democracy. Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP has won 1,597 of 1621 commune chief positions. One commune will be re-polled next Sunday, said Im Sousdei, secretary general of the National Election Committee (NEC). The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) won 16.4 percent of the total votes, with the royalist Funcinpec party, a junior partner in government, winning 21.4 percent, according to the neutral Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia. Local and international poll monitors described voting and counting as acceptable, but denounced the pre-election killings of some 20 candidates and activists, as well as intimidation, vote buying and other abuses. They said the election could not be considered fully free and fair. The commune councils are seen as a way to decentralise decision making from Phnom Penh and increase grassroots democracy in this once war-torn country.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/25/2002

Monitors Cautious over Cambodian Poll

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Election monitors observing Cambodia's weekend local elections have given a cautious verdict on the vote saying it was not entirely "free and fair." Although they praised the smooth and trouble-free polling and counting held on Sunday, they said the campaign running up to the vote had been marred by violence, media bias, administrative irregularities and several deaths. "We can say the election day, February 3, was acceptable but because of the violence and intimidation we cannot say that this election is completely free and fair," Sunnai Phasuk of the Asian Network for Free and Fair Elections (ANFREL) told a news conference in Phnom Penh. In the run-up to polling some 23 candidates and party activists and one poll monitor were killed in election related violence. A statement released by ANFREL said Cambodia had "taken another step towards establishing democracy," but it added, "there remains much work to be done before the national elections next year." On Monday, the U.S.-based International Republican Institute said the elections had been administered competently but did not meet international standards and were not free and fair. With all results now in, official figures show the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen won the lion's share of the vote, taking the top spot in 1,600 of the 1,621 communes contested. 'Free, maybe'Opposition politicians have also expressed concerns over the conduct of the poll. Officials from the Sam Rainsy Party have complained of several instances of cheating and fraud and Prince Norodom Ranariddh of the royalist FUNCINPEC party said he had doubts over the credibility of the poll. "Free, maybe," Ranariddh told reporters. "Fair, for us -- maybe not very fair." At a separate news conference Thun Saray, the head of the local Committee for Free and Fair Elections, also expressed concerns over the poll saying there had been too many problems to give the vote the group's full support. "Although the voting day and counting day went smoothly, if we take them into account with the pre-election period, we see that the elections are not as free and fair as we wanted them to be," he said. Sunday's vote was the first local poll to be conducted in Cambodia since the country won independence from France in 1953. It has been widely seen as a dress-rehearsal for general elections due to be held in 2003.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/25/2002

Communist Laos Goes to the Polls

VIENTIANE, Laos -- Results will not be in for several days but it is likely that the Lao People's Revolutionary Party will make a near-clean sweep in Sunday's parliamentary elections. All but one of the 166 candidates belong to that faction -- the communist country's only legal party. No international observers are present as Laotians vote for the 109 National Assembly members. An election committee spokesman has said none are needed, as the vote is "free and fair". The polls feature a younger, better-educated team of legislators and more women but changes to the lineup will make little difference to state policies in the country or to the secretive ruling party, in power since it overthrew a pro-Western constitutional monarchy 26 years ago. President Khamtay Siphandone, 77, chairman of the ruling party, pledged continuity as he joined early voters at a polling station in the capital. "In the party apparatus there won't be any change, because the past National Assembly (dissolved last year) has made all the necessary changes," he told Reuters reporters. Laos has some 2.5 million eligible voters over the age of 18. Polling will close at 5.00 pm (1000 GMT) in Vientiane, but in some remote areas may last longer. Security in the Laotian capital of Vientiane was not as tight as during the seventh party congress last March, but nightclubs and bars were closed on the eve of the polls. New blood the ruling party said the new legislative body would help achieve its plan to reduce poverty by half by 2005. More women have been included on the ballot and more candidates have post-graduate degrees. The average age is 51, about 10 years younger than the previous crop. "We hope this will bring more foreign investment into the country," said Deputy Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, who heads the State Planning Committee. He said the party was "working very hard to make the country peaceful, safe and provide necessary facilities for investors." The new assembly will replace a 99-member chamber dissolved four years into its term. The elections come just a few months after a group of international political activists, led by a European Union parliamentarian, were deported for protesting and demanding the release of Laotian political prisoners. And last year a spate of mystery bombings in the capital killed at least one person and injured dozens, sparking fears over damage to the country's nascent tourism industry. Most of Laos' 5.4 million people live well below the World Bank's poverty line of one dollar a day. The Southeast Asian country was hit hard by the 1997/98 Asian economic crisis and is heavily dependent on trade with neighboring Thailand, which is only recovering slowly.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/24/2002

Election of Fifth National Assembly in Laos

More than 2.54 million voters of 18 constituencies across Laos went to the polls on Sunday, Feb. 24, to elect 109 deputies to the fifth National Assembly (NA), a Vientiane-based Viet Nam News Agency (VNA) correspondent reports. The new NA will be the first legislative body of Laos in the new millennium and the fifth since the foundation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975. Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Khamtay Siphandon went to the polls at ballot box No. 15 at 7:10 a.m. Answering foreign correspondents' question on the significance of the the elections, the Lao leader said that the fifth NA will carry out the tasks outlined by the seventh Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) to build and perfect the Lao People's Democratic Republic. He noted that the leading role played by the LPRP has been increasingly strengthened in the life of the Lao people of all ethnic groups. The LPRP would continue lead the Lao people to successfully carry out its renewal policy, turning Laos into a peaceful, independent, democratic, unified and prosperous country not only for the prosperity and happiness of the Lao people but also for peace, stability and development in the region and the world. Bounyang Vorachit, Politburo member of the LPRP and Prime Minister of Laos, cast his vote at ballot box No. 13. He reminded local voters to carefully select their best representatives to the most powerful body of the country. As many as 166 candidates have been nominated for the election, including 34 women, 35 candidates from public offices and agencies at the central level, 131 from those at the local level, six from the corporate sector, and 52 are deputies of the current fourth National Assembly. The candidates have the average age of 51, with the oldest being 75 and the youngest, 33, the correspondent quoted a report from the national election committee as saying. Among those who stand for the election are nine members of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee, one deputy prime minister and three cabinet ministers, 15 from the army and four from the public security force.

From http://www.vnagency.com.vn/ 02/24/2002

Unrecognised 'Docs' Allowed in Malaysia Government Service

KEPALA BATAS: An estimated 200 medical graduates with unrecognised degrees are now allowed to practise as doctors in government service. Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng, who announced this yesterday, said the Cabinet made the decision on Wednesday to overcome the shortage of 3,500 doctors in the country. He said the Cabinet had asked him to exercise his powers under Section 14(3) of the Medical Act to implement the move. Under the clause, the Health Minister upon consultation with the Malaysian Medical Council, is empowered to allow these medical graduates to undergo three years of training and three years of compulsory service with the Government. "They are now required to submit their applications to the Health Minister. It (applications) will subsequently be forwarded to the MMC for consultation before processing by the Health Director-General for placements in government medical facilities. "Many of them are currently working as clinic assistants and dispensers in the private sector," Chua said after visiting the RM100mil Kepala Batas Hospital yesterday. Chua said many of the graduates could not practise as doctors in government service following amendments to the Act in 1993. The amendments, he explained, had made it compulsory for them to pass the final year examination in any one of the three universities - Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia - before being allowed to practise. "Most of them failed due to different medical practices in foreign countries, besides failing the Bahasa Malaysia in the Sijil Pelajaran Menengah (SPM). "Many of them are graduates from renowned medical colleges in India and China; as well as universities in developed countries in the West with degrees which are not recognised locally," Chua said. Those found eligible under Section 14(3) could start practising now without having to sit for their final year examination in the three universities mentioned, he added. Chua said the latest move was also similar to the ruling prior to 1992 whereby foreign-trained medical graduates with unrecognised qualifications had to undergo a year's housemanship and serve two years under the supervision of senior doctors and consultants, before being registered as qualified doctors. He said some of the contract doctors were Malaysians who did not have a pass in the SPM Bahasa Malaysia. (by Derrick Vinesh)

From http://thestar.com.my/ 02/08/2002

Philippines Gov'T Makes Headway against IPR Violations

The government is making significant headway in its serious and determined campaign to protect intellectual property rights contrary to complaints by U.S. authorities on the worsening IPR violations. Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II cited gains made by the government's enforcement agencies following President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resolved to put into high gear the government's anti-piracy campaign. "We will continue to vigorously go after IPR pirates with the strong support of Congress and the Judiciary," Roxas said,Roxas was reacting to the statement made by William Henry Lash III, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for market access and compliance, on the country's rampant piracy and infringement of IPR products. Lash said, U.S. firms lost $200 million last year due to piracy in the Philippines particularly the optical media. But Roxas stressed the law enforcement agencies confiscated nearly 5.3 million piece of pirated products and equipment for the manufacture of pirated products worth P1.5 billion and arrested more than 1,200 suspects. "Both the National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police have strengthen their respective IPR Protection and Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes divisions and are working in concert with the enforcement teams of the Bureau of Customs, Videogram Regulatory Board and the National Telecommunication Commission," Roxas said. According to Roxas the raids conducted by these agencies have resulted in the filing of 369 cases before the Department of Justice, Anti-Piracy Task Force, with 94 already elevated to various for trial. The VRB, for instance, has already disposed 1,497 administrative anti-piracy cases, with the government imposing more than P33 million in fines and penalties, Roxas stressed. On the part of the legislature, Roxas said both the Senate and House of Representatives are introducing meaningful changes in the laws and legal processes to enhance the protection of intellectual property rights. (by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat)

From http://www.mb.com.ph/ 02/02/2002

Philippines Gov'T Procurement Reform Set

Speaker Jose de Venecia said yesterday he has filed a measure that seeks to modernize, eliminate corruption, and make the procurement process of the government transparent and thus save the state about P30 billion annually. De Venecia said HB 187 - the Public Sector Procurement Reform Bill - is intended to streamline the procurement process by making it simple and adaptable to the latest technological advances and by extending equal opportunity to a widest possible base of private contracting parties. "This proposal will save from P20 billion to P30 billion a year from leakage in government purchases of supplies and capital expenditures," said the House leader. De Venecia said he has asked Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the House committee on appropriations, to expedite the approval of the reform measure which also intends to improve the competitiveness of government procurement procedures. Secretary Emilia Boncodin of the Department of Budget and Management said that this year alone, government procurement is estimated to reach P100 billion, including procurement by local government units (LGUs). In a recent report, the World Bank estimated that the Philippine government had lost US$48 billion over the last 20 years. "This is larger than the country's foreign debt of US40.6 billion during that period," De Venecia said. Rep. Andaya said the measure intends to streamline and standardize procedures for goods, civil works and consultancy services and open participation for bidders through notices in the Internet and the creation of a Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB). Pre-qualification for possible bidders would also be streamlined and the criterion for awards will be changed from the lowest evaluated bid to lowest calculated responsive bid, De Venecia and Andaya said. "This is non-discretionary objective criterion which involves the ascertaining of the lowest calculated bid by analysing the consistency of all submitted bids with their financial proposals and post-qualification process," Andaya said. De Venecia said HB 187 will also remove braketing in the evaluation of bid prices and instead set the approved budget for the contract as the ceiling on bid prices. This reform measure further seeks to lessen potential collusion between government officials and private parties such as in cost overruns. A contractor will be allowed to bid on the unfinished portion of a project only after he has satisfactorily passed the work performance audit of a previous project that had been awarded to him.

From http://www.mb.com.ph/ 02/02/2002

Synchronized Polls Proposed in Philippine

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. called yesterday for the synchronized holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections as he urged Congress to immediately resolve the issue of whether or not to postpone the supposed May 6 SK polls. He said that while there is already a firm decision on the part of the Comelec to go ahead with the May 13 barangay elections, the question of whether or not to postpone the scheduled holding of SK elections still hangs. Congress, as well as Malacanang, should not dilly-dally on this issue because time may be running out, the senator said. He noted that the issue would remain unsettled if certain quarters continue swapping press releases in media. The postponement of the nationwide elections in 42,000 barangays, Pimentel stressed, is out of the question with the order of Malacanang and Department of Budget and Management to release P1.1 billion to the Commission on Elections for the holding of the political exercises. Pimentel, the principal author of the Local Government Code, said it would be most advantageous to hold barangay and SK elections simultaneously, especially in terms of saving on government expenses. He noted the need though, to further eke out the election fund, saying it would be insufficient to cover the synchronized political exercises. The Comelec earlier said it would be impractical and difficult to hold the two nationwide elections since they are only a week apart from each other. As such, it sought to cleave the holding of the two elections by a period of at least four months. But Pimentel said a postponement of the SK election must be avoided because it would engender more complications like extending the term of office of incumbent SK officials when most of them are overstaying and above the age limit of 21 years. "These over aged SK officials generally do not want to hang on to their posts. So the earlier their successor are elected, the better for all," the senator said. He also hit the proposal floated by some of his counterparts in Congress to abolish the SK, saying it might just send the wrong signal that the government is taking the interst and concerns of the youth for granted. "Instead of tinkering with the unpalatable idea of a scrapping the SK, maybe the better alternative is to restructure and reform it to address criticisms that it has lost its relevance and responsiveness to the needs of the youth," Pimentel said. He deplored criticisms that the quality of SK leaders had already deteriorated, with some of them more interested in making money out of SK transactions than serving their youth constituents. Despite its flaws, Pimentel said that the SK could still be revitalized, and made an effective mechanism for consultation and youth participation in state affairs and community development. He said innovative ways must still be explored to fund SK activities, like asking the Local Government Units (LGU) and the office of the President to give it financial contributions. (by Gabriel S. Mabutas)

From http://www.mb.com.ph/ 02/01/2002

Understanding Philippine Democracy in Transition

POLITICAL transition in a democracy always has possibilities. It is an evaluation of tendencies of a relatively uncertain state of affairs to something that is a relatively predictable condition of the future. It is the defining moment of a new government. It is a moment of creative tension usually pushed by effective leaders for authentic change. Martin Luther King says that a moment of creative tension is a necessary element of political transition. Transitions are temporary states of affairs. They are, however, preconditions to building the bases of stability and growth. If managed properly according to the mandates of public interest expectations, then political transition will lead to achieving short and long term development goals. When acted on according to micro-private interest expectations, then society will mostly likely suffer what social scientists call as social decay - something that will either drive society to backwardness or will retard development initiatives from taking root. The other possibility is when transition is led based on a well-balanced satisfaction of expectations of all public, private and civil society formations. In all the possibilities, it is imperative to have a thorough background check on the motives, perspectives, interests and biases of those who actually stirred the political transition (including those who by chance and opportunity found themselves in it). Also paramount in defining the tendencies of political transition is the objective conduct of reality checks into the interests, dispositions and behaviors of social, political, economic, moral and security institutions of society. Recent events dictate that the church, the military, the Philippine congress, the media, and the civil society formations have become the country's major transitional forces. The positioning of these institutions on every policy, every move, decision, and every performance of government, will most likely predict the resiliency or weakness of change in transition. The Philippines is experiencing a political transition characterized by a struggling national economy, a sharply divided citizenry in the local and urban communities, ethnic violence in the southern and northern islands, a legal and judicial system that is under heavy pressure to reform a politicized police and military organizations and a corrupt political system that has not for decades been able to stamp out high-stakes cheating and irregularities in government. Today, government is under heavy and immense pressure to shape up and is widely expected to do what is necessary, what is beneficial and what is broadly acceptable to bring the nation back to a positive direction and take the country out of the perils of political transition. There is no greater challenge now posed to the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo than to spark the plug of an effective and efficient machinery that can carry through a government of delivery without delay. Filipinos are sick and tired of a government of promises. People are eager to see a fundamentally new Philippines in a fundamentally new period of high expectations. Central to the success of democracy in transition is the capacity of government to lead, including creating a strong base of its own legitimacy to govern. For any government to govern effectively, the issue of its own legitimacy must be well founded and well projected. For political transition to pave its own path, government must be able to communicate well-established philosophical underpinnings of its own work program, policies, operations, decisions and actions. Political psychology says that a good political stimulus produces a good political response. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was in her element as a politician and leader when she laid down four fundamental political bases of her presidency: First, moral leadership at a time when many institutions are suspected to have been corrupted and made morally bankrupt by the previous regime; second, accountability and transparency in government at a time when minor and major business deals and transactions were widely believed to be limited only to the cronies of then President Joseph Estrada; third, a government of consultation and consensus when major policy decisions were the privilege of those close to the corridors of power; and, lastly, the ethics of effective implementation (result-oriented work ethics) when no one in government seemed to be interested in bottom lines that will have clear positive impact on the lives of the many who are poor. In a political transition, this core of political beliefs presented as cannot-be-compromised leadership commitments can only reap rewards of broad public support. Pronounced with a relatively good track record and coupled with a comparatively acceptable performance and style, President Arroyo can capture the public imagination and increase public political education, can indeed overcome a strong psychological initiative to neutralize those who attempt to discredit and to bring down a legitimate president outside constitutional processes. In the final analysis, the broad acceptability of that presidency renders to itself the much needed credibility and legitimacy to fix what ought to be fixed in a period of transition. Today, the government has to deal squarely with all major challenges, whether these challenges are part of political conspiracies or of conspirational OPLANs by organized and sporadic self-interested short-term opposition groups. In the immediate present a structural challenges like massive and grinding poverty will have to be adequately addressed in a fashion that is uniquely understood and appreciated by the many who are poor. Broad and faith-based groups have so far been very open and at times remain very critical in endorsing a government that is likely to shift and push political transition in favor of long-term national development goals. With the lessons and experiences of recent events still railing at the nations' error recovery efforts, government must demonstrate seriousness and decisiveness in bringing to final conclusion the following issues: 1) a fair trial of the cases of plunder and other crimes field against former president Estrada and his co-accused; 2) the extermination of all forms of criminal syndicates especially those for ransom money and kidnapings; 3) the resolution of armed conflicts led by the separatist and ideological movements through negotiations; 4) the formulation and implementation of a viable and sustainable poverty-reduction strategy that will enhance empowerment for, provide opportunity to, and ensure the security of 80 percent of Filipinos; and lastly, the dismantling of a well-entrenched corrupt political system that spawns self-serving turncoatism among politicians, a bureaucracy that has no respect for meritocracy, small, medium and large business deals made out of favoritism, and politics without vision and principles. The growing awareness and awakening of a large number of Filipinos across the archipelago will continue to increase the ranks of a "critical political mass" that is now far more ready to take responsibility roles if only to help redefine and redirect the possibilities and tendencies of Philippine democracy in transition. Leaders of this critical political mass have regular meetings and are found in the circles of faithbased groups, politically conscious business clubs and conglomerates, military and semi-military organizations, civil society formations, cause-oriented groups and parties of marginalized sectors. If handled properly, this emerging socio-political dynamics will soon define the dawning of new era of democracy-Philippine style. The common thread that binds the emerging socio-political forces seems to be "to avoid Marcos and Estrada politics and to bring about a new politics and good governance. What the country has today is the emerging influence of relatively young, extremely idealistic, and academically trained public officials who now occupy elective and appointive positions in government. These young leaders, very vocal and dynamic as they are, are most likely to lead in closing down the gaps of political transition in favor of strategic growth and stability. Many of them are active political players and have been trained by the best schools in the Philippines and abroad. On July 23, 2001, the Philippines opened its 12th congress. Predictably enough, the emerging leadership configuration in both Houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives, will largely be established along the path of President Arroyo's vision, agenda, and leadership calls for a new Philippines. Those with the upper hand of both Houses are from the ranks of the EDSA Dos People Power Coalition. The emerging political alignments within and outside the Philippine Congress, indeed, show a clearer signal of where the transition is headed. The effective socio-political causes upon which the people and the social institutions established the legitimacy of people power as a means to a greater end, will most likely help define the direction of the pendulum of today's political transition. President Arroyo knows no other chance to get the country away from the crossroads than today. Every serious Filipino knows no better opportunity to push for real reforms than now. This is the real challenge that 21st Century Filipinos have to face and overcome. The Filipinos can only hope that from hereon, talks and discussions on Philippine democracy in transition will slowly wither away even as we all become more interested in talking about a robust, a fruitful and a vibrant Philippine democracy finally put in place and in dynamic motion for all.

From http://www.mb.com.ph/ 02/02/2002

Poll Officers Told to Check on Voters Lists in Philippine

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) directed its election officers in 99 cities and 1,510 municipalities yesterday to preserve and protect the integrity of the list to be used in the May 13 barangay elections. The Comelec, headed by Chairman Alfredo L. Benipayo, told the election officers to file exclusion proceedings when necessary, and verify the lists of registered voters in the precincts by regular mail or house to house canvass. Comelec officials said the election officers may enlist the help of representatives of political parties and deputize non-government organizations (NGOs) and civic organizations in the verification and house-to-house canvass of registered voters in every precinct. They said the computer print-outs of the list of voters duly certified by the election registration board (ERB) shall be used for voting and other election related purposes as well as for legitimate research needs. The total number of voters in the permanent list shall be the basis for the printing of official ballots by the Comelec, it was pointed out. The Comelec added that the duly authorized representative of a registered political party or of a bonafide candidate shall have the right to inspect and/or copy at their expense the accountable registration forms and/or the list of registered voters in the precincts constituting the constituency of the candidate. But the Comelec stressed that the inspection and copying of the list of voters may be conducted only during office hours of the poll and shall be subject to reasonable regulations. The country has a total of 41,933 barangays. Under the law, each precinct shall have at least one precinct during the election. (by E. T. Suarez)

From http://www.mb.com.ph/ 02/16/2002

Public and Private Sector Rally behind Creation of Dept. of ICT in Philippine

Despite having been recently tagged by an international report that the country is ill-prepared to tap resources in the "networked world," the government and private sector show overwhelming collaboration to make the proposed Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) a reality. Before presenting the final draft of the bill creating the DICT, a public forum was held recently where distinguished members of the House of Representatives, the Information Technology and E-commerce Council (ITECC), and the Information Technology Association of the Phils. (ITAP) joined heads to tackle pressing matters concerning the formation of the new agency. The meeting aimed to redefine the roles of government and the private sector in ICT development while identifying tasks and powers of each when the DICT comes into play. By "government powers," Claro C. Parlade, private sector representative of the legal and regulatory committee of ITECC referred to either "broad" or "minimal" - the former following the Singapore and Malaysian models and the latter where the government merely becomes a "guide rather than an engine of growth." "We still have a lot of work to do to develop a coherent framework," he told reporters, hinting to the latest bill, the seventh one, filed recently at the House of Representatives. Nevertheless, Parlade pointed out the ITECC is "working on an accelerated timetable" to push ICT development in the country, not only with the formation of a new agency but also to put emphasis on matters on cybercrime and convergence, among others. DICT versus ITA Meanwhile, speaking before forum participants, Congressman Frank S. Perez II considered the Singapore and Malaysian models in ICT development as "formidable" ones. Perez is chairman of the Congressional working group which earlier introduced the proposed bill on the act creating the DICT. A draft of the bill forming the DICT - a consolidation of six filed earlier in Congress - will absorb the functions of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) and other government agencies. However, a seventh bill, a copy of which was obtained by Infotech showed the creation of a new department (of ICT) "calls for a huge budget and would be quite difficult to pursue and is impractical during these harsh economic times," Rep. Jacinto V. Paras stated in his explanatory note. House Bill No. 4240 introduced by Paras seeks the creation of an Information Technology Authority (ITA) - "a more viable and practicable way" to promote ICT in the country" - under the supervision of, and attached to, the DoTC. Like the consolidated sixth bill authored by Perez, former commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Simeon L. Kintanar, and the rest of the technical working group - the "Authority" will also "absorb already existing agencies" like the Telecommunications Office (TELOF) and the National Computer Center (NCC). Paras stated, "The TELOF has become seemingly irrelevant and its services outdated. It can be made full use of by this government if absorbed by the Information Technology Authority." "Huge government spending will be avoided and may be diverted to other priority projects of this administration," the congressman added in his note. In contrast, the previous bill proposing the creation of the DICT stated that it will take over "all offices, services, divisions, units, and personnel of the DoTC with functions and responsibilities dealing with communications." Functions and offices and personnel dealing with transportation will be transferred to the future Department of Transportation, stated the bill. The DICT will also absorb the NCC while the NTC, the Municipal Telephone Project Office, and the Philippine Postal Corp. will become agencies attached to the new department. However, these attached agencies will continue to function according to their respective mandates, the bill pointed out. "The DICT shall not exercise any power which will tend to influence or effect a review or a modification of the quasi-judicial functions of the NTC." A well-placed source at the House of Representatives revealed that two other committees - science and technology, and transportation and communications - will be "coming up" with a consolidated congressional bill "soon" that will "explicitly foster and accelerate" ICT development. It was undetermined when exactly a final bill will be filed but the Infotech source said "more (public) venues will be held to ensure transparency and promote a level playing field" between the public and private sectors in connection with the proposal to create a DICT. (by Patti B. Nisperos)

From http://www.mb.com.ph/ 02/17/2002

18 Generals Lead Mass Oath-Taking in Malacanang

Eight newly-designated ambassadors, 18 military generals and two undersecretaries for interior and local government led a mass oath taking Thursday at the Malaca?ang Palace. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also swore-in Chairman Dario Rama of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), and Chairman Florencio Padernal of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA). Among those who took their oath before Ms. Macapagal were Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya, deputy chief of staff of the Armed Forces and Maj. Gen. (ret) Voltaire Gazmin who was designated ambassador to Cambodia. Among those who took their oath were: Ambassador Rodrigo Aragon (Iran); Ambassador Alejandro del Rosario (Hungary); Ambassador Justo Orros Jr., (Mexico); Ambassador George Reyes (Argentina); Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla (Saudi Arabia); Ambassador Virgina Benavidez (Brunei Darussalam) and Ambassador Jose Quirolgico (Qatar); Rear Admiral Ruben Domingo of the Philippine Navy and major generals Nemesio Sigaya, Romeo Dominguez, Carlos Garcia, Roy Kyamko, Alfonso Dagudag and Glicerio, all from the Philippine Army; Brigadier generals Jose Alberto Velasco, Pedro Cabuay Jr, Ricardo Faustino, Jose Reyes, Antonieto Ferrer, Alan Cabalquinto, Ronald Kempis, Ernesto Lumang Jr., Edgardo Israel and Felipe Berroya, all from the Army. (by Fe Zamora)

From http://www.inq7.net/ 02/28/2002

Administrative Reform is Progressing in Viet Nam

Viet Nam's administrative reform programme for the 2001-2010 period has been underway with priorities put on reforming State administrative institutions, reforming State administrative apparatus, renovating and improving public servants' quality and reforming public administration. Last year, the Government accelerated the law-building work with the revision of the 1992 Constitution, the Law on Government Organisation and the Law on People's Council and People's Committee Organisation. The revision aims to shift State functions from the centrally-subsidised mechanism to a new mechanism in the market-oriented economy, preparing conditions for the rearrangement of Government apparatus. The revised Constitution and the Law on Government Organisation were passed by the 10th National Assembly. The revised Law on Organisation of People's Council and People's Committee will be completed and submitted to the National Assembly at the upcoming session. The Government Office has used information technology in the State management work on large scale and is preparing for the establishment of information systems and e-data centres. In 2001, the Prime Minister decided to invest VND 1,000 billion (USD 71 million) in implementing a project on computerising State administrative management in the 2001-2005 period so that public services for the people and businesses will be available via networks by the end of 2005. The Government has recently issued a decree on decentralising management in several fields in Ho Chi Minh City - a leading unit in rearranging apparatus. Last year, the city carried out employment assignments and administrative management assignments on a trial basis. To accelerate administrative reform, the Government will issue new regulations on decentralisation between central and local levels and among local authorities, and on adjustment of the structure of ministries and government agencies. New regulations also aim to improve the working formula at administrative agencies and adjust the functions and tasks of the Government, ministries and local authorities.-VNA

From http://www.vnagency.com.vn/ 02/17/2002

TOP↑

New National Committee of Junior Chamber in Bangladesh


The Junior Chamber Bangladesh announced its new national committee for the Year 2002 in its 2nd annual conference held in the city recently. The programme marked the installation of the new executive committee. Waqar Chowdhury took over as its president at the ceremony. Other members of the committee are JC Data (GS), JC Asif, JC Atiq, JC Adib, JC Safeena, JC Iftekhar, JC Partho, JC Mamun, JC Tahseen, JC Farzul, JC Anirban and JC Saif. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a former minister and business leader, attended the programme as chief guest. Junior Chamber International Senator and Past Vice-President K V Valap Das was also present. Saber Hossain also gave away the certificates to the participants of a training seminar on marketing which was a part of the conference. Junior Chamber Bangladesh is a fully affiliated member of Junior Chamber International, an organization existing in over 123 countries. The aim of the organization is to provide a platform for young professionals and businesspersons all over the world to establish networks that can help further their own professional interests. It is also a forum for individual training and development and community and social welfare enhancement as well. Affiliated in 1999, Junior Chamber Bangladesh has been successfully carrying out many programmes that fulfil the goals and visions of this international body.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/20/2002

Bangledesh: Probe into Alleged Irregularities in NGOs Begins

The government has initiated an investigation into alleged irregularities in some non-government organizations (NGOs) working in the country's development sector, official sources said. A unified NGO policy is also being formulated in the first such move to strengthen government control on these development partners and to ensure their 'transparency and accountability.' Some of the NGOs allegedly have political affiliation and spent funds for projects other than the specified ones, for which the funds were allocated by the donor agencies. The government list of NGOs having such alleged irregularities include Proshika, PRIP Trust, Nari Pragati Sangha and some other organizations. According to NGO sources, the government has asked the NGO Bureau to investigate activities of nearly 50 NGOs out of about 2000, which were allegedly working against the interest of BNP-led four party alliance before the last general election. Officials of the bureau and those of intelligence agencies asked them to produce sector-wise estimates of their earnings and expenditures in development sector. Several NGOs have already closed their operations, the sources said. Asked about the investigation, a senior official of the NGO Bureau only said, "The government would take appropriate steps when the investigation is completed." The NGOs apparently split into two camps as a group of their representatives met Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at her office about a month ago. One group led by Kazi Faruk criticised recent government actions while the other led by Khushi Kabir supported the government decisions regarding NGOs. Earlier, the prime minister had announced that her government would ensure accountability of the NGOs and take action against those found involved in irregularities. An inter-ministerial meeting then decided that a unified code of conduct for the NGOs should be formulated. Meanwhile, following the government decision, the donor agencies have started thinking of new work-plans for providing financial assistance to the NGOs. The donors reviewed the latest development at a meeting last week, keeping in mind the upcoming aid group meeting in Paris. "Donors will go by the government policy on allocation of funds so that the organizations do not face any hazard in obtaining funds," said a top NGO official.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/20/2002

Meeting Today on Mayoral Polls, EC May Finalise Schedule for 3 City Corpns

The Election Commission (EC) meets today to discuss the schedule of the long-pending mayoral elections to three metropolitan cities including the capital. The four-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner MA Syed may finalise the polls schedule in today's meeting, sources said, adding that the date for voting might be fixed in early April. The EC geared up its preparations for holding the city corporation elections in Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi after disputes over demarcation of wards of the three cities were settled by the High Court last week. The elections to the three city corporations overdue by about three years could not be held due to writs filed against city ward demarcation. Elections to the Chittagong City Corporation were also delayed by about a year following similar disputes. But they were later held in early 2000 after the dispute was settled. The last elections to the country's four city corporations were held simultaneously in January 1994 installing the first-ever-elected mayors in the country. Until then, the government used to appoint the mayors through executive orders although the ward commissioners were elected through popular votes. Despite the EC's move to hold the city corporation elections, the BNP-led ruling coalition and the main opposition Awami League are learnt to have taken opposite stances as regards the local polls. Elections to the local government bodies are held on a non-partisan basis. But traditionally the major political parties field their unofficial candidates, generating much enthusiasm in the political arena. The ruling BNP wants the city polls to be held at the earliest while the Awami League is opposing any elections under incumbent CEC MA Syed. The AL has accused him of being biased after losing the last general election in October last. "We will not contest any election under MA Syed who proved his bias towards the BNP-led alliance in the last general election," AL General Secretary Zillur Rahman was quoted by the daily Bhorer Kagoj on Monday. He told the daily that his party sticks to its demand for the CEC's resignation. The AL boycotted the recent parliamentary by-elections alleging that the country's political atmosphere was not conducive for holding fair polls. Meantime, the BNP aspirants for the mayoral posts in the three cities have become active and are lobbying for the party's backing. Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sadek Hossain Khoka, who heads the BNP's Dhaka city unit, has already launched his election campaign. Khoka, whose candidature was announced by the BNP chief about two years ago, has already printed colourful posters and drawn graffiti on walls seeking votes. Business tycoon Abdul Awal Mintoo, who joined the BNP before the last general election, is also aspiring to get the ruling party ticket for the mayoral election in Dhaka. Besides, Housing and Public Works Minister Mirza Abbas, who was formerly a mayor of Dhaka, also figures in political discussions as another prospective mayoral candidate in the capital. Posters and graffiti seeking supports for Abbas are also seen in some areas of the city. Nevertheless, the BNP high command is yet to publicly announce the Dhaka mayoral candidate. The ruling party is facing a similar crisis in selecting mayoral candidates in two other cities-- Khulna and Rajshahi. But party insiders hope that such problems would be settled shortly after the election schedules are announced.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/28/2002

Vajpayee Plays Down National Impact of State Polls

NEW DELHI (PNS): Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Monday played down the national implications of looming state polls as a senior minister rejected speculation that a poor performance by his party could trigger an early national election. Two months into India's dangerous military stand-off with Pakistan, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said that the state elections from Wednesday to February 21 were not a referendum on his leadership. "Where does the centre (national government) come into the picture?" Vajpayee asked journalists in New Delhi. "There are no complaints against the centre and if there are any, they are against the states." Analysts see the elections as a test of the BJP's popularity and say a poor showing in Uttar Pradesh could damage the BJP, triggering desertions from the national coalition and an early federal election. But a senior minister said even the main opposition Congress party did not want a national election before the due date of 2004. "They themselves want more time to get ready," he said, asking not to be named and referring to discord within Congress. The BJP and its allies rule three of the four states holding elections, and the fourth is under federal control because of a bloody insurgency. Polls show the BJP and its allies struggling to hold on to power in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal and virtually certain to lose in a landslide to the Congress party in Punjab, India's food bowl. Punjab goes to the polls on Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh begins its three-phase election on Thursday and ends it on February 21, Uttaranchal votes on Thursday and Manipur on Thursday and February 21.

From http://www.paknews.com/ 02/12/2002

Indian Voters Stream to the Polls

LUCKNOW, India -- Indian voters have streamed to the polls in the first of four state elections. Polling began Wednesday in the northern state of Punjab, which borders Pakistan. Polling in populous Uttar Pradesh, the traditional heartland of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), starts on Thursday. The small hill state of Uttaranchal and the rebellion-torn northeastern state of Manipur are also due to vote in the elections which cover a population of more than 200 million. The polls are being held in stages to allow police to be moved around the country to prevent violence. Analysts see the elections as a test of the popularity of the national ruling coalition, during a period of increased military tensions with Pakistan. Some 60,000 police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Manipur in India's turbulent northeast where rebels groups have threatened to disrupt the voting. Opinion polls have suggested the BJP, which control the Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal assemblies, and whose allies are in charge in Punjab, will lose ground in the elections, despite the popular stand against Pakistan. Defeat in the state elections would not be enough to drive the BJP from office in New Delhi. But it would damage the credibility of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during the high-risk confrontation with Pakistan. India and Pakistan have massed close to a million men along their common border, following an attack on India's parliament in December, which New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists. In the closing days of the campaign, the BJP has been playing up its tough stance on Pakistan, and on terrorism -- which included a post-September 11 ban on a hardline Islamic students' union, to try to swing the vote. But opposition parties and voters alike have dismissed this stance as merely a stunt to win the state elections. In Uttar Pradesh alone -- India's biggest state with a population of 166 million -- some 30,000 paramilitary troops from states in the south and west of India have been called in to reinforce several hundred thousand state security forces for voting in three different areas on February 14, 18 and 21. For the first time Uttar Pradesh will use electronic voting machines across the state to stamp out a once common practice of stuffing ballot boxes. Uttar Pradesh, northeast of Delhi, is one of India's wildest states, notorious for caste and communal violence and crime. Overshadowed by the stand-off with Pakistan, the state elections are being fought on an odd mix of war and local politics, with the average voter more likely to complain about poverty, price rises and unemployment than to debate the big national issues of the day. Results will be known on February 24.

From http://asia.cnn.com/ 02/13/2002

Hurriyat's 'People's Election' More Novel than Practical

NEW DELHI - A key group that represents a segment of Kashmiri opinion critical of the Indian state, the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, this week made the dramatic announcement that it will hold a "people's election" in both the Indian and Pakistani parts of Jammu and Kashmir. This will be conducted by an independent "election commission", the group said on Tuesday. The commission, the 23-party Hurriyat conglomerate says, will comprise six non-government members, four Indians and two Pakistanis. Its co-chairs will be an Indian civil-rights activist, Tapan Bose, and former Pakistan Supreme Court chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah. The idea of holding a "people's" election is certainly novel. But how practical it is, and how much moral and political legitimacy it can command, is another issue. The announcement has already been opposed by the National Conference that rules in the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir. And the Indian government has declared it "unconstitutional" and unviable. Others are critical too. "The trouble with Hurriyat's Commission is that some of its members are simply unknown in Kashmir. They may not command much respect," says Sonia Jabbar, a writer and analyst who has been researching the possibilities for reconciliation in Kashmir. Nevertheless, the move indicates both a softening on the part of the Hurriyat, and pressure to show that it has some popular following in the Kashmir Valley. This pressure is related to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's January 12 address condemning all violence, even in the cause of Kashmir's "freedom", and his later declaration that Pakistan will "morally" support only groups with indigenous roots. The stated objective of the independent "election" is to determine who really represents the people of Jammu and Kashmir - fairly and "impartially". Implicit here is the view that a free and fair election cannot be conducted under the auspices of the Indian government. "Official" elections to the Jammu and Kashmir legislature are due by September. Another Hurriyat aim is to disprove New Delhi's contention that the militancy or "people's movement" in Kashmir is largely Pakistan-sponsored. On Tuesday, Hurriyat spokesman Abdul Gani Butt said that after the election, the organization would join India and Pakistan at the "negotiating table" to decide the fate of the "disputed" territory of Jammu and Kashmir. (New Delhi rejects this description.) Hurriyat has said it will hold the election in three phases in the predominantly Muslim Kashmir Valley, in the largely Hindu Jammu region, in the Buddhist-dominated cold desert of Ladakh, and in "Pakistan-occupied" or "Azad" (Free) Kashmir. No time frame has been specified. Meanwhile, the Indian government is going ahead with its preparations for elections to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly. India has also taken an unsteady diplomatic-political initiative for dialogue and reconciliation with the Hurriyat and others. In the past two years, India twice reached a ceasefire agreement with Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest indigenous militant group that has been fighting for independence from New Delhi since 1989. The ceasefire did not hold for long. Since the December 13 attack on India's parliament, which New Delhi blames on Pakistani-supported groups, Hizbul Mujahideen has come under increasing pressure from India and Pakistan. New Delhi's current initiative seeks to draw the Hurriyat into the electoral process. The Hurriyat has never contested an election, but claims to be the "authentic representative" of the people. The Hurriyat is not homogeneous in its ideology or organizational links with militant groups. Most of its leaders advocate azadi - a word that connotes anything from autonomy within the Indian Union to sovereign independence, but whose meaning has never been defined on the ground. A minority of Hurriyat leaders wants Kashmir's merger with Pakistan. Some Hurriyat constituents profess secular pluralism. A majority is Islamist. But only a few advocate Islam of the militant variety. (Kashmiri Islam is highly syncretic, with strong Buddhist and Hindu influences. It is derived from the sufi or mystic-romantic tradition.) The Hurriyat's "election" proposal is sure to polarize opinion three ways. One current will reject it outright as an effort to illegitimately smuggle in a plebiscite through the back door. The United Nations Security Council mandated a plebiscite half a century ago to allow Kashmiris to choose whether they would join India or Pakistan. (There was no third option.) It has never been held. The relevant UN resolutions have more or less lapsed and been declared unimplementable by Secretary General Kofi Annan. The anti-plebiscite view is likely to find support among India's conservative politicians, who will instead insist on "normal" state-controlled elections. A second trend of opinion would broadly support the Hurriyat plan to expose the Indian government and its "lack of respect" for Kashmiri public opinion. This is likely to find backers among Pakistan's conservatives. Islamabad too would be inclined to support this because that weakens New Delhi's stranglehold over the political process in Kashmir. As a non-status-quo power, Pakistan is likely to back anything that questions India's dominance in Kashmir. A third trend would welcome Hurriyat's desire to participate in electoral politics. But it would ask the Hurriyat to take part in the "official" assembly elections, which should be monitored by independent observers, especially from South Asia. Such a demand could find reasonable acceptance in Kashmir, provided New Delhi indicates it is willing to offer Jammu and Kashmir exceptional autonomy or some other extraordinary concession. Monitoring of elections by friendly non-governmental organizations or eminent citizens is not new in South Asia. But the Indian government is prickly about election monitoring by "foreigners" and views it as interference with India's "sovereignty". Another likely obstacle is the oath of allegiance to the Indian constitution that all candidates must take before contesting an election in Kashmir. Since many Hurriyat leaders question Kashmir's accession to India, they will be reluctant to take that oath - except for tactical convenience. The obstacles are not insuperable. An independently monitored "official" election may be a far more practical alternative that an "unofficial" one cutting across national boundaries. "The monitoring will have credibility for the people if the observers have unimpeachable integrity and a strong record of defending human rights," says Jabbar. Similar views are also expressed by some Kashmiri politicians, such as People's League leaders, who reject the Hurriyat's commission. Says League spokesman Manzoor Ahmad: "Mahatma Gandhi did not seek a mandate from the people for independence from the British. There is no need for such a commission." Whether the Hurriyat proceeds with its plans or not remains unclear. In the past, it has often hesitated, prevaricated and changed decisions. However, the election proposal could well open a dialogue with the Indian government and with civil society groups. This would be welcome. Even more welcome would be a serious change in India's official policy, which remains trapped between "anti-terrorism" hardliners who wish to emulate the United States and Israel, and those who want dialogue and reconciliation. (by Praful Bidwai)

From http://www.atimes.com/ 02/19/2002

India's Ruling BJP Loses Punjab, Uttaranchal State Polls

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost the Punjab and Uttaranchal state elections and conceded defeat in Uttar Pradesh, its traditional power bas. In the northern agricultural state of Punjab, which borders Pakistan, the opposition Congress party grabbed an absolute majority of 59 seats compared with 39 seats won by the ruling alliance of the Shiromani Akali Dal and its junior partner, the BJP, with 106 constituencies decided. There are a total of 117 legislature seats in Punjab, which is home to most of India's Sikh population. The chief minister-hopeful is Captain Amarinder Singh who won from Patiala, once ruled by his forefathers. Ambika Soni from the Congress party said: "I don't think we have been far off the mark. It was on Feb 5 when Congress President went for the first one-day-campaign in Punjab. By the end of the evening after her campaign, it was generally sensed that the tide had turned in favour of the Congress." The newly formed state of Uttaranchal has also voted out the BJP, a major shock in one of India's youngest states formed after a prolonged hill people's movement. This was one state where the BJP was hopeful of returning to power. State television however said the Congress had won 36 seats, enough for a simple majority in the 70-member state legislature. The BJP, which ruled Uttaranchal carved out of giant Uttar Pradesh state two years ago, took 18 seats. Independents and others grabbed 16 seats. In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Rajnath Singh said that he would not try to form a government after provisional results showed the BJP trailing badly behind the regional populist Samajwadi Party in the state election. Uttar Pradesh is India's biggest state, with 166 million people, and control of the state has traditionally been seen as key to control of the country. There are 400 seats in the Uttar Pradesh legislature and no one party has won a majority. It's a three-way split, with the BJP as the biggest loser. Samajwadi Party or SP has emerged as the largest party here but it is not celebrating as yet because in this three-cornered contest, the other two, the BJP and BSP, can combine to form the largest party. So, it is now a fractured mandate and the ball is in the court of the federally-appointed governor of the state, who would play a crucial role in deciding the next government. The governor will have to ascertain who can get a majority in the legislature. And to get a majority, political parties will not hesitate in breaking up other parties. Sunil Shastri of the BJP said: "It's to be seen whether we emerge as the single largest party. If not, the party which comes as the single largest party may stake the claim. "It is a fractured mandate. If it remains like that and the final results show a different picture from our expectations, naturally we have to decide accordingly." The state polls, also being held in the northeastern state of Manipur, appeared to give an even worse showing for the BJP than expected. Defeat in the state polls would not drive the BJP, which dominates the ruling national coalition government, from office in New Delhi and national elections are not due until 2004. But it would dent the credibility of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He badly needs a victory to push through economic reforms to lift economic growth and tackle poverty - cited by many voters as the key issue in the polls. (by Shashank Vaid)

From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 02/24/2002

President Sets Reform Agenda for the Budget

NEW DELHI: Setting the reform agenda for the Budget to achieve 8 per cent growth, President K.R. Narayanan on Monday said agriculture will be freed from the shackles of the past by modifying Essential Commodities Act and allowing inter-state movement of farm products. Marking the beginning of the Budget session by his address to Parliament, Narayanan said the government will take steps to strengthen rural credit cooperatives to provide critical input to farmers at their doorsteps and formulate comprehensive strategy to check post-harvest losses totalling Rs 70,000 crore annually. Voicing concern over the economic slowdown, Narayanan said reforms in power sector, which is at crossroads, would be hastened and more schemes will be formulated to strengthen small scale industries to meet the challenges of globalisation. Noting that poor financial health of the state electricity boards was the primary reason for the alarming situation in the sector, Narayanan said the new electricity Bill would make power reforms mandatory for all states. "It will be incumbent upon the states to set up their own state electricity regulatory commissions. At the same time, however, the Bill is flexible to give freedom to states concerned to adopt its own model of reforms depending upon the ground realities," he said. Stating the new tourism policy will be finalised soon, Naryanan said it will focus on public-private to provide infrastructure and tourism services to make the industry as a major catalyst of economic growth.

From http://www.expressindia.com/ 02/25/2002

Indian Media Rubs Salt into BJP's Electoral Wounds

NEW DELHI (AFP): The rout of India's governing BJP party in crucial state elections has dealt a severe body blow to its image as the dominant power in the central coalition government, Indian newspapers said yesterday. Banner headlines like "BJP gets vote of no confidence" in the Hindustan Times and "BJP falls off pedestal" in the Asian Age summed up the media verdict as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's party emerged beaten and bloodied from elections in four states. In India's most populous and politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, the Hindu nationalist BJP was beaten into second place by the regional Samajwadi Party, although no group won enough seats to form and administration on its own. A BJP government was ousted in Uttaranchal state by the main opposition Congress party, which also took over Punjab from the BJP and its allies and was expected to win in the northeastern state of Manipur. While the worse-than-expected results pose no immediate threat to the BJP-led coalition in New Delhi, they are a clear indication that the party's star is on the wane. "Of course, it can be argued that the verdict is not a reflection on the performance of the BJP-led government at the centre, although few would fall for it," the Indian Express said in an editorial. "The results will indeed be seen as a commentary on the party's style of functioning. "There's a clear warning in the results for the Vajpayee government which can ignore it only at its peril," the newspaper said. The Hindustan Times said the main message of the state polls was that Vajpayee's party was in "deeper trouble" than it realises. "When you compare the electoral performances of the two parties, it is clear that the Congress is now on the ascendant and the BJP is on the decline," the Times said. "The BJP is now a party that has lost its way." The results showed that voters concerned about the economy, unemployment and services had not responded to the BJP's campaign focus on the issues of terrorism and national security. Vajpayee had been hoping for a patriotic vote of confidence in his party at a time when India is locked in a military face off with Pakistan. "If there is one central message, that has emerged at the end of the latest electoral exercise, it is the outright rejection by the electorate... on divisive, extraneous issues that the BJP laid so much store by," the Asian Age said.

From http://www.dailystarnews.com/ 02/26/2002

India's BJP Routed in State Polls

NEW DELHI (Reuters): India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was routed on Sunday in state polls, including in its traditional power base Uttar Pradesh, denting its credibility as the dominant force in national politics. BJP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh conceded defeat in Uttar Pradesh, India's biggest state, after his party came in second behind the populist regional Samajwadi Party. The Congress party also ousted a BJP government in the hill state of Uttaranchal, toppled the BJP and its Akali Dal allies in Punjab to the north, and looked well-placed to win power in the remote northeastern state of Manipur. The BJP's showing was worse than expected and, while the state polls will not drive the BJP-led national coalition from office, they could reduce Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's prestige. "This is a clear verdict against the BJP," Italian-born Congress leader Sonia Gandhi told reporters. The state polls came at a crucial time for the government. Not only is it locked in a military stand-off with Pakistan, it also badly needs to revive reforms to boost economic growth. The BJP had tried to win votes by playing on its tough stand against nuclear rival Pakistan - it sent the Indian army to the border to force Islamabad to crack down on militants whose campaign against Indian rule in Kashmir New Delhi says is supported by Pakistan. Islamabad denies the charge. But most voters said they were more concerned with the economy, jobs and basic services like electricity and roads. Economic growth is estimated at 5.4 per cent in the financial year ending in March - high by developed country standards but too low to tackle poverty. "The result will have no bearing on the stability of the government at the centre," Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters. But some said the poor showing might make the national government, which presents its annual budget on Thursday, even more reluctant to push through unpopular economic reforms. "It is bound to affect the central government as it may go slow on taking harsher economic measures. They would not want to alienate the people more," said D.K. Srivastava, an economist with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

From http://www.dawn.com/ 02/26/2002

Home Grown Economic Reform Package on Way in Sri Lanka

Economic Reforms, Science and Technology Minister Milinda Moragoda who is now in Washington has told the IMF and World Bank officials that the UNF government will implement a fully home grown economic package in the coming months containing all the good economic policies of the previous administration and strategies of the new government. He said that this package would concentrate on economic reforms without making it a numbers game. "The Minister said that without trying to re-invent the wheel, all the good economic policies of the previous administration will be carried forward and new reforms will be introduced to enhance the medium-term growth potential of the economy and a comprehensive policy package will be articulated and implemented in the coming months," said a press release issued by the Ministry. The release further states: "The Minister had several fruitful meetings in Washington with key officials of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Thursday (31). At the IMF, he met Ms. Anne O. Krueger, the First Deputy Managing Director and Mr. Shigemitsu Sugisaki, the Deputy Managing Director, who is directly overseeing Sri Lanka. At the World Bank, he met Mr. Shengman Zhang, Managing Director, Ms. Micko Nishimizu, Vice President for South Asia, Motomichi Ikawa, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank. The Minister explained the broad development strategy of the new government on the lines laid down by the Prime Minister, Mr. Wickremesinghe, in his January 22 address to the Parliament. They exchanged ideas on how to make progress on economic reforms to overcome current economic difficulties and deep seated economic problems in Sri Lanka to help regenerate sustainable higher growth and enhance employment opportunities. The Minister elaborated on the approach of the new administration, including the on-going peace efforts, to make the most efficient use of the limited productive resources available in Sri Lanka without divisive politics and to work for a better future for all Sri Lankans. In this regard, on behalf of the new Prime Minister, he sought enhanced cooperation and financial and technical support of the two institutions. The officials of the two institutions were very pleased with the development strategy of the new government, as explained by the Minister and mentioned they would extend their fullest cooperation and support to help the country. They were very hopeful that the new government would see early success in its approach to address the economic problems in Sri Lanka. The Minister explained that the new government has already put in place a better administrative structure under the overall command of the new Prime Minister to improve policy formulation and implementation. He said that there is a need for further rationalisation of the structure, including through clearer delineation of work allocation and responsibilities to avoid duplication and improve governance. He mentioned his ambition to introduce, as Minister for Economic Reforms, deeper economic reforms at the early stages of the new administration. He particularly mentioned the need to improve the commercial viability of the public corporations such as the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Electricity Board which have been incurring heavy operational losses. He said that the strategy concentrates on promoting private sector participation in economic activity, for the benefit of the entire population. Referring to the CPC, he mentioned that a flexible pricing formula has already been introduced and that further reforms in the utility and other sectors are being contemplated. He also mentioned about the urgent need to improve the viability of the state-owned banks. He also mentioned about the need to improve accounting and information systems in the public sector, particularly aimed at better control of expenditure. The Minister said that without trying to re-invent the wheel, all good economic policies of the previous administration will be carried forward and new reforms will be introduced to enhance medium-term growth potential of the economy and a comprehensive policy package will be articulated and implemented in the coming months. He said that this package will be fully home grown and would concentrate on economic reforms without making it a numbers game. He mentioned that containing the fiscal deficit is important, but what is most important is to firmly establish the policy and institutional setting to ensure sustainable development. Referring to the on-going peace efforts he mentioned that the new government has been making progress with all good intentions and expressed hope for an early breakthrough in the peace process, in the form of extension of the ceasefire between the LTTE and the government as a further step towards a negotiated settlement. He appreciated the direct support from the Government of Norway in this regard. At the IMF meetings, Mr. Sugisaki mentioned that the Stand By Arrangement (SBA) was intended to bridge the financing facility until an arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) was finalized. He said that the SBA has gone off-track partly due to unexpected external factors and also due to policy slippages. Both, Ms. Anne Kruegar and Mr. Sugisaki stressed the urgent need to bring back budgetary discipline and curtailing overall budget deficit significantly to avoid a crisis. Ms. Krueger mentioned that no-country could sustain such a high budget deficit without running into crisis and expressed deep concern about the sharp reduction of fiscal revenues during the last few years. Both, Ms. Anne Krueger and Mr. Sugisaki, wanted the new administration to come up with a good economic policy package to ensure economic stabilization and to move on to a PRGF arrangement as early as possible. Mr. Sugisaki commended the new Government's approach and mentioned that a staff mission headed by Mr. Jeremy Carter has already left for Colombo to conduct SBA review discussion with the Government. They mentioned that they were pleased to help and wished Sri Lanka all success. The Minister also appreciated the work being done by Mr. Nadheem Ul Haque, the IMF's Resident Representative in Sri Lanka. At the meetings with the World Bank officials, Mr. Zhang, Ms Mieko and Mr. Ikawa, the Minister particularly mentioned about the on-going efforts to improve the living conditions in the North and the East. In this regard, the Minister stressed the need for support from the World Bank, to facilitate the peace process. Ms. Mieko mentioned that the World Bank is already involved in the Northeast of Sri Lanka and would further examine the possibility of providing support, including through a re-allocation of existing commitments. The Minister also indicated the need to expedite the finalization of the private sector development credit felicity to support the on-going economic reforms. The Minister also requested the World Bank, support to develop a better system of government procurement. The discussions also focused on the need for improving education, health and communication and public awareness programs in the country. The Minister also discussed the possible planning of the next Aid Group meeting to be held sometime in April or May, 2002. At the meeting with MIGA officials, the Minister sought greater involvement of MIGA in Sri Lanka and suggested that a mission to Colombo to develop a programme.

From http://origin.dailynews.lk/ 02/02/2002

Sri Lanka Ministry Will Render Better Services to Estate Workers

Estate Infrastructure Minister Periyasamy Chandrasegaran, said at a discussion held at P.S.E.D.P. Auditorium at Hatton, that the Estate Infrastructure Ministry was established to find solutions to estate workers problems and implement all development projects successfully. They have plenty of problems. They have problems on their social, economic and political situations. My ministry will not function for our own benefits or political gains. It will definitely render better services in all sections. It is our bounden duty to work hard for their upliftment obtaining all government assistance. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, has promised to grant me necessary funds for the implementation of all program to estate workers obtaining from many sources. I have decided to get all assistance and ideas from all NGO's functioning in the Plantation Sector. Ministry officials have discussed all avenues with Government Agents and NGOs for implementation of the program. NGOs and Government Agents have studied the hearts and problems of workers concerned. So, my Ministry has decided to approach them and get their best kind of services useful to Estate Workers. How to implement and where to implement all our projects are the questions. We decided to approach the NGOs who render services among Plantation Workers. They are the real people who have been serving in their Education, Sanitary, Housing and Lands and all other social problems. There are resources in the up-country. They should be made use for them. Estate Managements must co-operate with our Ministry in implementing our Development Projects and we have their advice and assistance. The employment problem has to be solved, for that we have to create more skills and train the youth efficiently. So, I call upon all NGOs functioning in the up-country to come forward to co-operate and implement all activities properly among estate workers." C. Navaratne, Director of Education in the Estate Infrastructure Ministry said that the Ministry has identified several programs for implementation during first 100 days of 2002 to bring good result to the estate community. It will implement the following programs:- 1). Taking over of 4 more estate hospitals and dispensaries and improving the other 22 hospitals. The Four Hospitals are in the estates of Protoff, Ragal, and Desford in Nuwara-eliya District and Dumbara in Ratnapura District. The construction of 3 more Water Supply schemes at Waltrim and Pedro in Nuwara-Eliya District and Elteb in Badulla District. 100 youths will be trained as CTB bus drivers, 120 youths for operation of Junior Machines, will be trained in Small industries, 200 women will be trained in Juki Machine operations 25 Estate schools will be up graded and issued with necessary equipment. Three Cultural Halls will be established. There are about 20,000 persons without National Identity Cards and they will be attended to. School Bands will be issued to five more schools. All these will be done in the hundred days program. Mr. Deensdayalu, Director of the Ministry told that 40,000 model houses will be built in a long term project for workers, 100 Community Creches will be built, 126 Agency post offices will be inaugurated on Estates, 125 Creches will be established and at present 20 Creches will be built and estate children will be looked after well. He shopped to implement all projects with the assistances of the Government Agents, Divisional Secretaries and NGOs in the plantation areas". Mr. M.B.C. de Silva, Secretary to the Ministry made the welcome address. Dr. Daniel, attached to the ministry also spoke. (by Maskeliya group correspondent)

From http://origin.dailynews.lk/ 02/02/2002

Sri Lanka Education and Cultural Ministry to Start Mobile Service

In line with the 100-day program of the Education, Human Resource Development and Cultural Ministry, arrangements have been made to set up a mobile Ministry service to provide expeditious and on the spot solutions to unsettled professional problems of teachers. The mobile service will attend to delayed salary conversions, payment of salary arrears, pensions, updating of personal files, distribution of schools resources, minimum school needs and intra district transfers. Eight districts within each province with a large number of problems will be identified during the first phase of the program. The 100-day program will mainly focus on enhancing academic infrastructure facilities in schools and training of teachers, an Education Ministry spokesman said. A special monthly bursary will be provided for over 1,000 selected children in Grades 10 and 13 from four districts to supplement their school education and minimise school drop outs under the 100-day program. These children, 390 from Anuradhapura, 234 each from Trincomalee, Moneragala and Hambantota will receive Rs. 500 during this two-year period. The Zonal Education directors have already been briefed on the selections criteria. Nine hundred teachers will be sent for foreign training in order to enrich their experiences and thereby motivate them to incorporate new ideas in the teaching learning process. Within the hundred days 240 teachers of them will depart for training. Thirty GCE Advanced Level teachers have already been sent under this program and 30 primary teachers have been selected through interviews. In addition selection of 150 Science teachers and 30 more AL teachers will be done shortly. The principals post in a number of leading National schools have fallen vacant and expeditious arrangements are being taken to fill them. The Ministry in consultation with the Teachers unions will prepare a minute to minimise inconsistencies in the 1996 Sri Lanka Teachers Services Minute, pointed out by various teacher categories, in order to facilitate regular and timely promotions of teachers. A review committee has already been appointed in this respect. (by Manjula Fernando)

From http://origin.dailynews.lk/ 02/06/2002

Local Polls in Sri Lanka: over 26,000 vie for 4,394 Places

The forthcoming Local Government polls for local bodies in 23 Districts other than Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu will be contested by 26,312 candidates from 28 political parties and 245 independent groups, an Elections Department press release stated yesterday. Polls for 23 districts will be conducted on March 20. Elections for seven local bodies in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu are to be held on March 25. Details of these two electoral districts will be released by the Department later. The total number of 4,394 candidates will be eligible for places in the 311 local bodies in 23 districts. A significant feature is the participation of youth, a 40 percent mandatory requirement. Some 10,512 youth are among the 26,312 candidates. Another salient characteristic was the higher number of rejected nominations lists. A total of 148 nominations lists - almost 10 per cent - submitted by political parties and independent groups have been rejected by the Department. Among them are UNP- 13, PA-7, EPDP-6, SLMC-5, JVP- 2, NLF-4, Liberal Party and SU three each. Eighty-two of the rejected lists have been submitted by registered political parties, while 66 lists have been from independent groups. Elections officials attributed this to signing errors and other shortcomings in the nomination lists such as an insufficient number of youth candidates. The EPDP's was the only list which was accepted by the Department for the Allaidivembu Pradeshiya Sabha in the Ampara District. In the Batticaloa District, only the Independent Groups of Abdul Nassar for the Eravur Pradeshiya Sabha and P. Alagadurai for the Porathivu Pradeshiya Sabha have been declared valid, the release said. Therefore, members for those local bodies will be selected only from those lists, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said. There will be 10 political parties and three Independent groups contesting the Colombo Municipal Council while the Dehiwela-Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council will be contested by five Political Parties and Sri Jayawardhanapura-Kotte MC will be contested by four political parties. No Independent groups will contest the last two bodies. Six political parties and two Independent groups will contest the Kandy Municipal Council, while five parties and two Independent groups will contest for Galle. Matale MC will have only five Political Parties with no Independent group. The Negombo Municipality will be contested by four Political Parties and one Independent group while Nuwara Eliya MC will have four political parties and one Independent group.

From http://www.dailynews.lk/ 02/11/2002

Sri Lankan Govt in Conflict over Cabinet Appointment

Sri Lanka's government is locked in its first major confrontation over an important cabinet appointment. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chose agricultural minister S B Dissanayake to take on the portfolio of social welfare. But President Chandrika Kumaratunga reportedly declined to swear him in at the last minute. Mrs Kumaratunga's spokesman said the cancelled swearing-in was due to "unforeseen circumstances" and that she is satisfied with the current non-cabinet minister handling the portfolio. But the cancellation is said to be politically motivated. Mr Dissanayake was a former confidant of the president. But his defection from her People's Alliance (PA) party last October led to the collapse of her government, and its eventual defeat in the December parliamentary election. Mrs Kumaratunga had already refused to swear in Mr Dissanayake as the social welfare minister in December, arguing that a corruption investigation against the minister was pending. Both sides agreed to a compromise to await the investigation report, but despite Mr Dissanayake being cleared of any wrongdoing, Mrs Kumaratunga on Tuesday backed out of giving him the prestigious job. Though Mr Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) ousted Mrs Kumaratunga's party in the December elections, the president is elected separately and she can remain in office until December 2005. Although Mr Wickremesinghe controls the government, the executive power of appointing ministers rests with the president. Both arguably have the power to block each other, with financial control resting w