Global News Post: Special Report

How best to serve Pakistan’s 750,000 IDPs?

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Rebecca
Conway/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Pakistani men displaced by fighting in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Khyber tribal region drink tea outside<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a shop near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">PESHAWAR</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - Residents escaping the latest round of fighting in
Khyber Agency in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) say they did not even have time to
bury their dead before leaving their homes in the Tirah valley.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They are the
latest of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled their homes in the
tribal belt close to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
over the past five years of Pakistani military operations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Conflict is not
the only cause of displacement - natural disasters have also played a role,
creating what humanitarians call a “complex emergency”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But despite the
existence of camps set up for internally displaced persons (IDPs) where the
government and humanitarian organizations provide assistance, most choose to
flee elsewhere - creating a challenge for those wanting to help these
vulnerable communities. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Over 75,000
people live in three established IDP camps (such as Jalozai, a half-hour drive
from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>)
which house families in tents or makeshift structures, and provide food aid,
medical facilities and drinking water. They also serve as a central
registration point for families arriving from areas hit by conflict or natural
disaster. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Large though
these camps are, they only account for 10 percent of the three-quarters of a
million IDPs, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Humanitarian
agencies are increasingly being pushed to take care of those who prefer to live
elsewhere; often in <st1:city w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:city>, the capital of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP), and elsewhere in KP. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NGOs and the UN
working in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
carry out so-called IDP vulnerability assessment and profiling (IVAP) surveys
to gather information on where off-camp IDPs are, and the type of support they
need - from shelter and food to health care and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
(WASH) assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They also gather
information about what IDPs say they will need on returning to their homes,
generally in FATA - with housing, security and agriculture of particular
concern to families. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IVAP findings
are then passed to humanitarian partners in an effort to ensure that assistance
is targeted where there is the greatest need. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The European
Commission-funded IVAP project recommends that aid agencies prioritize
assistance for off-camp families, 82 percent of whom have to pay rent and live
in difficult, cramped conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IDPs outside the camps <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Providing
humanitarian services outside of the camp environment can be challenging. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IDPs have direct
access to facilities at camps, but tribal customs, perceptions of camp life and
a preference to stay with relatives and friends, mean a large number of IDPs
choose to live outside the camps, making it more difficult for the authorities
and humanitarian organizations to keep track of them and offer assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Those providing
aid, and the IDPs receiving it, would be better served if distribution was
decentralized, said Sobat Khan Afridi, chairman of the Tehreek-e-Mutasireen
Khyber Agency, an NGO set up by different political parties to assist IDPs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It is easier
for larger organizations, especially international NGOs, to operate from the
camp as it is easier to manage for them. The problem is that it is still
difficult for all the families not living at the camp to reach Jalozai and get
aid,” said Afridi. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It would be
better if they set up distribution points across <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city> in the areas where a lot of IDPs
live. That would mean less stress for the authorities at Jalozai, and less
problems for off-camp IDPs too.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Yar Mohammed,
29, arrived in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>
from Tirah in January after walking with his family for five days, much of the
journey through heavy snow. He says going to Jalozai was not an option. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The ones
in the camps are the most vulnerable. They have no other means or resources to
set up something else for themselves."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I spoke to some
people who told me the facilities at Jalozai are not enough. They were going to
give just one tent to us, and that will not do for 10 people.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Instead,
Mohammed stayed with his cousin until he found a three-room mud house in the
Scheme Chowk area of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>.
He pays 4,000 <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
rupees (US$41) a month, and hopes to move his family to a better house soon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The movement of
off-camp families, especially those from Khyber, is very volatile. Sometimes
they are living with relatives. If they can afford it, they rent a house of
their own. We try our best to register all of them, but it is a challenge,”
said Faiz Muhammad, the KP government’s chief coordinator for IDPs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Efforts are made
to keep in touch with families who choose to live among relatives or rent
property. The government uses mobile phone numbers to register families living
off-camp, and officials try to reach families that are not registered in this
way during monthly food distributions at designated points, he added. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Even if they
are not staying at camp, most of them visit the food distribution points and
that allows us to get information from them, give them information and assess
the situation.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Humanitarian
organizations and the government have identified areas in and around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city> with a high
concentration of IDPs, and some assistance, such as medical care, is also
provided in those areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Identifying
off-camp families was a challenge because of the reluctance of many IDP
families to register, as well as humanitarian organizations’ own security
concerns. That was overcome to some extent by mapping families initially based
on information from IDPs living in camps, and then expanding the effort to
surveys of off-camp families in host communities,” said an aid worker with Save
the Children in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
who preferred anonymity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Moving on <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Khalid Shah from
Khyber Agency lives in Sufaid Dheri, a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>
neighbourhood that is home to an estimated 250 displaced families. Two years
ago, worried about the safety of his children as fighting escalated in the town
of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bara</st1:place></st1:city>, he
boarded up his small shop and left home. His first stop was Jalozai. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Everyone told
me that going to the camp was the best idea. It was safe and there was food and
shelter. But after a couple of months, I couldn’t take it any more,” Shah, 42,
said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He started
commuting from Jalozai to Sufaid Dheri, where he would earn a daily wage
loading and unloading goods in a market. Today, he lives in a two-room
apartment in the same neighbourhood with his family. He remains registered with
the Jalozai authorities, and often travels to the camp if he requires
assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I have managed
to move here, but my brother and his family are still in Jalozai. He works here
with me but stays registered there. You never know,” said Shah. The brothers
also take turns visiting their land and their shop in Bara every month. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For many
families, pessimistic about the prospects of peace in their villages and towns,
the next step is to plan for a new life away from Khyber. Many have sold their
land to buy property in and around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>.
Those with the money have set up businesses too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The day I am
convinced Bara is peaceful, I am going back,” said Shah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">However, those
without even modest financial resources are the real challenge for policymakers
in terms of a return strategy. The poorest of the IDPs have no option but to
register and live in camps like Jalozai, where the services provided are far
superior to what they could hope for back home. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The ones in the
camps are the most vulnerable. They have no other means or resources to set up
something else for themselves. They get health, education and food at the
camp,” said Faiz Muhammad of the KP government. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It’s an obvious
question: why would they go back?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Security fears <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Pakistani
officials say return plans cannot be successful until peace is established in
the affected areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We can only
begin working on a return programme for IDPs after the government and the
military determine that the affected area is safe,” said Faiz Muhammad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a refugee
camp on the outskirts of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
capital <st1:city w:st="on">Islamabad</st1:city>, home to many families displaced
by the conflict on the border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Sher Mohammed, from
the Mohmand Agency in FATA, says the military has cleared his village, but his
family members that visited still fear militant attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“My cousins went
back last summer and they had to come back because it was still dangerous
there. I can’t afford to go back unless it is absolutely safe. It costs 50,000
rupees to take my family back. If it’s not safe, I’ll have to spend another
50,000 rupees to come back here,” said the 40-year-old. “I don’t have that kind
of money.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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How best to serve Pakistan’s 750,000 IDPs?

Photo: Rebecca Conway/IRIN Pakistani men displaced by fighting in Khyber tribal region drink tea outside a shop near Peshawar ...

ASEAN Leaders Agree to 12-Month Extension of Deadline for Regional Integration

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">An
NNN-Xinhua Special Report<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">PHNOM PENH</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-XINHUA) -- Leaders of the Association
of South East Asian Nations (Asean) have agreed to extend the deadline to
realize economic, political and social integration among the 10 countries to
the end of 2015 from the originally-envisioned Jan 1, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
extended timeframe, coming amidst increasing pressure on <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>
as the global economy wobbles, reflects sober assessment by the Asean leaders
and underlines the urgent need for the body to forge closer partnerships with
neighbouring countries so as to achieve the ambitious goal on time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
its 45 years of development, Asean has been aspiring to become an integrated
community for a greater say on the world stage, with a practical role model of
the European Union.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite
the remarkable progress achieved in the past decade in boosting its
international profile and internal unity, Asean is still seen as facing an
uphill battle in its integration endeavours, based on factors such as the vast
development gaps, the actual implementation of signed documents and the
existence of conflicting political interests among the member States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Undaunted
by these challenges, however, Asean decision-makers have engaged their
counterparts from around the bloc in co-operation talks. The biannual Asean
Summit and related platforms including the "10 3" summit between
Asean and North East Asian partners China, Japan and South Korea are now
capturing attention beyond Asia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Leaders
of both Asean and six key Asia Pacific powers, including <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">South Korea</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
will kick-start negotiations of a broad free trade zone during the on-going
Asean summit and related meetings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), if realized,
would cover half of the world's population and further cement a shift in global
economic power from the West towards <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">It
is really an opportune moment for Asean to ride the tidal wave of <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>'s resurgence and bolster its significance by forging
closer ties from within and with bigger players on the continent as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By
further liberalizing the market, Asean will enjoy better efficiency in overall
development, particularly in the elimination of economic disparities that have
bothered the grouping for a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By
pooling more resources to tackle common challenges, the bloc will be better
positioned to fend off both internal and external risks, as shown by the
example of the Chiang Mai Initiative, under which Asean plus <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">South Korea</st1:place></st1:country-region>
built themselves a war chest of 240 billion USD to tackle international foreign
exchange issues affecting them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">And
most important of all, some Asean countries have to set aside controversial
issues such as territorial disputes and have faith in dialogue and peaceful
negotiation to build mutual trust. Otherwise, the hard-won regional stability
would be jeopardized and Asean integration a never-fulfilled dream. --
NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>

ASEAN Leaders Agree to 12-Month Extension of Deadline for Regional Integration

An NNN-Xinhua Special Report PHNOM PENH (NNN-XINHUA) -- Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) have agre...

Analysis: How real are Myanmar’s reforms?

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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9uTLDCXncGdHQIvlZUtjxqxW-EJu70wzH7bKmjwS58pTWIURPtpXFPG-F4hMMuSOoZrbySS2g2MS9VkjEPOndIt3LKlRijDpBJt4lBER1m2vFuOC4aM8MvKG2vZctuZF_GSpdeaQrz0/s1600/201210311502060404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9uTLDCXncGdHQIvlZUtjxqxW-EJu70wzH7bKmjwS58pTWIURPtpXFPG-F4hMMuSOoZrbySS2g2MS9VkjEPOndIt3LKlRijDpBJt4lBER1m2vFuOC4aM8MvKG2vZctuZF_GSpdeaQrz0/s1600/201210311502060404.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/film" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">IRIN Film</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fighting continues in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">LONDON</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - The visit of <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> President Barack Obama to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> on 19
November has renewed international interest in the country’s democratic
reforms, but also skepticism about their impact on the lives of ordinary
Burmese.<br />
<br />
Since <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
reform-minded President Thein Sein came to office in March 2011, hundreds of political
prisoners have been released, freedom of assembly has been allowed, media
censorship has eased, and the country’s cabinet has been reshuffled.<br />
<br />
“Ministers regarded as conservative or underperforming were moved aside, and
many new deputy ministers appointed. There are now more technocrats in these positions
and the country has its first female minister,” Jim Della-Giacoma, <st1:place w:st="on">South East Asia</st1:place> project director for the International
Crisis Group (ICG), told IRIN.<br />
<br />
But analysts and observers argue that economic hardship, ongoing ethnic
conflicts and a history of media censorship will prove more serious challenges
to reform in this former pariah state.<br />
<br />
According to an ICG report entitled <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>: Storm Clouds on the
Horizon, much of the government’s attention will need to be focused on
controlling the country’s multiple internal ethnic conflicts - a real threat to
national stability.<br />
<br />
“Containing and resolving the inter-communal conflict that has engulfed <st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>,
and reaching a ceasefire in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, are the
government’s main immediate problems,” said the 12 November report.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Economic hardship<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
While the headline-grabbing democratic reforms are welcome, resulting in
millions of dollars in international development and humanitarian assistance,
many believe they fail to address the economic hardships of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s 58
million people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
Maung Zarni, founder of the Free Burma Coalition and a fellow at the
London School of Economics, says Thein Sein’s reforms “are largely geared
towards creating a `late developmental state’ along the lines of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Vietnam</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>… Sadly, the West and the rest
alike are choosing to overlook the apparent pitfalls of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>'s reforms, ignoring the cries of the
wretched of a new <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”<br />
<br />
Sein Win, managing editor of New Delhi-based Mizzima News, (founded by <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>
exiles), agrees. “Change is happening in the upper levels of government... but
the lives of the people are largely the same as before,” he said.<br />
<br />
And while there are high hopes that the recent easing of international
sanctions will change things, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>
remains one of the poorest countries in <st1:place w:st="on">Southeast Asia</st1:place>.<br />
<br />
Ordinary people see little tangible improvement in their day-to-day lives, and
inflation is having an adverse effect on the lives of many Burmese.<br />
<br />
According to the UN’s most recent Integrated Household Living Conditions
Assessment, the average proportion of total household budget spent on food is
68 percent (74 percent for the poorest 30 percent of the population).<br />
<br />
Almost one third of the country’s population lives below the poverty line, according
to the World Bank, which recently approved a US$245 million development package
to the country.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We
want the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>
and the poor in particular to see the reform can lead to real benefits,” said
Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank’s country manager for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Internal conflict<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
But the path to reform will be difficult given long-standing ethnic conflicts,
many of which date back to independence from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1948, analysts say.<br />
<br />
While the government over the past year has forged a number of tentative
ceasefire agreements with many non-state armed groups which have been fighting
for greater autonomy in the east, fighting in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>’s northern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>
between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), continues
unabated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
Since the collapse of a 17-year-old ceasefire in June 2011, some 75,000 people
have been displaced and humanitarian needs are growing, reports the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).<br />
<br />
At the same time, more than 100,000 people, nearly all Rohingyas, have
been displaced in western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, after inter-communal
violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June.<br />
<br />
The conflict is a major test for the Thein Sein government, say activists, who
are calling on Obama to make it clear that the attacks on the Rohingya need to
stop if the government wants to avoid renewed international sanctions.<br />
<br />
“This is crunch time because <st1:country-region w:st="on">Burma</st1:country-region>’s
failure to contain sectarian violence in Arakan [Rakhine] State and hold
accountable those responsible calls into question the Burmese government’s
stated goal of becoming a rights-respecting, multi-ethnic state,” said Brad
Adams, <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> director at Human Rights Watch
(HRW).<br />
<br />
According to HRW, Burmese security forces have restricted the access of
international humanitarian agencies to the area, while aid workers say international
donors are failing to deliver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Upcoming elections<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
And then there is the future role of the National League for Democracy (NLD)
party and its iconic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who have been on the frontline of
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
fight for democratic reform for decades.<br />
<br />
Political leaders have conflicting views about how power should be shared under
the constitution as well as after the 2015 election; while many believe what is
needed now is moral leadership to calm tension and seek compromises if divisive
confrontation is to be avoided.<br />
<br />
An NLD landslide “may not be in the best interests of the party or the country,
as it would risk marginalizing three important constituencies: the old
political elite, the ethnic political parties and the non-NLD democratic
forces. If the post-2015 legislatures fail to represent the true political and
ethnic diversity of the country, tensions are likely to increase and fuel
instability. The main challenge the NLD faces is not to win the election, but
to promote inclusiveness and reconciliation,” the ICG report says.<br />
<br />
The NLD could support developing a system that would give a greater say in
politics to marginalized minority groups under the current “first past the
post” system, says ICG.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, the government could form an alliance with other parties,
particularly with ethnic parties, and agree not to compete against them in
certain electorates.<br />
<br />
“Finally, the government could support an interim `national unity’ candidate
for the post-2015 presidency. This would reassure the old guard, easing the
transition to an NLD-dominated political system. Critically, this option could
also build support for the constitutional change required to allow Aung San Suu
Kyi to become president,” says ICG.<br />
<br />
<b>“Window dressing”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
Although Thein Sein has spearheaded unprecedented change in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>, some
critics remain cynical about his motives for allowing Aung San Suu Kyi to run
for election.<br />
<br />
“The government is using her image as a democracy icon to promote and protect
their way of reform. Their strategy is one of using your enemy's good name to
reach your own objective,” says Sein Win of Mizzima News.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
impetus behind the government’s democratic reforms, he adds, goes beyond just
promoting foreign trade.<br />
<br />
Some accuse the government of carrying out “window-dressing” reforms to please
Western governments and enable the lifting of sanctions.<br />
<br />
“The dictatorship hurt the nation's pride. But they also want to lead the
change. There will be less electoral fraud in 2015, but at the same time they
will be smarter and will effectively use their political framework to weaken
opposition. Of course, monitoring from the UN and international community is
essential,” Sein Win adds.<br />
<br />
He believes that Western countries can help <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> by permanently lifting
sanctions, which proved to be extremely harsh on the majority of the
non-political classes.<br />
<br />
Derek Tonkin from the NGO Network <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region> says
that sanctions are potentially a valuable diplomatic weapon, noting,
however, that over the past two decades they damaged <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s economic development and
badly affected the lives of ordinary Burmese.<br />
<br />
<b>New press and social freedoms<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
Meanwhile, Mark Farmener, director of the London-based Burma Campaign <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> describes
the reforms to date as “top down and skin deep”.<br />
<br />
Censorship laws have not been repealed, though how they have been applied has
been changed, he said, adding that while there is currently more freedom for
certain subjects to be reported, others, such as ethnic issues, remain banned.
“Media are still not allowed to criticize the government,” he said.<br />
<br />
Sein Win agrees: “I haven't seen any reports by Burmese journalists exploring
the how and why about what happened in the conflict between Buddhist Rakhine
and Muslim Rohingya communities… Will the government and local authority
tolerate it if someone exposes the truth? Will the concerned communities
tolerate someone's independent reporting on the conflict? I don't think so.”<br />
<br />
According to a recent report entitled Virtuality, Perception and Reality
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Democratic Reform by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP),
self-censorship continues as many journalists are unsure what they can write
about without fear of government reprisal.<br />
<br />
The report says internal factions in the government are delaying reforms:
“There is an internal power struggle [in the government], at minimum between
the government and the military and potentially between the president and his
supporters and potentially with more hardline factions in the government.”<br />
<br />
“The long-term outlook is not positive,” Farmener warns. “There are more civil
liberties in the cities but these are not guaranteed in law, and human rights
abuses have actually increased in the past year. However, the changes so far
have been enough to persuade the international community to rush to relax
pressure and normalize relations.”<br />
<br />
He said 2016 would be a critical year for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>. “That’s when a new
parliament dominated by the NLD will push for genuine constitutional change,
and the military will either agree or block it.”<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<br />
</span></div>

Analysis: How real are Myanmar’s reforms?

Photo: IRIN Film Fighting continues in Kachin State LONDON (IRIN) - The visit of US President Barack Obama to Myanmar on 19...

INDIA: The Hindi-Urdu Divide in News Reporting

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A comparative reading of Dainik Jagran and Inquilab<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Shaheen Nazar*<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHL7DLK9u1itUh-k8PQjOp_uIq0dQ0BuQrrmOZpm2nBH9ctBYMGNaMorcEzmFFrYP5paCbRKPmLvr9GKBJeiRBqciiHIzzxrnVzmDlM1dhS4JfH1EAWmDFXHg4gs7bw0o7DaKfZc7Gt0/s1600/3535314627_4d5250d43e_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHL7DLK9u1itUh-k8PQjOp_uIq0dQ0BuQrrmOZpm2nBH9ctBYMGNaMorcEzmFFrYP5paCbRKPmLvr9GKBJeiRBqciiHIzzxrnVzmDlM1dhS4JfH1EAWmDFXHg4gs7bw0o7DaKfZc7Gt0/s400/3535314627_4d5250d43e_z.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Photo © <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bensutherland/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ben Sutherland</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">FOR those who read only Hindi newspapers and believe what is printed there, Muslims do not exist in India. Or if at all they do exist they are either actors or entertainers like Shahrukh and Salman or criminals or terrorists like Abu Salem and Abu Jundal. For an average Hindi newspaper reader a Muslim can’t be a normal human being contributing to the Indian society. If anything is to be reported about him, it must be something bizarre or at least entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In contrast, read Urdu newspapers. One would get the impression that it’s about another India. The common features of all the Urdu newspapers are stories such as: anti-Muslim riots in one or the other part of the country; police excesses against the community; Muslim men, mostly youth, being picked up by security agencies in the name of fight against terror; courts denying bail to Muslims under detention; police raiding Madrasas (Islamic seminaries); torture of Muslim men in police custody; extra-judicial killings; lack of civic amenities in Muslim neighbourhoods; waqf (endowment) properties being usurped by government departments or corporate houses; Muslim minority schools and colleges not getting sanctioned official grants in time thus teachers and staff not getting salaries every month; government departments withholding permission to build mosques in Muslim localities; etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These are not figments of imagination, rather real, hard facts. There is a possibility of some degree of exaggeration in writing the story or in its treatment. But one cannot dismiss these facts as non-news. This is happening consistently with a community, which is 14 crore strong or 13.4 percent of India’s total population.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the national press, including Hindi and English, is consistent and unanimous in not informing the public about their state of affairs. Of late there has been a spurt in the incidences of arrests and detentions of educated Muslim youths. In the name of fight against terror, the security agencies are specially targeting cities like Darbhanga in Bihar, Azamgarh in UP, Malegaon in Maharashtra and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. These are the places where Muslims are comparatively better off. Many young men have done well in education and got jobs within India and abroad, specially in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. This has brought considerable affluence to their families. But this has also proved to be a curse on them. It seems the police and spy agencies are running a campaign to suppress them while the Hindu ruling elites are looking the other way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Muslim leadership and human rights activists have been raising the issues of violation of civil rights. They are issuing statements and holding rallies and meetings to demand justice for those wrongly detained or persecuted. These statements and incidents of ‘arrests’ get due coverage in the Urdu press. But as usual, the national press is paying no attention to such gross violation of basic rights. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To illustrate my point I did a comparative reading of one Hindi and one Urdu newspaper. I selected Hindi daily Dainik Jagran and Urdu daily Inquilab. While Jagran is the second largest newspaper in India by circulation as of 20104, Inquilab is a prestigious Urdu newspaper which played its role in India’s independence struggle. Established in 1938 in Bombay, Inquilab was bought by the Jagran group in May 20105 and launched from 10 cities in the north, thus making it truly national newspaper. Since both the newspapers have multiple editions, I selected only Delhi editions from July 1-10. Following are my findings:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dainik Jagran carried no story of the Muslim community on its Front pages during the period of study. Even inside pages were almost blank with respect to the community, which following the decline of Urdu in post-independent India, is subscribing to Hindi newspapers in good numbers. Young Muslims generally read Hindi or English newspaper as majority of them don’t know Urdu.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The only stories in which Muslim names can be seen on the Front pages of July 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are those of Mumbai blast accused Kasab and Abu Jundal, the terror accused extradited from Saudi Arabia in June 2012. Other Muslim names found place on the Front pages are those of celebrities. The July 1 edition carries a cutout of A. Rahman on the top right corner of P1 with the pointer to an inside story that the Oscar-winning music composer will perform at the London Olympic inauguration. Similarly, July 2 edition carries a cutout of actor Aamir Khan on the same place with a pointer to his syndicated column on alcoholism on P10. On July 4, there is another cutout of actor Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan) on P1 with a pointer to an inside story about his ancestral house in Pakistan. On July 9, the Front page carries a report on the communal violence in Ghaziabad. It’s a balanced reporting though the name and picture of a victim is given suggesting that he was a Hindu.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Urdu newspapers also mention names of Muslim victims despite the general reporting norm of not giving the names of the warring communities). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Demolition or martyrdom?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Front page of July 6th carries a story which is close to Muslim hearts. That’s Babri mosque. The story is based on the revelation of journalist Kuldip Nayar in his book that the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao had conspired to demolish the 16th century mosque. The news writer has taken care not to use the word “Babri” anywhere. Instead, he or she has referred it as “disputed structure”. Inquilab has treated the story as Front page lead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like all the other Urdu newspapers, it refers to the demolition of Babri mosque as the ‘martyrdom’.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The few stories on Jagran’s inside pages are mostly negative. They either inform the reader about alleged terrorists or about Kashmiri separatists. One news item is about the arrest of a Muslim criminal in Dehra Doon (July 9, P5). Another story is about the rash driving of actor Salman Khan’s brother in which a woman was killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During 10 days, Jagran has carried a total of nine stories on its inside pages which may be described as Muslim-oriented. July 2 edition: ASI begins repair work on Delhi’s Fatehpuri Mosque (P2); Jammu & Kashmir CM gives assurance on the restoration of an arson-hit ziaratgaah (P7); Dilip Kumar’s house in Pakistan will not be converted into library (P10).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">July 4: A report on the court proceeding of journalist Kazmi, accused of involvement in Israeli Embassy car blast (P2); a report on court asking the Gujarat government to furnish details on the religious places damaged in 2002 riots (P10). July 7: Again follow up on journalist Kazmi (P9). July 8: Muslim priests condemn Shab-e-barat revelry (Jagran City V); July 9: Minority students to get bicycles (P7).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a story on page 9 in the July 4 edition. It’s about Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani blaming Indian agencies for terrorism in the valley. He made the statement after meeting the visiting Pakistani foreign secretary in New Delhi. No doubt, the statement is provocative. But it is not the job of a reporter or sub-editor to editorialize a news item. The headline reads: Pak ki shah par Gilani ne phir ugla zahar (Gilani again expresses venom at the instigation of Pakistan). There are three other stories on Kashmir in 10 days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are stories on Abu Jundal almost every day in the newspaper. But none is Jagran’s exclusive. All are based on dossiers supplied by unnamed sources in the security agencies. Same is the case with reporting on Fasih Mahmood, a young engineer picked up from his residence in the Saudi city of Al-Jubail on May 13 by Saudi and Indian officials. He remains traceless till date, though the Indian government has reluctantly acknowledged in the Supreme Court his arrest after denying it for more than a month. He is a suspect in some cases of terror plots. But Jagran has pronounced its verdict by declaring him a terrorist straight away. Quoting unnamed sources in the government and security agencies, the newspaper reporting on July 2, 3 and 10 describes Fasih as the “terrorist of the Indian Mujahideen” and “the chief financer of IM’s Bihar module”. All the reports lack objectivity. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the Edit pages, there is one article in 10 days which is Muslim-specific. It deals with the legal aspects of giving reservation to Muslims in government jobs. On July 3, there is an Edit page leader by Balbir Punj, a member of the Rajya Sabha, condemning “secularists” for raising the issue of right-wing Hindu terror, thus diluting the threat of Islamic terrorism originating from Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Arrests dominate Inquilab coverage<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The arrest of Fasih Mahmood and other Muslims dominate the coverage of Inquilab from July 1-10. Consider this headline on Page 1 of July 2: “O my son, tell me if being a Muslim is a crime in India?” And the intro of the Patna-datelined story reads: “O my son, you are a journalist who has come from Delhi to investigate my son's arrest and know about me. I will tell you everything. But first you give me one answer: Is taking birth as a Muslim in India has become a crime? Has the Indian soil become alien to Muslims? These quotes are not taken from a short story by Prem Chand, Quratulain Hyder, Asmat Chugtai or Mantoo. Instead these are the spontaneous reactions expressed amid tears by Aamira Jamali, M.A., B.Ed., and mother of Engineer Fasih Mahmood.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The news has made Front page lead for three days: Efforts on for seeking Parliament debate over arrests of Muslim youths-July 1; Preparations on for protests in Bihar over arrest of Muslim youths-July 4; Bihar teacher Kafeel Akhtar gets clean-chit by Bangalore Police, now being handed over to Delhi Police- July 8. Front page lead stories on other days are also worth-mentioning: Narasimha Rao was part of Babri demolition conspiracy-July 6; Scared Muslims of Asthan village (of riot-hit Pratapgarh district in UP) return home-July 7; and Gujarat government asked to furnish details of the damaged places of worship-July 10. Other days’ leads are: presidential poll and the Time magazine’s cover on Manmohan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On July 2, there is a small news item on page 6 which otherwise is a human interest story but tells of human suffering in the prevailing security as well as political situation in India. A bearded young Muslim, who works in an embroidery shop, was arrested from the parking lot of Ranchi airport. Reason: He had never seen an airport, so while returning from a mosque early morning he turned his bike towards the airport just to have a look at it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While Jagran and other national newspapers have paid little attention to Pratapgarh riot, Inquilab has run several follow-up stories like demand for CBI enquiry or relief material delivered to the victims. National Minority Commission writing to the Rajasthan government on the reported harassment of Gopalgarh mosque raid victims by police and investigative agencies has made Front page news on July 8.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mosques make news<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the local pages, the discovery of a Mughal-era mosque in the excavation in old Delhi made prominent news for several days. Delhi government delaying recruitment of Urdu teachers, Doordarshan discriminating against Urdu producers, lack of civic amenities in Batla House, construction of walls around Nabi Karim graveyard are some of the news which are found only in Inquilab but not in Jagran.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Communal riots and mosques under siege are prominent features of Urdu newspapers. Therefore, during 10 days, Inquilab has published news items (July 3, P2; July 6, P4; July 8, P2; and July 9, P2) which relate to four different Delhi mosques having issues with the authorities. On July 2, P4, a news item highlights the dilapidated condition of a historical mosque in Hardoi (UP). On July 7, there is a story on Page 7 which tells about police high-handedness in dealing with Muslims on the issue of an Eidgaah in Agra (UP).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From July 7, Inquilab has started publishing exclusive interviews of Malegaon Bomb blast suspects released by court following several years of incarceration. Besides, there are stories, almost every day, of Muslim terror suspects perishing in jails or released after years when no charges were proved against them or were killed in prison (like Qateel Siddiqi of Bihar who was killed in a Pune jail in June 2012).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Follow-up of the cases related to 2002 Gujarat riots and right-wing Hindu terror accused like Pragya Singh Thakur and Col. Purohit are also displayed prominently. Anti-Muslim rants of Sangh parivar leaders are also a staple of Urdu newspapers including Inquilab. But news writing on these subjects is mostly sentimental and lack professionalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, this is not to suggest that news of local, national and international importance do not find space in the columns of Inquilab. Abu Jundal, Indo-Pak secretary level talks, presidential poll, change of guard in Karnataka government, Egyptian election, all made Front page news during the days under study. In fact coverage of international news was found to be better than many national English newspapers. The 12-page daily devotes one full page to international news every day besides one or two on the Front page.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One thing which is common in both Jagran and Inquilab is lack of professionalism and absence of objectivity. Beyond this I would like to make no observation leaving this to editors, scholars and thinkers to form opinion and act. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">*The author is a faculty member of Mass Communication at Sharda University. He has previously worked with several publications in India and abroad. The views expressed in this report are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global News Post.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>

INDIA: The Hindi-Urdu Divide in News Reporting

A comparative reading of Dainik Jagran and Inquilab By Shaheen Nazar* Photo © Ben Sutherland FOR those who read only Hindi newspapers ...

Analysis: Madagascar's Unforgiving Bandit Lands

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</tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">AMBOTRAGANO (IRIN) - It took two years for Zakamihaingo Razafindranoivo, 37, to raise US$900 to replace his two stolen zebu (Madagascar’s distinctive and prized hump-backed cattle) by selling vegetables and spices grown on his plot in Ambotragano, a village about 20km north of the capital Antananarivo. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“At 9am I checked them [the zebu] and they were still there, and two hours later they were gone,” he told IRIN. “I need them to do the work in the field, to pull the cart and to produce fertilizer. These animals are important.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Razafindranoivo and community volunteers tracked the cattle rustlers for three days before giving up the chase. They say the theft of livestock and food have ticked up since 2009 - after Andry Rajoelina seized power with the backing of the military and forced twice elected President Marc Ravalomanana into exile in South Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">About a third of Madagascar is locally referred to as “zones rouges” [red zones], nearly 200,000sqkm of territory where the government exerts little or no control and where banditry thrives, according to analysts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Oliver Jütersonke, co-author with Moncef Kartas of a chapter in the Small Arms Survey (SAS) 2011 Yearbook on the island’s rising insecurity entitled Ethos of Exploitation, Insecurity and Predation in Madagascar, told IRIN: “Zones rouges are characterized by a sparse population and a terrain that makes patrolling or any sort of intervention quite difficult. Security interventions require good equipment and communication facilities, helicopters and 4WDs - all of which are in very short supply. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“What is more, efficient policing in the zones rouges and in many other rural areas would demand disciplined and well-trained security forces; Madagascar hardly has either,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The `dahalo’ <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In June 2012 clashes between the `dahalo’ (Malagasy for “bandits”) near Ilambohazo<o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableMediumShading2" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin: -0.75pt 6pt 3.75pt; width: 200px;"><tbody>
<tr>   <td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><img align="left" alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="23" /><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The largest and most powerful `dahalo’   groups provide assault rifles (mainly AK-47s) and ammunition to all their   members. They escort, in broad daylight, large herds of stolen cattle,   carrying their guns openly</span></strong><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_51" width="23" /></span></b><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> village in the southeastern region of Anosy, and Madagascar’s security forces sent to the area following the theft of about 900 zebu, ended in deadly skirmishes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“It was initially thought that six security force personnel [five military personnel and one gendarme] were killed in the attacks, but 11 other bodies have recently been discovered. Another seven security force personnel were wounded and four are still missing,” according to a 21 June 2012 UN update. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After the clashes `dahalo’ threatened to attack other Anosy villages - Bevoay, Emagnobo, Enagniliha, Enakara Haut, Ampasimena, and Ranomafàna - resulting in about 1,800 people seeking refuge in the region’s capital Taolagnaro (also known as Fort Dauphin). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In response the government said it was planning a “major offensive against the `dahalo’” and a helicopter was dispatched to the city, the update said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Africa Confidential said the `dahalo’ group responsible - estimated to be 400-strong according to local media reports - was commanded by a former member of Didier Ratsiraka’s presidential guard, Arthur Rabefihavanana and known by the name of Remenablia. The specialist publication quoted a senior military official as comparing the insecurity in the Great South - the island’s arid and drought prone region - as being akin to the conditions of a guerrilla war. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">`Dahalo’ activities are not restricted to one particular area, however, and local media reported 160 `dahalo’ attacks between May and July 2010 in the northwestern Mahajanga region, with more than 3,000 cattle rustled, although there were likely to have been more incidents that went unreported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">`Dahalo’ has been a feature of Madagascan society since pre-colonial times and was said to have evolved from ritualized cattle thefts between neighbouring rural communities marking the passage from adolescence to manhood, but in contemporary Madagascar they are synonymous with highly organized criminal gangs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well-armed bandits <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The largest and most powerful `dahalo’ groups provide assault rifles (mainly AK-47s) and ammunition to all their members. They escort, in broad daylight, large herds of stolen cattle, carrying their guns openly over several hundred kilometres while crossing entire regions and provinces… They are now conducting veritable raids, taking women and children hostage and burning down houses,” said the SAS 2011 report. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The largest and most powerful `dahalo’ groups provide assault rifles (mainly AK-47s) and ammunition to all their members. They escort, in broad daylight, large herds of stolen cattle, carrying their guns openlyIn response to rising rural insecurity communities were organizing `andrimasom-pokonolona’ (self-defence units) and in some cases hiring private security companies to protect them from bandits. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Villagers and these private [security] companies have no interest in arresting these `dahalos’ and instead try to kill them if possible, as if captured they either later escape with the help of their fellow bandits or are freed by a corrupt justice system,” Jütersonke said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The `dahalos’ in turn react by increasing their groups and armaments… Similarly, security forces themselves have a tendency to silence their captives rather than arrest them; for fear that the latter [`dahalo’] might talk about their collusion [with security forces].” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ambotragano has its own self-defence unit and “when there are people that we don’t know, the village watch will go and ask them what they are doing here,” Razafindranoivo said. However, it is a day-time operation as villagers are too scared to patrol after sunset. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Piers Pigou, International Crisis Group (ICG) Southern Africa project director, told IRIN security in Madagascar - which was far from ideal before 2009 - has worsened because of the diminishing legitimacy and capacity of the security sector, which “in turn feeds opportunistic criminal activities, and of course the situation is compounded by deteriorating socio-economic conditions.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The World Bank says the country’s 20 million people have an annual per capita income of about $400 and estimates more than 75 percent of the population live in poverty. The international donor community froze all but emergency assistance in the wake of the 2009 coup and despite negotiations by the international community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for a return to democracy, the country’s political future remains unchartered. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">`<b>Dahalo’ links to the military</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">David Zoumenou, a senior conflict analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told IRIN: “The links between the military and the `dahalo’ is seen as one of the country’s highest risks,” particularly in the “stateless environments” of the zones rouges, as the resource-rich country provides a host of opportunities for both local and international criminal syndicates - from the rosewood trade through to precious metals and gems, and the smuggling of rare and sought-after wildlife. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In July 2011 the authorities confiscated six containers of rosewood logs worth up to $600,000 from a port in the northwest of the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The zones rouges are not a “new problem” and bandits with monikers such as Ratsibahaka (The Bad Lemur) and Zaza Mola (Crazy Baby) have become part of the island’s folklore for their criminal exploits “but since 2002 they [zones rouges] have become very prominent,” Zoumenou said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rice in Madagascar Political instability became the handmaiden of small arms proliferation on the island and after Ratsiraka refused to accept electoral defeat to Ravalomanana, the country was pushed to the verge of civil war in 2002 before international intervention averted conflict. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the stand-off - which saw the capital blockaded for six months - the army split their allegiances and the two presidential contenders enlisted civilians and reservists to form militias to bolster their respective forces, ranging Ravalomanana’s “légitimistes” against Ratsiraka’s “loyalistes”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Lots of people were armed from state arsenals and the weapons were never returned. Indeed, there are rumours that many of these armed folks are today’s `dahalo’,” Kartas said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the absence of any small arms recovery initiative, firearms are easily sourced through illicit channels, including AK-47 assault rifles, according to analysts, and the lower ranks of the poorly paid security forces are said to rent out their weapons, while the town of Ambatolampy, about 70km south of Antananarivo, is reputedly the island’s main centre for the production of hand-made firearms. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Security sector reform <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Increasing rural lawlessness is set against a lack of any effective security sector reform. Madagascar inherited and has maintained, by and large, a three-tier security system: a 12,500 strong army - although the top heavy officer-class structure is sufficient for an army of more than 400,000; a gendarmerie of 8,100 personnel supposed to provide security in rural areas; and a police force of about 20,000, or one officer for every 1,000 citizens. Within the security hierarchy the country’s police chief plays a subordinate role. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The gendarmerie is characterized by an inflated proportion of high-ranking officers, a meddling in domestic politics, and entrepreneurial enrichment - as is the army… [The gendarmerie] are ultimately an ineffective service on the island’s vast territory,” the SAS report said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Malagasy air force - a few hundred personnel - flies an aging fleet of various aircraft, while the 500-strong navy has about six patrol craft, which analysts see as insufficient to patrol the 4,828km coastline of the world’s fourth largest island - one with countless remote natural ports providing anchorage for ocean going vessels - and so providing few barriers for the illegal export of its land and marine resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">SAS author Kartas says that since the 2009 putsch living conditions in rural areas have not improved and “what is more, with the new regime, the influence of the military in politics has substantially increased. And security has focused on regime security, not on human security.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Army officers given free hand in rural areas? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rajoelina has cited the well-equipped military unit, the Forces d’Intervention <o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableMediumShading2" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin: -0.75pt 6pt 3.75pt; width: 204px;"><tbody>
<tr>   <td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><img align="left" alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_3" width="23" /><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">If they (`dahalo’) become a   disciplined force with good equipment, the state’s army and security forces   will face a formidable challenge</span></strong><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_57" width="23" /></span></b><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spéciales (FIS), as a force suitable to counter the `dahalo’, but in practice it has merely suppressed elements suspected of planning a counter coup against Rajolena’s government in 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kartas said the unit’s “authority and place within the security apparatus remains unclear”. Some FIS officers were drawn from the Corps d’armée du personnel et des services administrative et technique (CAPSAT) barracks in Antananrivo, which gave considerable support to Rajoelina when he ousted Ravalomanana. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If they (`dahalo’) become a disciplined force with good equipment, the state’s army and security forces will face a formidable challengeZoumenou of the ISS said Rajoelina had made “concessions” to the army’s officer class to essentially “do what they want” in rural areas, in exchange for their support for him to remain in power and “now everything is possible”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ICG’s Pigou says: “The military remain kingmakers - although the nature of their relationship with some politicians is symbiotic. Any settlement must somehow co-opt them, or find a way of ensuring they do not interfere. While they may not be able to provide a political solution or alternative by themselves, without their blessing one imagines that any political `solution’ would be on a shaky foundation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jütersonke said cattle rustling was a profitable venture, but the question was: Have the `dahalo’ already ventured into other criminal enterprises and “will they even start to embrace or express political goals? If they (`dahalo’) become a disciplined force with good equipment, the state’s army and security forces will face a formidable challenge.” <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Analysis: Madagascar's Unforgiving Bandit Lands

Photo © IRIN AMBOTRAGANO (IRIN) - It took two years for Zakamihaingo Razafindranoivo, 37, to raise US$900 to replace his two stolen zeb...