Ali Tabarzadi, an Iranian political and animal rights activist, was arrested the Islamic Republic authorities at his home and reports indicate that several of his personal belongings including computers and electronic equipment were confiscated.

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that according to an informed source, Tabarzadi had been organizing a protest against a move by some MPs to ban keeping of pets.

Reports indicate that 32 MPs presented the bill a month ago claiming the animals are detrimental to “Islamic culture and the health and peace of the public.”

The bill proposed a fine of 10 million toumans and 74 lashes as punishment for keeping or selling dogs.

Ali Tabarzadi has reportedly set up a Facebook page to protest the proposed bill, and recent postings on that page have condemned his arrest.

Ali Tabarzadi’s father, Heshmatollah Tabarzadi is a prominent political activist and government critic who has been arrested on several occasions for his activism and is currently serving a nine year sentence in Karaj’s Rejai Shahr Prison.

The post Iran: Animal Rights Activist Arrested appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Stroke survivors can have “significant” improvement in arm movements after using the Nintendo Wii as physiotherapy, according to researchers.

The popular computer remote could be customized to offer bespoke physiotherapy for stroke survivors in their own home according to research led by Lancaster University.

A preliminary study showed that playing specially adapted Wii games improved the arm movements of stroke patients, with a threefold increase in their ability to pick up and put pegs in holes.

One stroke survivor was even able to lift and drain a cooking pan for the first time since her stroke 11 years before and her hand “wanted to open of its own accord.”

There are an estimated 110,000 new strokes in the UK each year, costing more than £2.8billion, and over a third who survive are left with a long term disability.

Seven out of ten suffer from arm weakness as a result, with no more than a fifth of these ever regaining the full use of their arm.

Led by Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves of Lancaster University, the 15-month Research in Wii Rehabilitation study published in Disability and Rehabilitation was carried out at five NHS sites.

Dr Tsekleves said, “The innovative use of the Nintendo Wii could present a way to enhance community based stroke rehabilitation of the arm by providing a motivating and cost-effective way of exercising that could be remotely monitored and exercises adjusted as required by a physiotherapist.”

Participants took part in three trials using the Wii as a way of improving their arm movements after stroke. They had to imitate a 3D avatar on screen following movement patterns for the shoulder, elbow and forearm. They also had to play games that included hitting randomly appearing balls and playing air hockey on screen.

One said: “I can now play games and do things not possible for me before,” while another said: “It’s great! I can see my arm movement appear instantly on screen and can tell how well and far I have gone.”

Each patient’s movements were recorded, and the physiotherapist could remotely monitor progress and give advice as well as customise the game in terms of movement, speed, duration, scoring and feedback.

There are now plans to extend the trial which was also carried out by Ioannis Paraskevopoulos, Alyson Warland, and Cherry Kilbride of Brunel University.

The post Stroke Survivors Benefit From Playing Computer Games appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Pir-Mohammad Mollazehi*

First of all, it should be noted that under its new president, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan has signed the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States, which makes it possible for Washington to keep its military presence in the West Asian country up to 2024 and station its troopers at five important military bases across Afghanistan. As a result, the country will most probably enter a new phase of the intensification of regional and international rivalries as a result of this development. At regional level, rivalries will take place between India and Pakistan, on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand. At the same time, such regional states as Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also expected to get involved in regional rivalries over Afghanistan. At international level, the main rivalries will take place among the United States, China and Russia. Of course, European countries, especially three major European powers; that is, the UK, France and Germany, should not be overlooked. On the whole, regional and international rivalries over Afghanistan will become focused on four specific fields:

1. Cultural and religious field;
2. Economic field;
3. Political field; and
4. Military and security field.

It is evident that any one of the aforesaid countries has its own special advantages in every one of the above-mentioned fields and, naturally, should make the most of its advantages. At present the United States has consolidated its military presence in Afghanistan and the viewpoints of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani show that he has apparently accepted Western liberal concepts. Therefore, under present circumstances, culture and religion constitute the most fertile grounds for further cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan with economic cooperation following in the second place. Iran will be facing more obstacles in political as well as military and security fields in Afghanistan. Therefore, and for a variety of reasons, one can expect cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan to be promoted mostly in cultural fields under the rule of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. The main reason is the existence of a multitude of language-related, cultural, civilizational and historical commonalities between Iran and Afghanistan as both countries are considered as parts of the Iranian and Islamic civilization. At the same time, no other country has the same amount of cultural commonalities with Afghanistan, which is a major advantage for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In addition, it is a reality that the United States has currently the power that influences Afghanistan’s general political orientation as a result of which the main field that will be open to Iran’s activities is culture. The Persian language and its prevalence in both countries is a factor which can help promote cooperation between Tehran and Kabul. Of course, there are other cultural fields for collaboration between the two neighboring countries, which include:

1. Education from elementary school to university;
2. Print and non-print media as well as audiovisual media;
3. Publication of textbooks for schools and universities and other kinds of publications;
4. Exchange of academics and students; as well as
5. Training an adequate number of teachers for Afghan schools due to serious need of Afghanistan to teachers and shortage of educational facilities.

It is a reality that Iran has no rival in Afghanistan in the above fields. Although the Islamic Republic has been already active in these fields, the full capacities that exist in this regard have not been taken advantage of. For example, Afghanistan’s textbooks are currently being printed in Germany while it is possible for Iran to do that both because of its technical capacities in the area of printing and due to the existence of the Persian language in both countries as a common denominator. No other country enjoys the same position as Iran in this regard. It is only India that can be a serious competitor for Iran in the field of audiovisual media through its movie industry. However, when it comes to cultural activities with a religious orientation, it would be conceivable to assume that Iran and Saudi Arabia are possible to get involved in an intense ideological rivalry in Afghanistan because the government of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani is expected to give more maneuvering room to Saudi Arabia in comparison with Iran.

Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan have recently signed an agreement for the construction of an Islamic university in the Afghan capital city of Kabul. The cost of the project has been estimated at USD 100 million. It is also supposed to include the construction of the country’s biggest mosque and an affiliated Islamic center, which would admit a total of 10,000 students on a round-the-clock basis. This is one of the most objective examples of the investment that Saudi Arabia is making in Afghanistan with an eye to securing its long-term ideological sway over the country. There is no doubt that such a great Islamic center will have great effects in the long run and if Iran does not increase its activities in cultural fields in Afghanistan, it is sure to lose the competition to Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, the Persian language in Afghanistan is facing certain challenges. This is due to efforts made by nationalist Pashtuns who are working hard to make Pashtun the official language and culture of Afghanistan. On the other hand, there is increasing tendency among Afghan youth to learn English. These factors are sure to wear off Iran’s cultural influence in Afghanistan in the long run.

The second fertile ground for the promotion of future cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan under Mohammad Ashraf Ghani is the economic field in which Iran will be competing with China and India as its main rivals. Iranian companies can really get active in certain economic areas in Afghanistan, which include: trade, transportation, exploration and extraction of underground reserves; as well as development and reconstruction projects. The most important advantage of Iran in this field, includes Bandar Abbas and Chabahar port cities in southern Iran, which can be of great help to the landlocked Afghanistan by connecting it to the free waters of the Indian Ocean, thus, facilitating exports from and imports to India. The sole competition that Iran will be facing in this field is from Pakistan. Of course, there are currently political and territorial differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore, if Iran succeeded to conclude a bilateral trade agreement with Afghanistan to boost Afghanistan’s foreign trade through its southern ports, the future prospect for cooperation between Tehran and Kabul in all possible fields without serious competition would be totally bright.

Most analysts believe that the room for political as well as military and security cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan will be very limited. This is true as neither the United States will allow Iran to play a determining role in this regard, nor the liberal views of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani will allow Iran, with its dominantly Shia religious ideology, to gain great influence in his country. Although Mohammad Ashraf Ghani pretends to be a believing Muslim, his secular views do not let him establish strategic relations with Iran’s specific brand of Islamic ideology. His first choice for such relations among the Islamic countries will be Saudi Arabia, in the first place, followed by Turkey in the second place. At present, Turks have already started important activities in various sectors in Afghanistan with a view to long-term cooperation. Naturally, Iran should bank on its own advantages in order to organize its strategic relations with Afghanistan with an eye to future collaboration. Therefore, under present circumstances, the field of Islamic and Iranian civilization offers the most fertile ground for cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan.

Pir-Mohammad Mollazehi
Expert on Indian Subcontinent & Middle East Isuues

The post New Afghan Government: Prospects For Future Iran-Afghanistan Cooperation – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

In a personal phone call to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, Secretary of State John Kerry asked for the so-called torture report to be delayed, arguing it could damage foreign relations and pose risks to US personnel and facilities.

The Chair, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), was due to release the report early next week. Though its contents haven’t been officially discussed, it is believed to be very critical of the CIA’s use of torture – or what it calls enhanced interrogation techniques – on Al-Qaeda detainees and terror suspects held in secret facilities in Europe and Asia under the Bush administration.

“What he raised was timing of report release, because a lot is going on in the world — including parts of the world particularly implicated — and wanting to make sure foreign policy implications were being appropriately factored into timing,” an unnamed administration official told Bloomberg News. “He had a responsibility to do so because this isn’t just an intel issue — it’s a foreign policy issue.”

A 480-page executive summary of a 6,200-page report by Democrats on the committee would be the first public accounting of the CIA’s program. The committee spent six years reviewing millions of secret CIA documents. The report includes new details about the CIA’s use of such techniques as sleep deprivation, confinement in small spaces, humiliation and the simulated drowning process known as waterboarding, according to many US officials who have read the material.

The move is seen as potential 11th hour turn-around by the White House, which would place it in alignment with Senate Republicans who warned of the consequences of releasing such material and the potential fallout it could have on US foreign policy.

Yet President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have said they want to see the report released because of what it could reveal about the CIA misleading the White House and Congress on torture and the secret rendition of suspected terrorists, as well as its effort to thwart the committee’s attempts to investigate.

Separately, President Obama has acknowledged, “We tortured some folks.”

Large nongovernmental organizations and human rights groups have fought for the release of the documents. They see this latest move as a betrayal or a contradiction in messaging.

“The administration’s reactions to Senator Feinstein have been surprising and suggest that there are competing forces inside the executive branch with no strategic direction,” said Mieke Eoyang, director of the National Security Program at Third Way, a center-left think tank. “In life, if you waited for a good time to come clean, you might never come clean.”

The post Kerry Asks To Delay CIA Torture Report appeared first on Eurasia Review.

About 3 million Internet users this year managed to gain access to websites blocked in the Kingdom, an academic has revealed.

Nasser Al-Buqami, an IT professor, said this was a 58 percent increase from the year before.

Meanwhile, he said Internet penetration has risen from 38 percent in 2009 to 64 percent in 2014, and now stands at 18.3 million users.

It would be 87 percent within the next five years, according to recent studies, he said.

Young Saudis are the main users, with 72 percent male and 28 percent female. “Riyadh has the highest number of users in the Kingdom at 29 percent, followed by 16 percent in Jeddah,” he said.

Forty-one percent of Internet users in Saudi Arabia are on Twitter.

The Kingdom has the world’s highest number of Twitter users in terms of its population size. Indonesia and the Philippines are in second and third places.

With the rise in users, there has been an increasing demand for mobile and home-based Internet and broadband services.

There have been about 20.7 million subscriptions so far this year, for mostly voice communication services and data packages. This also reveals a growth in smartphone usage.

The post Saudi Arabia: 3 Million Internet Users Access Blocked Sites appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Gwynne Dyer

After the ISIS produced a grisly video of the mass beheading of Syrian captives by foreign militants who allegedly included British fighters, British Prime Minister said, “We will not be cowed by these sick terrorists.” “We will not be intimidated,” said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper after the recent attacks in Montreal and Ottawa.

As if the purpose of terrorist attacks in western countries was to cow and intimidate them. You hear this sort of rhetoric from western leaders all the time, but Harper went further, and demonstrated exactly how they get it wrong. “(This) will lead us to…redouble our efforts to work with our allies around the world and fight against the terrorist organizations who brutalize those in other countries with the hope of bringing their savagery to our shores. They will have no safe haven.” Sound familiar?

Sure enough, there are now half a dozen Canadian planes bombing ISIS militants in Iraq (although it’s unlikely that either of the Canadian attackers, both converts to radical Islam, had any contact with foreign terrorist organizations). But Harper has got the logic completely backwards.

The purpose of major terrorist activities directed at the West, from the 9/11 attacks to ISIS videos, is not to “cow” or “intimidate” western countries. It is to get those countries to bomb Muslim countries or, better yet, invade them. The terrorists want to come to power in Muslim countries, not in Canada or Britain or the US. And the best way to establish your revolutionary credentials and recruit local supporters is to get the West to attack you.

That’s what Osama Bin Laden wanted in 2001. (He hoped for an American invasion of Afghanistan, but he got an unexpected bonus in the US invasion of Iraq.) The ISIS videos of western hostages being beheaded are intended to get western countries involved in the fight against them, because that’s how you build local support. So far, the strategy is working just fine.

The “Global Terrorism Index”, published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace, reported last week that fatalities due to terrorism have risen fivefold in the 13 years since the 9/11 attacks, despite the US-led “war on terror” that has spent $4.4 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and anti-terrorist operations elsewhere. But it’s not really “despite” those wars. It’s largely because of them.

The invasions, the drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Africa, the whole lumbering apparatus of the “global war on terrorism” have not killed the terrorist beast. They have fed it, and the beast has grown very large. 3,361 people were killed by terrorism in 2000; 17,958 were killed by it last year. At least 80 percent of these people were Muslims, and the vast majority of those who killed them were also Muslims.

That is not to say that terrorism is a particularly Muslim technique. Its historical roots lie in European struggles against oppressive regimes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it gained huge currency in liberation struggles against the European colonial empires after the World War II. Even the Stern Gang in Israel and the Irish Republican Army can be seen as part of this wave.

Later waves of fashion in terrorism included the European, Latin American and Japanese “urban terrorist” movements of the 1970s and 80s — none of which has any political success at all. Terrorism in the Muslim world really began only in the 1990s. Only about five percent of the victims of this latest wave of terrorism lived in developed countries, but it was their deaths, and their governments’ ignorant responses to them, that provided the fuel for the spectacular growth of extremism.

So what can be done about it?

The Global Terrorism Index has some useful observations to offer about that, too. It points out that a great many terrorist organizations have actually gone out of business in the past 45 years. Only 10 percent of them actually won, took power, and disbanded their terrorist wings. And only 7 percent were eliminated by the direct application of military force. Eighty percent of them were ended by a combination of better policing and the creation of a political process that addressed the grievances of those who supported the terrorism. You don’t fix the problem by fighting poverty or raising educational levels; that kind of thing has almost nothing to do with the rise of terrorism. You have to deal with the particular grievances that obsess specific ethnic, religious or political groups.

And above all, keep foreigners out of the process. Their interventions always make matters worse. Which is why the terrorists love them so much.

The post Feeding The Terrorist Beast – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has presented the 2014 edition of its report ‘Health at a Glance’ for the countries forming part of the European Union.

For Spain, the conclusions of the study show that the state of health of Spanish citizens is generally good when measured in terms of such criteria as life expectancy and infant mortality, indicators in which Spain ranks above the average of the 28 EU countries.

Spain, Italy and France lead the group of EU countries, where life expectancy at birth exceeds 80 years. Specifically, the people born in Spain achieved in 2012 a life expectancy at birth of 82.5 years – the highest in the European Union. Female life expectancy within the EU was highest in Spain (85.5 years), while male life expectancy within the EU was highest in Sweden (79.9 years).

The number of healthy life years expected from the age of 65 in 2012 was similar in the EU for men and women, at 8.5 years. In Spain, these figures stand at 9.2 years for men and 9 years for women.

Although it is true that life expectancy in EU countries is on the rise, so is the burden created by such chronic diseases as diabetes and dementia. According to a study conducted by the International Diabetes Federation and used by the OECD, 8.2% of Spanish citizens aged between 20 and 79 suffer from diabetes, compared with an EU average of 6%. As regards dementia, 7.5% of those over 60 years of age suffer some form of dementia, compared with the EU average of 7%.

The age-adjusted average rate of mortality in the EU stood at 1,500 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The lowest mortality rates were posted by countries in northern, western and southern Europe, especially France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, with approximately 900 or fewer deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Together with France, Portugal, Greece and Italy, Spain posted the lowest rate of death from ischemic heart disease in the EU, with rates below 115 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Infant mortality in Spain is also below the average: 3.1 deaths in those under the age of 1 per 1,000 live births in Spain, compared with the EU average of 4. Spain has reduced its infant mortality rate by almost 23 points since 1970.

The rates relating to deaths caused by road traffic accidents have fallen by over 45% throughout the European Union since 2000: Spain, Luxembourg, Ireland, Estonia and Latvia have lowered their mortality rates by 60% or more in this 10-year period.

Spain is also among the countries with the lowest suicide rates, alongside other southern European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy and Spain) and the United Kingdom.

Spain had the highest HIV-AIDS incident rate in the 1990s, but that rate has fallen significantly. It currently stands at 1.7 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

As regards tobacco consumption, although Spain has a percentage of adult daily smokers that is slightly higher than the EU average (23.9% compared with 20.9%), the Spanish smoking rate has dropped by 25% in the last decade.

Spain has 3.8 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, which is higher than the EU average of 3.4, and 3 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants, putting it on a par with Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The quality of healthcare in chronic processes can be measured by hospital admission rates for pathologies such as asthma and diabetes. In Spain, the hospital admission rate for asthma among adults per 100,000 inhabitants stands at 40, below the EU average of 51. In terms of the hospital admission rate for chronic diabetes, the Spanish rate of 85 per 100,000 inhabitants is one of the lowest in the European Union.

The mortality rate in hospital within 30 days of suffering a heart attack in Spain stands at 8.5%, which is slightly above the EU average.

Furthermore, with rates of post-operative complications involving pulmonary embolism or deep-vein thrombosis at 307 per 100,000 cases after surgery, Spain is among the three countries with the lowest rates in this regard.

With 77% of the at-risk population covered, Spain is among the top five EU countries in terms of breast cancer screening coverage.
Spain matches the EU average (20.9 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day) in terms of primary healthcare antibiotics prescription, as well as in terms of prescribing second-choice antibiotics (19.6 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/year).

Spain spends 9.3% of its GDP on healthcare, while the EU average is 8.7%.

The post Spain’s Health And Life Expectancy Ranks High Among Developed Countries appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By N Sathiya Moorthy

If observers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) thought that the just-concluded 18th Summit in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu would take off from where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had left at his inauguration in May, it was not to be. Instead, the Summit will now be remembered for the return of regional realities and global modalities that had hampered the growth and development of SAARC as a regional organisation almost since inception.

As the early focus of the Summit was the promised signing of the South Asian power-grid and two transportation agreements, aimed at expanding and extending bilateral arrangements, wherever existed or planned, to the region as a whole. At the end of it, they could sign only the power-grid pact, and also save the Summit itself from near-collapse after India and Pakistan sparred over bilateral concerns.

Pakistan can be blamed for converting the multilateral venue into a bilateral confrontation arena with India. Pakistan’s last-minute request/complaint that they needed more time for internal study of the three agreement-drafts was untenable, as ministers and/or officials concerned had cleared them already, after adequate internal consultations.

Obviously, Pakistan was upset over India not wanting the customary bilateral meeting on the SAARC sidelines. Buying time to discuss the three agreement drafts internally was Pakistan’s way of registering its protest – not viz SAARC but viz India. The reported pre-Summit efforts of hosts, Nepal, to have the India-Pakistan prime ministerial level meeting on the sidelines showed how precarious the entire Summit was being held hostage.

Share of the blame?

Should India also share the blame for Pakistan’s misdemeanour at Kathmandu? Should Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, and reiterated India’s known complaints on cross-border terrorism, and not made an issue of the very meeting? To say the least, should PM Modi have shaken hands with Sharif at the Summit inauguration (also), and not the valedictory (alone)? Given the membership and size(s), SAARC Summit is not like the UN General Assembly meeting, where too India decided against the prime ministerial level meeting with Pakistan.

Unlike in the UN, India and Pakistan, separately or together and by taking adversarial positions, can render any SAARC Summit fruitless – and, thus the SAARC arrangement itself equally unproductive, one more time. Or, maybe even while deciding for PM Modi not to have a bilateral with Pakistan at the UN, his aides should have thought also about the impending SAARC Summit, which was not far away. In particular, they should have thought about the consequences of a repeat-performance viz Pakistan at Kathmandu and its effects on India’s standing and continued credibility as wanting a stronger SAARC, and PM Modi’s offer of a ‘SAARC satellite, et al — and thus a greater share and responsibility in building it.

It will now take India greater and renewed efforts to convince fellow-members that it is still serious about developing SAARC as a regional harbinger of shared growth and development. It will take Pakistan even greater efforts to tell them all that it would in future not bring in bilateral symbolism – or, absence of it – to work at the SAARC and make bi-annual summits remembered for all wrong reasons.

India’s ‘no’ to China

According to media reports, India also thwarted Pakistani efforts to have China admitted as a full-member of the SAARC. Along with eight other non-regional nations, including the US, China now enjoys ‘observer’ status at SAARC. Thus SAARC now has eight members and nine ‘observers’.

India’s position viz China should not be predicated on bilateral concerns as much as larger issues pertaining to the growth and independence of SAARC. China is not the only nation to share borders with SAARC member-nations, thought it may be the most important of them in the neighbourhood. Worse still, non-regional members like the US and China could make SAARC a regional forum for non-regional players to compete in sub-regional affairs too. Neither was the aim when SAARC members collectively and consensually allowed ‘observers’ in the first place.

Generous and assertive

Events and developments in the past had reportedly made India feel at times that cartelisation by smaller member-nations in SAARC had ended up favouring Pakistan on occasions, and worked against its interests even otherwise. In the post-Cold War, post-reforms boom in the domestic economy, and the combined consequent self-confidence it now possesses, India needs to acknowledge that it has grown to the levels where it could afford to be as generous as it at times wants to be assertive – and be seen as being one as the other.

In terms of development and growth, political and physical security, smaller neighbours may be irrational at times, but they expect more from India. Despite lack of acknowledgement and global projections to the contrary, it will remain so for a long, long time to come. It’s to India’s benefit as much as it may seem a burden. A self-confident India cannot continue to suffer from the tentativeness of a bygone past.

Neighbourhood nations want India to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) with full ‘veto-power’ as much as India too wants it. India has their growth in heart, but does not have the resources to underwrite them as the US was once upon a time and China at present. India wants to back them all politically in international arena, but is not one of the P-5 nations. China is.

If anything, India has remained tentative, inconsistent and at times confused over the past decade and more, when alone permanent member status at the UNSC became a plausible demand for India to make on the international community. This tentativeness on India’s part, and some of the avoidable embarrassment and confusion it has caused to fellow-members at the SAARC over UN-related issues of selection and election, is also a cause for concern in those nations.

Hedging ‘sovereignty’

Given their relative sizes, and those of their populations, economic weight and political leverage, smaller nations, in real terms and not just in South Asia, have only ‘sovereignty’ to hedge and pledge in bilateral and multilateral engagements or embroilment with larger nations, neighbours included – or, to start with. Thus, what may look to larger neighbours as wanton inclusion of avoidable irritants in bilateral relations, and at times in multilateral contexts, are also an expression of smaller nations’ anguish and/or inability.

In the Indian context, it has applied to a greater or lesser extent to all its neighbours, at different points in time. History and historicity notwithstanding, it’s also a part of the problem with, in and of Pakistan. The reality of the situation demands that India handles Pakistan separately. India also has to approach the rest of SAARC neighbours with a more accommodative mind-set. Such mind-sets cannot be confined to sharing history and culture, economic prosperity and development-spending.

In particular, those smaller nations would expect their bigger neighbour(s) to be the eternal guarantor of their political and geo-strategic independence and sovereignty – and as perceived by them in their own particular circumstances. At times, it may be linked or seen as being linked to a particular leadership in office in those nations. Looked at closely, it’s a reflection of a national mind-set and attitude, displayed differently by different leaderships, which in turn are often personality-driven and for the very same reason(s). But the core issue(s) of ‘sovereignty’ remain.

(The writer is a Senior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter)

The post SAARC: Balancing Regional Realities, Global Modalities – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Located on the Arabian Peninsula, Oman’s proximity to the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf grants it access to some of the most important energy corridors in the world, enhancing Oman’s position in the global energy supply chain. Oman plans to capitalize on this strategic location by constructing a world-class oil refining and storage complex near Duqm, Oman, which lies outside the Strait of Hormuz (an important oil transit chokepoint).

Like many countries in the region, Oman is highly dependent on its hydrocarbons sector. In 2012, Oman’s hydrocarbons sector accounted for 86% of government revenues, according to the country’s Ministry of Finance.1 Revenues from oil and natural gas accounted for approximately 50% of Oman’s gross domestic product in 2013, according to the Central Bank of Oman.2 Oman’s fiscal breakeven price for oil in 2014 was approximately $105 per barrel, according to the Ministry of Oil and Gas,3 meaning that Oman’s government needs the export price of oil to remain at or above that level to secure sufficient revenues. In 2013, the price for Omani crude averaged $105.50, 3.7% lower than the previous year.4

Petroleum and other liquid fuels

Oman’s total oil production reached 945,000 barrels per day in 2013, up 2% from the previous year.

Sector organization

Oman

The Ministry of Oil and Gas coordinates the government’s role in the Omani hydrocarbon sectors. Final approval on policy and investment, however, rests with the Sultan of Oman. Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) holds most of Oman’s oil reserves and is responsible for more than 70% of its crude oil production, according to the PDO website. In addition to the government’s 60% ownership stake in PDO, Shell (34%), Total (4%), and Portugal’s Partex (2%) also own stakes in PDO.5 The Oman Oil Company (OOC) is responsible for energy investments both inside and outside Oman, and is fully government owned. The Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC) controls the country’s refining sector and owns both of Oman’s operating refineries.

Reserves

According to the Oil & Gas Journal, Oman had 5.5 billion barrels of estimated proved oil reserves as of January 2014.6 Oman’s 5.5 billion barrels of proved oil reserves rank 7th in the Middle East, and 23rd in the world. A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2012 stated that the estimated mean undiscovered energy resources in the South Oman Salt Basin–located in the southern part of the country–totaled more than 370 million barrels of oil, 315 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, and more than 40 million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGL).7 With rising production levels, a growing petrochemical sector–which relies on liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) and NGL–and additional potential resources, the country is unlikely to significantly alter its dependence on hydrocarbons in the short term.

Consumption

In 2011, oil accounted for 71% of Oman’s total primary energy consumption, and natural gas made up the remaining 29%. With the exception of 2009, Oman’s petroleum consumption rose steadily over the past decade, reaching 154,000 bbl/d in 2013. Most of Oman’s consumption is distillate and residual fuel oil as well as motor gasoline.8 With transportation fuel consumption nearly doubling between 2005 and 2013, the country’s refinery capacity is no longer able to meet the demand for domestic transportation fuels internally.

Exploration and production

Enhanced oil recovery techniques helped Oman’s oil production rebound from a multi–year decline in the early 2000s.

Occidental Petroleum has the largest presence of any foreign firm and is Oman’s largest independent oil producer. Other major players with interests in Oman include Shell, Total, Partex, BP, CNPC, KoGas, and Repsol.9 By the end of 2013, there were exploration and production activities in all 31 of Oman’s exploration blocks, according to the Ministry of Oil and Gas.10 The Oman Bid Round 2014 will offer up five exploration blocks (three onshore and two offshore) to tender in the future.11 Nearly all of Oman’s oil production comes from the Oman Basin, which spans most of the country.

Oman’s crude oil and lease condensate production ranks 7th in the Middle East and 20th in the world. Oman is the largest oil producer in the Middle East that is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Oman’s average annual crude oil production and lease condensate peaked in 2000 at 970,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), but dropped to 710,000 bbl/d in 2007. Oman successfully reversed that decline, and annual crude oil and lease condensate production rose each of the next five years, averaging 945,000 bbl/d in 2013. Improved Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques helped drive this production turnaround, although the country also experienced some additional production gains as a result of recent discoveries. Oman’s government aims to keep production near its current level for at least the next five years by continuing to apply EOR techniques and the cost management associated with it.12

Several recent developments could contribute to future oil production growth in Oman. Some of the notable new developments include Circle Oil’s announcement of Block 52 (offshore) with its 7 billion barrels of oil in place13 and Occidental Petroleum’s Block 53, located at the Mukhaizna field, which could produce roughly 44 million of barrels of oil each year.14 Occidental Petroleum implemented one of the world’s largest to date steam flood projects in Oman in 2005.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

The continued viability of developing Oman’s oil and natural gas resources relies heavily on extraction technologies. Several enhanced oil recovery techniques are already used in Oman, including polymer, miscible, and steam injection techniques.15 Because of the relatively high cost of production in the country, Oman’s government offers incentives to international oil companies for exploration and development activities in the country’s difficult-to-recover hydrocarbons. The government enlists foreign companies in new exploration and production projects, offering generous terms for developing fields that require the sophisticated technology and expertise of the private sector. Given the technical difficulties involved in oil production, the contract terms for international oil companies (IOCs) have become more favorable in Oman than in other countries in the region, some allowing significant equity stakes in certain projects.16

To increase oil production, enhanced oil recovery techniques, such as steam injection and miscible injection, have been the key driver of Oman’s oil production. Block 6, operated by PDO, is the center of current EOR operations, with the Marmul field (polymer), Harweel field (miscible), Qarn Alam field (steam), and Amal–West (solar), using all four of the EOR techniques within the same block.17 Solar EOR at Alam–West in southern Oman is the first solar EOR project in the Middle East, completed by GlassPoint Solar in 2012 and commissioned in early 2013. Backed by a US $53 million equity investment, including funding from Oman’s State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), GlassPoint Solar’s project involves the production of emissions–free steam that feeds directly into the thermal EOR operations currently in existence. This process reduces the need for using natural gas in EOR projects.18 This project serves as an operational starting point for larger steam–powered EOR projects in the future.

Processing and refining

Oman is not a major refined petroleum product exporter, although there are plans to expand the country’s refining capabilities in the next few years. Oman aims to capitalize on its strategic location on the Arabian Peninsula by expanding its refining and storage sectors. Plans to develop a major bunkering and storage terminal are moving forward, and the facility’s location outside the Strait of Hormuz could make it an attractive option for international crude oil shippers.

Oman has two operating refineries, Mina al Fahal and Sohar, with a combined nameplate capacity of 222,000 bbl/d. Steps are underway to upgrade the facility at Sohar as part of the ORPIC-led Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP). Sohar’s capacity is expected to expand to 198,000 bbl/d from 116,400 bbl/d in the coming years.19 Oman aims to construct a refinery near Duqm with a capacity of 230,000 bbl/d20 as well as a 200-million-barrel crude oil storage terminal in the same area. The storage terminal would be one of the world’s largest refineries, and its location outside the Strait of Hormuz would make it strategically important.

Oman does not have any international oil pipelines, although there are plans to expand the country’s domestic pipeline infrastructure. Plans include building a pipeline that connects the planned storage terminal at Duqm with the existing export infrastructure in the center of the country.21 Another proposal is the Muscat Sohar Pipeline Project (MSPP).22 MSPP, if built, would connect Oman’s two operating refineries by a 280 km pipeline to reduce tanker traffic between the two coastal facilities.23 The project’s later phases include plans to construct new storage facilities, with the goal of enabling Oman to hold up to 30 days of oil reserves.24

Imports and exports

Oman is an important oil exporter, particularly to Asian markets. In 2013, more than 97% of the country’s oil exports went to countries in Asia, of which nearly 60% went to China.25

Oman’s only export crude stream is the Oman blend, which is a medium-light and sour (high sulfur) crude. Oman is an important crude oil exporter, particularly to Asian markets. In 2013, Oman exported an estimated 833,400 bbl/d of crude oil and condensate, of which nearly 60% went to China.

Oman does not currently import any crude oil, but it does import refined petroleum products for use in the domestic market. In 2013, Oman imported almost 130,000 bbl/d of refined petroleum products, most of which was gasoil, naphtha, and gasoline.

Natural gas

Oman recently combined the Oman LNG and Qalhat LNG companies to streamline the country’s LNG sector. The new company, also called Oman LNG, controls the country’s 10.4 million tons (approximately 500 billion cubic feet (Bcf)) per year of export capacity.

Sector organization

PDO has an even greater presence in the natural gas sector than it does in the oil sector, accounting for nearly all of Oman’s natural gas supply along with smaller contributions from Occidental Petroleum, Oman’s largest independent oil producer, and Thailand’s PTTEP. The Oman Gas Company (OGC) directs the country’s natural gas transmission and distribution systems. The OGC is a joint venture between the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas (80%) and OOC (20%). Oman Liquefied Natural Gas (OLNG)–owned by a consortium including the government, Shell, and Total–operates all liquefied natural gas (LNG) activities in Oman through its three liquefaction trains in Qalhat near Sur.26

Exploration and production

Oman’s potential for natural gas production growth may be substantial, supported by promising developments in several new projects.

Oman held 30 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proved natural gas reserves as of January 2014, according to the Oil & Gas Journal.27 In 2012, the country was the 5th largest dry natural gas producer in the Middle East and the 26th largest producer worldwide. Oman’s natural gas sector grew in importance over the past two decades, largely the result of the opening of the country’s two LNG facilities, in 2000 and 2005.28 Prior to 2000, Oman produced small quantities of dry natural gas, averaging just 154 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year between 1990 and 1999. In 2013, Oman produced 1.1 Tcf of dry natural gas, exporting almost 410 Bcf in the form of LNG and consuming the remainder in the domestic market.29

The opening of the Oman LNG facility in 2000 helped spur Oman’s dry natural gas production, which grew by more than 80% between 2004 and 2013. Official figures indicate that Oman’s gross natural gas production grew to more than 1.3 Tcf in 2013, which is 3% higher than the previous year.30 The government expects gross natural gas production to reach close to 1.5 Tcf by the end of 2014.31 Nearly 82% of the country’s production in 2013 came from nonassociated natural gas fields, according to government figures.32

The greatest growth potential for Oman’s natural gas production is in the Khazzan-Makarem field in BP’s Block 61. The field is a tight gas formation, and BP suggests the field has between 15 Tcf and 20 Tcf of recoverable natural gas resources, and up to 100 Tcf of natural gas in place.33 However, ahead of the Block 61 project, Oman is set to bring onstream the Abul Tabul gas field in Block 60, as well as a number of other projects, to help meet short–term demand in the country. In 2013, Abul Tabul increased production to 90 MMcf of natural gas per day and 6,000 bbl/d of condensates.34

Oman currently exports liquid natural gas (LNG) from two liquefaction facilities, although rising domestic demand for natural gas could limit the volumes available for export in the future.

Imports

Oman has just one international natural gas pipeline–the Dolphin Pipeline–that runs from Qatar to Oman through the United Arab Emirates. Oman is not a major importer of natural gas, although the country does import approximately 51 Bcf per year from Qatar through the Dolphin Pipeline, according to a 2013 report by the Middle East Economic Survey.35 The imports through the Dolphin Pipeline are necessary to meet the rising level of domestic consumption. However, Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas is looking to phase out imports from the Dolphin Pipeline as soon as more domestic gas can be produced.36 Rising natural gas consumption prompted the Oman LNG company to announce that it would divert all its currently exported volumes of natural gas away from foreign markets and toward domestic consumers by 2024.

Oman reinjected 22% of its gross natural gas production (37 million cubic meters, or 1.3 Tcf) in oil extraction in 2013, according to the Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas.37 With the continuing rise of Oman’s natural gas demand (tripling over the past decade), Oman plans to divert all of the natural gas used in its liquefaction export plants to the domestic market by 2024 to help satisfy demand.38

Exports

Oman is a member of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) and exports natural gas as LNG through its two liquefaction facilities near Sur, in the Gulf of Oman.39 In 2013, Oman exported approximately 410 Bcf of natural gas, which is roughly 63% of the country’s total capacity.40 Nearly all of Oman’s natural gas exports go to Japan and South Korea, although in 2013 a small amount went to Spain.41

The process to combine Oman LNG and Qalhat LNG companies into a single entity under the Oman LNG banner began in September 2013. Combining these companies gave Oman LNG control of all three of the country’s LNG trains, with a combined capacity of 10.4 million tons per year (approximately 500 Bcf).42

In August 2013, Oman signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran on a natural gas import contract. If realized, it will be a $60 billion, 25–year supply deal beginning in 2015, and will connect the two countries through a pipeline under the Gulf of Oman. However, the gas deal is stalled until further negotiations.

Electricity

Oman’s electricity sector relies heavily on the country’s domestic natural gas resources to fuel electricity generation in Oman.

The Authority for Electricity Regulation, Oman regulates the country’s electricity and associated water sectors. Its primary functions include implementing general policy from the state; licensing; compliance; and coordination between the various ministries, organizations, and stakeholders in the sector. The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company is the planning body for power supplies in Oman, and the Oman Electricity Transmission Company is in charge of the country’s transmission networks.

Oman’s electricity sector has two major networks, the Main Interconnected System (MIS) and the Salalah system. The larger of the two, the MIS, covers most of the northern area of Oman. The Salalah portion of Oman’s grid covers areas in the south. Areas outside both networks get electricity from the Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO), primarily through the use of diesel generators.43 According to International Energy Agency (IEA) data, roughly 97% of the country has access to electricity.44

Oman’s electrification generation more than doubled between 2001 and 2011, from 9.2 billion kilowatthours to approximately 20 billion kilowatthours. Electricity consumption over the same period grew at a similar rate, rising by nearly 10 billion kilowatthours. Oman generates electricity primarily from natural gas, although there is some diesel/distillate generation as well.

Oman is a part of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) grid interconnection system, which allows for electricity transfers between the six connected countries (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman). Oman and the United Arab Emirates established their connection in October 2011.45

Oman has a nascent renewable energy sector, with several projects making progress in 2013. In its 2012 Annual Report, Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company detailed five renewable electricity projects, of which three are solar and two are wind.46 In fourth-quarter 2013, RAECO agreed to the Al-Mazyunah power purchase agreement to construct a 303 kW capacity solar plant.47 The expected benefits of this project, especially on fuel savings, are great. The combined capacity of the five projects is more than 6 megawatts, but none of the proposed facilities are ready to begin operations.48 While Oman does not currently have a nuclear energy program, the country joined the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2009. Currently, there are no plans to construct any nuclear generating facilities.

Notes

• Data presented in the text are the most recent available as of December 5, 2014.
• Data are EIA estimates unless otherwise noted.

Endnotes

1. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
2. Central Bank of Oman, “Annual Report 2013,” (June, 2014), page 6.
3. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
4. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, “Energy for Oman Today and Tomorrow: Annual Report 2013″ (2013).
5. Petroleum Development Oman.; Energy Intelligence, “International Crude Oil Market Handbook 2011,” (September 1, 2011).
6. Oil & Gas Journal, “Worldwide look at reserves and production” (January 1, 2014).
7. U.S. Geological Survey, “Assessment of Undiscovered Conventional Oil and Gas Resources of the Arabian Peninsula and Zagros Fold Belt, 2012,” (September 2012), page 3.
8. Oil & Gas Journal, “Worldwide look at reserves and production” (January 1, 2014).
9. Petroleum Development Oman, http://www.pdo.co.om/Pages/Home.aspx
Note: Occidental Petroleum Oman’s operations are located primarily at the Mukhaizna Field in south-central Oman, and blocks 9,27, and 62 in northern Oman. Oxy has been working in Oman for over 30 years and has increased the country’s production and reserves greatly. In 2013, the average gross daily oil production at Mukhaiza was 123,000 bbl/d, over 15 times higher than production levels in 2005, when Oxy assumed operation of the field.
10. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, “Annual Report 2013: Energy for Oman Today & Tomorrow,” (2013), page 9.
11. Ministry of Oil and Gas, “Oman Bid Round 2014.”
12. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
Note: For more details on which blocks produce how much: http://www.mog.gov.om/Portals/0/pdf/MOG-Book-2013-eng.pdf
13. Oil & Gas News, “Sultanate places its bet on a successful exploration plan,” http://www.oilandgasnewsonline.com/Article/37467/Sultanate_places_its_bet_on_a_successful_exploration_plan
14. Mubadala, “Mukhaizna” (Accessed September 18, 2014), http://www.mubadala.com/en/what-we-do/oil-and-gas/mukhaizna-block-53
15. Petroleum Development Oman, http://www.pdo.co.om/Pages/Home.aspx
Note: Oman drilled 33 exploratory wells in 2013 with 16 companies operating in the concession blocks in the country. According to Arabian Oil and Gas Journal, EOR techniques account for 180,000 to 200,000 bbl/d of the country’s annual oil production of around 940,000 bbl/d. It is argued that EOR techniques come at the expense of roughly $10-12 per barrel of oil. http://www.arabianoilandgas.com/article-12918-eor-costly-for-oman-oil-production/
16. IMF, “GCC Countries: From Oil Dependence to Diversification,” (2003).
17. Middle East Economic Survey, “Oman Taps Shell for 30,000 B/D Crude Output Boost” (September 5, 2014), page 7. Middle East Economic Survey, “Oman Targeting Steady Crude Output Through 2018″(March 7, 2014), page 4.
18. GlassPoint Solar, “Petroleum Development Oman and GlassPoint Commission the Middle East’s First Solar EOR Project” (May 21, 2013).
Note: GlassPoint Solar is setting out to make solar thermal EOR techniques economical for Oman, and with gas consumption rising from its use in EOR techniques, solar thermal techniques cuts the gas use down to only 23% of the operation. Oman is the pilot project for this type of EOR and PDO is discussing the next phase and making this installation 100x larger than the current one.
19. Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company, http://www.orpic.om/
20. Middle East Economic Survey, “DRPIC Tenders Duqm Refinery Site Prep” (August 22, 2014), page 7.
Note: Duqm is being developed by the Oman Oil Company in partnership with Abu Dhabi-based international Petroleum Investment Company, creating a joint venture company called the Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company.
21. International Petroleum Investment Company, http://www.ipic.ae/english
22. Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company, http://www.orpic.om/
23. Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company, http://www.orpic.om/
24. Middle East Economic Survey, “Oman Plans Muscat-Sohar Pipeline” (February 22, 2013), page 9.
25. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
26. Oman LNG, http://www.omanlng.com/en/Pages/HOME.aspx
Note: Oman’s LNG liquefaction plant is located on the coast at Qalhat near Sur and its head office is in Muscat. Oman LNG’s claims its activities contribute to helping the Omani government diversify the economy.
27. Oil & Gas Journal, “Worldwide Look at Reserves and Production” (January 1, 2014).
28. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
29. BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2014
30. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
31. Middle East Economic Survey, “Abul Tabul Commissioning to Kick Start Oman Gas Boost” (August 1, 2014), page 4.
32. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
33. Middle East Economic Survey, “Oman, BP Sign Final Khazzan Tight Gas Deal” (December 20, 2013), page 7.
34. Middle East Economic Survey, “Abul Tabul Commissioning To Kick Start Oman Gas Boost” (August 1, 2014), page 4.
35. Middle East Economic Survey, “Omani Gas, Power Sector At the Crossroads” (February 1, 2013), page 13.
Note: The Dolphin gas pipeline was conceived in 1999 to produce, process and transport to Qatar to the UAE and Oman. This pipeline is the largest energy-related venture ever taken in the region, and is the first of its kind for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
36. Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas, http://www.mog.gov.om/english/tabid/54/Default.aspx
37. National Centre for Statistics and Information, (accessed September 22, 2014), http://www.ncsi.gov.om/NCSI_website/N_Default.aspx
38. Middle East Economic Survey, “Analysis: Changes Ahead for Gulf LNG Importers and Producers” (June 14, 2013), page 8.
39. Economist Intelligence Unit, http://www.economist.com/topics/economist-intelligence-unit
40. BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2014
41. BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2014
42. Oman LNG, http://www.omanlng.com/en/Pages/HOME.aspx
43. Oman Power and Water Procurement Company. http://www.omanpwp.com/Default.aspx
44. International Energy Agency, http://www.iea.org/
45. Cigre, “GCC Interconnection Grid: Operational Studies for the GCC Interconnection with United Arab Emirates (UAE)” (2012), page 1.
46. Rural Areas Electricity Company, “Delivering Electricity to Rural Oman: Annual Report 2012″ (2012).
47. Rural Areas Electricity Company, “Delivering Electricity to Rural Oman: Annual Report 2013″ (2013).
48. Rural Areas Electricity Company, “Delivering Electricity to Rural Oman: Annual Report 2012″ (2012).

The post Oman Energy Profile: Largest Oil And Natural Gas Producer In Middle East That Isn’t OPEC Member – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The trade ties and political exchanges between the European Union and Latin America are growing increasingly. EU is the second biggest trade partner for Latin America and Caribbean, and some 2.2 million Latin American citizens live in Europe. According to the recent data, EU is the largest foreign investor in Latin America.

There are a large number of prominent European politicians and diplomats who have dedicated their entire professional career to fostering and bolstering the economic and political relations between the European Union and the Latin America.

One of these politicians is the seasoned Austrian diplomat Benita Ferrero-Waldner. She served 5 years as the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy. This position was merged with the position of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy to become the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The Spanish Javier Solana and British Catherine Ashton are the politicians who subsequently assumed the role in the EU Commission.

Ferrero-Waldner, considered a high-ranking career diplomat in her native country, was the Head of Protocol to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1995. From 2000 to 2004, she served as Austria’s Foreign Minister. In 2000, she was also the President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). She was named the European Diplomat of the Year by European Voice Magazine in 2007. In 2004, she ran unsuccessfully for the office of the President of Austria.

Along with a number of renowned European and Latin American politicians and diplomats, Ms. Ferrero-Waldner is now working to promote and enhance the bilateral and multilateral ties between the EU and LAC countries in the framework of EU-LAC Foundation, an international institution comprised of 62 member states whose leaders agreed in May 2010 to establish a global initiative for connecting the two far-away but culturally and economically close regions and sponsoring the bi-regional strategic partnership between them. She is the President of the EU-LAC Foundation.

In an exclusive interview with Fair Observer, Benita Ferrero-Waldner talked about the trade, cultural and political relations between the European Union and Latin America, the challenges ahead of the two regions and the achievements made so far.

Kourosh Ziabari: Dr. Ferrero-Waldner; why is the economic, political and social relationship between the European Union and Latin America and Caribbean so important and vital that you, along with a number of high-ranking politicians from both regions decided to establish the EU-LAC Foundation? What goals are you trying to realize in this foundation?

Benita Ferrero-Waldner: Before going any further, I ought to clarify that the EU-LAC Foundation is not the result of individual decisions and does not respond to private interests. The decision to create the Foundation was made by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean at the 2010 summit in Madrid. That is, the EU-LAC Foundation, which I have the honor to be President Ad Honorem since its inception, does not have a private nature. Having said that, its aim is to encourage a dynamic relationship between the two regions by fostering an active participation of civil society and by offering a platform for cooperation and exchange of ideas in areas of mutual interest, such as climate change, education, gender or the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Our range of action is broad.

Ziabari: You surely admit that the Latin America region is suffering from poverty, unemployment and a disturbing lack of food security and education, despite the fact that the region enjoys extensive natural resources. Why do you the Latin America and Caribbean is facing poverty to such a great extent, and how can the European Union help it overcome the economic difficulties it’s currently enduring?

Ferrero-Waldner: I infer from the assumptions in your question that you have not recently traveled to Latin America to see first-hand the progress that this region has experienced. In Latin America there are certainly places, like anywhere, with relatively important unemployment rates, persistent poverty, weak educational systems, and exclusion; but, if you check the United Nations Human Development Index, you will notice that all the countries in Latin America have made significant improvements and that the majority of the population is no longer affected by problems directly caused by lack of development, nor are those endemic issues. The region is advancing steadily and is complying with the Millennium objectives; for instance, just some weeks ago, we received the confirmation that it has complied with the one related to hunger. The EU has not only accompanied Latin America in its progress, but will also quadruple funds destined to this region in the years ahead. These will not be so much oriented to development aid, which is relatively less necessary, but rather towards technical cooperation, including institutional strengthening, governance, vocational training and policies to tackle inequality.

Ziabari: The European Union is the Latin America’s largest foreign financier, having invested some €385 billion in the continent in 2010. The figure is larger than EU’s foreign direct investment in Russia, China and India combined. Why does the integrated Europe attach so much importance to economic relations with Latin America and Caribbean and make such enormous financial investments there?

Ferrero-Waldner: European enterprises have a long tradition in Latin America and the Caribbean, and not only because these two regions share strong historical and cultural links, and even family bonds. European enterprises have always looked for new business opportunities beyond their borders. But it was generally during the 90’s that European business took advantage of the processes of privatization and economic liberalization in Latin America. What the ‘integrated’ Europe, as you call it, has done so far is to promote the aforementioned exchanges through agreements that provide the irreplaceable stimulus of a predictable environment.

But lately we are experiencing an important phenomenon in the opposite direction. The so called multilatinas, that is, multinational Latin American enterprises, start to be present not only throughout Latin America, but also in global markets: Europe, Asia, or in the United States. Some of the widely known multinationals are, for example, the Mexican Pemex and Cemex, the Brazilian Embraer or Petrobras and the Venezuelan Bank Banesco. Latin-American direct investment in Europe is gaining more and more importance. I give you an example: the Mexican company Nemak, a world leader in aluminum components with an annual revenue of 4.3 billion US dollars, already has with production plants in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Spain and Hungary, providing among other products engine components to the European automobile industry.

Ziabari: What’s your assessment of the state of relations between the EU and Brazil as the largest Latin American nation? EU is Brazil’s biggest trade partner, and Brazil is the European bloc’s 10th trade partner, accounting for 2.2% of EU’s total trade. How much is it important for the EU to foster its trade, cultural and political relations with Brazil?

Ferrero-Waldner: The relationship with Brazil is very important, and reflects the importance that this country has on its own in the region, and its evermore importance in the world. In economic terms, Brazil has been the chosen country by many European enterprises to access Latin American markets, or even to access the United States. This is especially evident when it comes to German enterprises. In Brazil, particularly in Sao Paulo, there are over 1,200 German companies, representing the biggest concentration of German enterprises outside Germany. However, other countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile or Peru are also outstanding partners in Latin America. European relationships are not restricted to certain countries. Indeed Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru as well as other countries like Costa Rica have created the Pacific Alliance, the most dynamic regional integration.

Ziabari: The Latin American and Caribbean nations are mostly categorized as the members of the Global South and seen as countries which are not aligned to the major world powers. Several Latin American nations, including Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela are members of the Non-Aligned Movement, which is essentially opposed to the current world order and tends to distance itself from the policies of the Western powers. In this light, has the European Union been able to bridge the possible ideological gaps between Latin America and Europe and reach out to the people in these countries who sometimes garner strong anti-Western sentiments as a result of their historical experiences, including the coups, revolutions, etc.?

Ferrero-Waldner: Your assertion evokes a Cold War context, a period that has already been surpassed. The notion of non-alignment in itself alludes to the exception of alignment in the east-west confrontation during the Cold War. As you are aware, that confrontation ended and is symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Today, we have different challenges. Some can and should be dealt with in a national context, others require policy coordination at a regional level. However, there are also global challenges that due to their global nature require global action and a cooperative spirit to successfully confront them. It is no longer the case of non-alignment or NATO membership being an obstacle for cooperative action. On the contrary, some of the countries that you have mentioned are actively working with the EU in promoting their interest and for the mutual benefit.

Ziabari: Latin America is facing a serious threat of excessive population growth. Between 1950 and 2000, the number of the continent’s inhabitants more than doubled from 175 million to 515 million, and today, the figure stands at about 604 million. How should the regional countries address this concern? Is the European Union ready to offer its experience to the LAC countries and help them tackle the population growth issue?

Ferrero-Waldner: I do not support that analysis at all. The population in Latin America is growing, but as a result of the extraordinary, and in fact very successful, struggle, to reduce the death rate. Even so, population density in these countries, including in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. is lower than in Iran. I would say population problems in Latin America and the Caribbean have more to do with the rural exodus. Latin America is the region with the highest rate of urbanization in the planet. Today, its urban population represents over 82% of the total and this figure is expected to reach 90% by 2050. Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires are mega-cities, and Bogota and Lima will become mega-cities very soon. Obviously, this entails administrative and structural challenges. But also realize that urban life and the exponential growth of the middle classes in Latin America is in normal circumstances associated to reduced fertility rates.

Ziabari: From 2007 to 2013, the European Union offered €300 billion in financial assistance to the Latin American and Caribbean nations. How is this monetary aid being spent, and which countries are the major recipients of the assistance in the region? What kind of mutual benefit does such financial assistance have for the European Union?

Ferrero-Waldner: As you know, I am no longer Commissioner, so I could not confirm or deny the figure that you suggest. However, from my experience traditionally cooperation funds towards Latin America and the Caribbean have been allocated to democracy, peace and stability, education, good governance, fight against illicit drugs, social cohesion and growth. The main recipients of assistance have been the Caribbean Islands, some of the Central American countries and a country in South America.

Ziabari: According to the recent stats, today some 2.2 million Latin Americans live in Europe, mostly in Spain, Portugal and Italy. What opportunities and threats can the emigration of Latin American citizens to Europe entail for the integrated EU? We know that the Latin American nations have close cultural and lingual affinities with Portugal and Spain. Is this reason why there’s a growing tendency on the part of Latin American citizens to move to Europe, and especially these two countries?

Ferrero-Waldner: You have mentioned it. Language and other cultural affinities have determined millions of Latin Americans who once decided to look for new opportunities in Europe; therefore, it comes as no surprise that Spain and Portugal became the main recipients of Latin American migration. However, the situation seems to have reversed as a consequence of the economic crisis, and nowadays it is young Spanish and Portuguese citizens who travel to Latin America to look for job and business opportunities, as it happened in the past, when Latin America and other regions received waves of migration originating in Europe.

Ziabari: In 2008, the European Commission launched the EUROCLIMA joint program during the Fifth EU-Latin American and the Caribbean Summit to address the concern of climate change. It’s said that the Latin American and Caribbean nations are suffering a great deal from global warming and its consequences, especially given that agriculture and forestry are among the major propellers of the Latin America’s economy. Is this program making progress six years after being introduced? What’s your assessment of the role the EU countries can play in solving the concerns rising from climate change and global warming in Latin America?

Ferrero-Waldner: Climate change is a truly global problem and that is the reason why the United Nations pursues a global agreement within the framework of a shared and differentiated responsibility. This implies that we all have a common goal in the fight against global warming, whose effects, experts warn, can be devastating, not only for Latin America but for others, mainly the small Island States, as well.. Then, we need to make a collective effort if we want to succeed in avoiding raising temperatures and to adapt to the new circumstances. Adapting to the effects that are deriving from climate change are beyond the capacity of individual countries, [and] that is why [it] is so important for all to reach an agreement no later than December 2015.

Ziabari: You served 4 years as the Austrian Foreign Minister and then was appointed the European Commissioner for Trade and European Neighborhood Policy in 2004 and remained in that position for 5 years. Why did you decide to dedicate the rest of your political career to strengthening the EU-Latin America relations? Why is it so important for you to consolidate the EU-LAC relations that you founded the EU-LAC Foundation and are currently speaking and giving public lectures solely on this issue?

Ferrero-Waldner: First I was working as Commissioner for External Relation and Neighborhood Policy until November 2009 when I became Commissioner for Trade and Neighborhood Policy.

Well, one never knows what life brings us, but, yes, I am delighted to currently serve as the president of the EU-LAC Foundation. Why?, you ask me. Because I am a devoted European and feel a huge enthusiasm about Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that I was always in contact with when I was working as European Commissioner; a region that I have visited numerous times, and where I feel at home, because as I told you at the beginning of this interview, both regions share a number of values, a social welfare model and aim at a social development in which I believe. And, because I am sure that Europe needs Latin America and vice-versa; a strategic partnership that guides both regions will make them stronger in a new world order.

This article was published at the Fair Observer, and is reprinted with permission.

The post Ferrero-Waldner: EU Will Accompany Latin America In Path Of Progress – Interview appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Authorities in China have arrested the country’s once powerful security chief Zhou Yongkang and expelled him from the ruling Chinese Communist Party, official media reported Friday, in a move that could result in the prosecution of the highest-profile Chinese figure in more than three decades.

The 71-year-old Zhou has been accused of crimes ranging from accepting bribes to leaking state secrets and placed under a judicial probe.

“After a review of the case details, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has decided to arrest Zhou Yongkang and begin investigations into his suspected crimes,” the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) reported on its website, citing the official Xinhua news agency.

“Investigation work is now proceeding on the case, according to law,” it said in the early hours of Saturday Beijing time.

Zhou, who retired from China’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) in 2012, was found to have “accepted a large amount of money and properties personally and through his family,” Xinhua said.

He is the most senior Communist Party member to come under a probe since a faction that included the widow of founding leader Mao Zedong was put on trial in 1980.

The action against Zhou, who was last seen in public more than a year ago, lays to rest months of speculation over whether his alleged “serious violations” of party discipline would be dealt with internally, or whether criminal charges would be brought, paving the way for a trial.

It sets the stage for the first ever trial of a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee, an official who ranked even higher than jailed former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai, Zhou’s protege.

However, the charges against Zhou stop short of accusations of murder of his ex-wife, which have dogged him since her death in a car accident in 2000 shortly after the couple separated.

Zhou was ranked 29th in the 2011 Forbes Magazine’s List of The World’s Most Powerful People, with controlling interests in the state-run oil and private security sectors.

Anti-graft drive

The former security czar in July was put under investigation for “serious disciplinary violation” as officials waged an anti-corruption drive since President Xi Jinping ascended to the leadership two years ago.

Xinhua said the action against Zhou was made at a Politburo meeting Friday, signaling that it was taken with the approval of Xi.

“He took advantage of his posts to seek profits for others and accepted huge bribes personally and through his family,” the Xinhua report said.

“He abused his power to help relatives, mistresses and friends make huge profits from operating businesses, resulting in serious losses of state-owned assets,” it said.

Zhou also leaked party and state secrets, took money and property either himself or through his relatives, Xinhua said. It did not provide details.

It said that Zhou was found to have “committed adultery with a number of women and traded his power for sex and money,” adding that he had “completely deviated from the Party’s nature and mission, and seriously violated Party discipline.”

Pin Ho, editor of New York-based Chinese news magazine Mingjing News, who has been closely following the case against Zhou, told RFA that “the charges against him are very interesting, especially leaking state and party secrets.”

“This means they are recognizing that Zhou’s crimes are political, and that the sources who have been telling us that this is about party factions are correct.”

“The fact that he has been stripped of all his protective umbrellas means the crimes are pretty serious.”

“His expulsion from the party mean he has simultaneously been removed from [all his former rankings], and that now he has no protection at all.”

Plot

Sources linked to China’s leadership have previously told Reuters news agency that Xi was determined to bring down Zhou for allegedly plotting appointments to retain influence ahead of the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, when Xi took over the party.

Zhou had nominated Bo, a charismatic politician with leadership ambitions, to succeed him as domestic security chief and had tried to orchestrate the younger man’s promotion to the Standing Committee, the sources had told Reuters.

Jean-Pierre Cabestan, an expert on Chinese politics and law at Hong Kong Baptist University, said ahead of Saturday’s announcement that the gradual tightening of the noose around Zhou suggested that he would be “eventually” tried, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported .

But he noted that authorities would probably be wary of opening up the proceedings.

“There’s always a risk with a public trial,” he said, adding that party leaders may move to ensure that a Zhou trial is “more controlled” than the dramatic Bo proceedings, which included descriptions of a love triangle and details of the vast wealth amassed by the party’s upper echelon, AFP reported.

The action against Zhou came following the ouster of Xu Caihou, a former vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission.

Xu, who was a Politburo member until 2012, in July became the first of the body’s former members to fall in the current crackdown on graft.

Despite the crackdown, a recent report by Berlin-based Transparency International suggested that corruption has actually worsened in China, in part because “too many cases take place behind closed doors”.

Reported by Ho Shan for RFA’s Cantonese Service and RFA’s Mandarin Service. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

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By Fei Huang

As the spiral of violence engulfing 43 missing students in Mexico continues to draw international attention to the violence-ridden country, it is equally important to take notice of the recent murder of an innocent journalist who was caught up in Mexico’s drug wars. The tensions between citizen journalists and the Mexican drug cartels who had tried to silence them for years ended in an escalation of violence followed by a silence of justice. This could have ominous implications for the future of the Internet as a vehicle for citizen journalism. The intertwined relations between the government, the press (especially for burgeoning citizen journalists), and the drug cartels demonstrate how fragmented the public sphere currently is in Mexico.

To Report or Not To Report

A lifeless woman’s body lying on the dirty floor with a coup de grace bullet wound splattering her face, this is the last picture posted by the Twitter account @Miut3. The owner of the account, María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, best known as “Felina”, was kidnapped by armed men on October 15 this year in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The next day, the cartel posted her dead body on Twitter.

Felina who had become a target of Mexico’s druglords when she reported on cartel violence via Twitter. She also worked as an administrator of Courage for Tamaulipas (Valor por Tamaulipas), a very popular citizen news site. She boldly worked on covering the local violence despite the threats she had frequently received on Twitter since early October.[1]

Sadly, threats and violence towards journalists and netizens (people who actively engage in online speech) are nothing new. Last year, international outrage erupted when the graphic video of a masked man, allegedly a hitman for the Zetas Cartel, beheading a woman was uploaded to Facebook.[2] Prior to that, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF, Reporters Sans Frontière), four netizens were murdered in Tamaulipas in 2011 due to their reports on drug trafficking operations.[3]

In other words, Felina was not the only person who chose to undertake such a risky but just cause, which has been highly recognized by the Index on Censorship Chief Executive Jodie Ginsberg. “Her murder is yet another blow to the right to information and to the freedom of expression, and highlights the risks faced by individuals in the country who are striving to expose wrongdoings,” Jodie also stated that the impunity for the killers of journalists and digital activists poses a serious threat to the future online freedom of expression. She also blamed the authorities and the State for their inability or lack of will to punish the criminal and protect the rights of the online heros who have fallen victim, such as Felina.[4]

A glimpse of the extreme misfortune that e-journalists have suffered is a reminder regarding how vulnerable and fragile citizen journalists today are in Mexico. The government there is unwilling or unable to protect its citizens from the threats posed by the criminals, making the situation even more perilous and more dangerous for the e-journalists. These citizen journalists and bloggers are fear-mongering targets today.[5] Because of this danger, bloggers, journalists and citizens will have to think even more than twice before uttering the truth about drug trafficking activities. A photo of Felina’s corpse that has been uploaded to Twitter can be a powerful deterrent to other digital activists from continuing their work.

New Media, Old Problem

Before 2000, internet usage in Mexico was not particularly extensive, but ten years later, more than 33 million people—one third of the population—have their own Facebook accounts.[6] The rise of social media has filled the void left by the traditional media, which on most occasions are reluctant to publish information on drug trafficking. Besides Facebook and Twitter, popular blogs such as Blog del Narco, Nuestra Aparente Rendicion, and Borderland Beat all make it possible for masses to let their voice be heard regarding the ongoing violence.

Delving deeper into the media ecosystem could make it easier to understand why journalists from the conventional media are reluctant to get involved in drug-related reporting. Article of 7 of Mexico’s 1917 constitution forbids prior censorship, and clearly points out that “freedom of writing and publishing writings on any subject is inviolable.”[7] An amendment to Article 6 adopted in 1977 stated, “the right of information will be guaranteed by the state.” [8]Despite these laws, media in Mexico have to obey the ever-influential government and the consortiums, well known for their elevated levels of corruption, which is illustrated by the Mexico’s poor ranking in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, which ranks number 152 among 180 Countries in the world.[9] The Mexican government is accused of constantly offering bribes to individual journalists for favorable coverage or to withhold certain information from the media.[10] Mexico’s 2012 presidential campaign is a good illustration of the collusion between the candidate Enrique Peña Nieto (the candidate of the historical and omnipotent PRI party) and the mainstream media such as Televisa, leading to mass protests and the creation of “YoSoy 132” student movement that criticized the unfair information system.

According to Reporters Without Borders, from 2000 to early 2012, more than 80 journalists were killed in Mexico, primarily by the drug cartels in retaliation for the their revelation of drug trafficking.[11] The reprisals taken by the drug cartels like the Sinaloa cartels are so vicious that many newspapers have become afraid of exasperating the cartels with penetrating coverage, resulting in a drastic decline of reportage on drug trafficking and other cartel operations.[12]

Rather than siding with media outlets, the Mexican government, stating that mass media are sometimes the source of spreading rumors that cause “a disturbance of the public order,” and chose to enforce restrictions on narco coverage and narco information, step by step. Former President Calderón (2006-2012) has attributed the widespread of narcoterrorism to the “national press”, explaining that cartels coverage on the newspaper front page was free propaganda for the drug cartels. In 2011, a cohort of more than 60 media groups reached the an accord, agreeing not to cover message that might obstruct the government’s operations to fight the cartels and will cut down on the reporting on narco-related incidents, such as the photographs of decapitated victims, which the government considered as being “propagandistic.”[13] Currently the Mexican government led by President Enrique Peña Nieto, has adopted the “New Narrative on Security Issues.” This initiative is aimed at reducing violent images in the media, and emphasizing the effective involvement carried out by the government in the drug war. It underscores that the killings and casualties are all necessary consequences of the “legitimate use of force by the authorities”.[14]As a result of this move, Blog del Narco, for instance, which enjoys an overwhelming popularity among the netizens seeking information on drug violence, has ended in limited public access because the government requested Google to limit accessibility its site and archives.[15]

Although the emergence of blogging and social networks makes it harder for state governors to impose restriction on free expression, the netizens, or citizen journalists, however, are still in a dire situation. To some extent, both the government and cartels are to blame for posing a similar threat to the freedom of speech.

The Mexican Government VS. Drug Cartels

A major Mexico City newspaper, La Jornada, once commented that “due to the decay of social justice and security institutions, the old connections between police and kidnappers, and the infiltration of drug trafficking in the spheres of politics, business, and the media, the borders of the formal authorities and criminal organizations are blurred.”[16] The threat that journalists face from the cartels and the government are therefore often intertwined. When asked about which of the two is more frightening, the fugitive journalist from Blog del Narc, author of Dying for the Truth, said that it was the government, because the threats are from “high up”.[17] According to Diaz, nearly 50% of all recorded acts of violence against reporters were conducted by the government security forces, the police, or government officials.

On the other hand, while actively imposing restrictions on the conventional media and the digital activists, the Mexican government seems unmoved to the harsh activities of the cartels. A pouty expression, holding an AK-47 beside the window of a fancy sports car, is supposed to be a typical selfie picture of a 20-year-old cartel member. The growing number of young people involved in the drug cartels explains logically this way of bragging about their life on social media. [18]

These selfies posted by the cartels are much more than merely showing off, however. The drug cartels are extremely adept at self-promotion through social media. By strategically utilizing cyberspace, the cartels keep people informed of their status and achievements, and even intimidate the public and the authorities. The posts are particularly tempting for the young people, who are on the threshold of a new career, or the unemployed, urgently on the look for jobs that might come with overnight wealth. Additionally, there are expert analysts working for the cartels, keeping track of Mexican public opinion.[19] Some cartels are using social media to commit victual kidnappings.[20]

The threat posed by the cartels who are protected by the government’s continued inaction, and the authoritative repression on common population, jointly lead to the hazardous situation that the citizen journalists are currently in.

Where To Go From Here

In the era of new media, the drug cartels are relentlessly self-advertising while citizen journalists are fighting to keep the Mexican population—as well as the rest of the world—aware of the country’s criminal activities. In the supposed-to-be free platform of information, however, the voice of the justice is stifled, either by the threats posed by criminals, or by the government’s misguided and repressive measures.

The appropriation of the public sphere by the citizen journalists can be a positive asset in the battle against drug cartels in Mexico, as well as against corrupt politicians. The Mexican government must protect the freedom of speech and the personal security of journalists, to preserve the public sphere constructed by the painstaking efforts of the common population. Justice cannot be upheld if the criminal acts are veiled and the avenues of speech are blocked.

 Fei Huang, Research Associate at the Council On Hemispheric Affairs.

References

[1]Oliva Solon, “Drug cartel murders journalist then posts photos of her body from her Twitter account,” Oct. 23, 2014, accessed Nov. 25, 2014: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/drug-cartel-murders-journalist-posts-4490905

[2] Keith Wagstaff, “Twitter, Guns and Money: Mexico’s Cartels Live Large on Social Media,” June. 13, 2014, accessed Nov. 25, 2014:

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/twitter-guns-money-mexicos-cartels-live-large-social-media-n130886

[3]“Mexico must act to protect online free speech, “ Oct. 27, 2014, accessed Nov 25, 2014: http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/10/mexico-maria-del-rosario-fuentes-rubio-organised-crime-groups/

[4]“Mexico must act to protect online free speech, “ Oct. 27, 2014, accessed Nov 25, 2014: http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/10/mexico-maria-del-rosario-fuentes-rubio-organised-crime-groups/

[5]Xeni Jardin, “Mexico: two tortured, murdered as warning to those using social media and blogs to report narco-crime”, Sep. 14, 2014, accessed Nov. 25:

http://boingboing.net/2011/09/14/mexico-two-tortured-murdered-for-using-twitter-blogs-to-report-narco-crime-bodies-hanged-from-bridge-as-warning-to-others.html

[6] Socialbakers, 2012 “Facebook statistics by country.” Socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics.

[7] 1917 Constitution of Mexico, accessed Nov. 25, 2014:

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexico/1917-Constitution.htm,

For the Constitution of 1917 with Amendments, please see Mexico’s Constitution of 1917 with Amendments through 2007, Oxford University Press, accessed Nov. 25, 2014:

https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Mexico_2007.pdf

[8] “The media,” accessed Nov. 25, 2014:

http://countrystudies.us/mexico/90.htm

[9] Reporters Without Borders, World Press Freedom Index 2014, accessed Nov. 25, 2014,

http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php

[10] “The media,” accessed Nov. 25, 2014:

http://countrystudies.us/mexico/90.htm

[11] Paul K. Eiss, “The Narcomedia: A Reader’s Guide”, Latin American Perspectives 41, no 2 (2014): 91

[12], John Gibler, To Die in Mexico: Dispatches from Inside the Drug War. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2011

[13] Paul K. Eiss, “The Narcomedia: A Reader’s Guide”, Latin American Perspectives 41, no 2 (2014): 93

[14] Paul K. Eiss, “The Narcomedia: A Reader’s Guide”, Latin American Perspectives 41, no 2 (2014): 93

[15] J. W. Fabian, “Google kills Blog del Narco,” Oct. 28, 2011, accessed Nov. 25, 2014:

http://www.advantagemexico.com/news/5064/google_kills_blog_del_narco

[16] Matt Stroud, “Facebook becomes the new front in Mexico’s drug war,” April 1, 2014,accessed Nov. 25, 2014: http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/1/5569878/the-dark-side-of-the-facebook-revolution

[17]Bernardo Loyola, “The Fugitive Reporter Exposing Mexico’s Drug Cartels.” April 18, 2013, accessed Nov. 25, 2014: http://www.vice.com/read/dying-for-the-truth

[18]William Booth and Steve Fainaru, “Mexican drug cartels increasingly recruit the young, ” Nov. 3, 2009, accessed Nov. 25, 2014: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/02/AR2009110203492.html

[19]Joseph Cox，“Mexico’s Drug Cartels Love Social Media,”Nov.4, 2013, accessed Nov. 25, 2014: http://www.vice.com/read/mexicos-drug-cartels-are-using-the-internet-to-get-up-to-mischief

[20] Priscila Mosqueda, Mexican Drug Cartels Are Using Social Media Apps to Commit Virtual Kidnappings, Sept.17, 2014, accessed Nov. 25, 2014: http://www.vice.com/read/mexican-cartels-are-using-social-media-apps-to-commit-virtual-kidnappings-917

The post Mexico’s Paradox Of Free Expression – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By John Feffer

It wasn’t long ago that certain pundits were predicting war in Asia.

Back in the spring, the conflict over the South China Sea was heating up as China sparred with Vietnam over an oil exploration rig and with the Philippines over disputed reefs. Japan and China, meanwhile, were butting heads over a string of uninhabited rocks in the ocean between them. South Korea and Japan, both U.S. allies, were refusing to talk to one another over a range of issues that stretched back into the past. And the United States was pushing its “Pacific pivot,” which Beijing translated into Chinese as “containment with American characteristics.”

The Pacific was anything but pacific. Everyone was preparing for war by jacking up their military spending. It looked as though Asia was heading toward its own version of 1914, which even Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe worried about publicly.

But the guns of August, at least this time around, failed to fire. And last week, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Beijing, everyone was suddenly making nice. The leaders of Japan and China shook hands. China offered to build up the infrastructure of its neighbors through a huge new “Silk Road” initiative. Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye broke bread at dinner and promised to push forward bilateral talks. The United States and China agreed to notify each other of military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.

Oh, yes, and Washington and Beijing hammered out a climate deal that received all the headlines. But as I write in The Dance of the Superpowers, global cooperation between the United States and China has been forthcoming on a range of issues. It’s the regional standoff between the two superpowers that is so worrisome. This isn’t your grandfather’s Cold War. Although the United States and Soviet Union managed very little in the way of global cooperation, they largely respected each other’s sphere of influence. The United States and China, by contrast, are squabbling over who gets to call the shots in Asia. As a result, the region has become like the Kardashian clan: wealthy, contentious, and all up in the public’s face.

Wealthy is the operative word here. APEC, after all, is all about the money, and it seemed as though capital acted like smelling salts to bring the Asia-Pacific leaders to their senses. The meeting brings together the world’s top three economies (China, the United States, and Japan) along with six more from the top 20 (Russia, Canada, Mexico, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia). Altogether, APEC represents more than half of the world’s GDP and nearly half of its trade. All of that economic power in one place no doubt motivated the participating leaders to focus on their interests rather than passions, just as global trade under capitalism is supposed to operate.

Economic warning signs no doubt also stimulated the pheromones that produced the APEC lovefest. Japan is officially in recession mode as its economy has shrunk in two successive quarters. Growth is slowing in Indonesia, Australia, and Thailand. The economies in Taiwan and South Korea are growing modestly, but both countries are worried about regional stagnation. Although most countries would envy China’s current economic growth – over 7 percent – the days of double-digit expansion are in the past. The EU offers a gloomy scenario of a region in stagnation. So it’s not surprising that the APEC countries decided to get down to business.

At the meeting in Beijing, South Korea and China signed a free-trade agreement. The United States tried to gin up enthusiasm for its Trans Pacific Partnership, and China countered with its own Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific. In their eagerness to promote free trade, you might forget that all of the countries in the region – including the United States – have their own sectors that they desperately want to protect (Japan’s agriculture, America’s car industry, China’s underperforming state enterprises). But with stimulus spending still in the ideological doghouse in most parts of the world, battering down other countries’ trade barriers remains the go-to option for economic revival.

So, do the make-nice efforts at APEC mean that peace has broken out in Asia? Before you book your cruise around the South China Sea, let’s step back and see if the promise of economic growth has truly done away with all the conflicts in the region.

First off, despite a climate deal, an early-warning agreement, and some friendly exchanges in Beijing, Xi Jinping and Barack Obama have not put aside their disputes in Asia. Both sides are bolstering their military positions in the region. Although the “Pacific pivot” does not translate into significant U.S. force increases in the region, Washington is upgrading the capabilities of its friends and allies. In the latest deal, the United States will be selling South Korea more than a billion dollars worth of PAC-3 interceptor missiles. Japan, with the strong support of the United States, is stepping away from its “peace constitution.” At the recent G-20 meeting in Brisbane, Obama pushed harder for closer cooperation with Japan and Australia. Even Malaysia, which has enjoyed relatively good relations with China, recently invited the United States to fly surveillance planes out of the country’s eastern region.

Not everything about Washington’s pivot, however, is going as planned. The winner of the gubernatorial elections in Okinawa this week, Takeshi Onaga, opposes the construction of a new U.S. Marine Air Force base to replace the aging Futenma facility. Although Tokyo forced his predecessor to change his position and grant a permit for new construction, it will be considerably more difficult to proceed with the plan now that the Okinawan political establishment at all levels opposes it. Since the Futenma relocation is the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s force restructuring in the region, the pivot may soon no longer have a leg to stand on.

China, though it continues to push ahead with double-digit military expenditure increases, has witnessed the tarnishing of its “Peaceful Rise” brand through its more aggressive actions. It’s no surprise, then, that it has decided to focus more on economic incentives. Its Silk Road plan to upgrade the regional infrastructure includes countries like the Philippines, which is currently challenging China’s South China Sea claims in international court. Its regional free trade scheme has already won the endorsement of South Korea.

China’s biggest gambit may well be the new bank it’s putting together with its BRICS partners in Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa. China has been pushing its own version of development – a “Beijing consensus” heavy on state involvement in the economy and light on democracy or transparency – and now it has an international financial institution to back it up. Here is China’s most deliberate challenge of U.S. authority. A frontal assault on the Pentagon would be suicidal. The attempt to get more voting power in the IMF and World Bank is currently stalled in Congress. But an end run around U.S. economic hegemony – and the status of the dollar as global currency – is a long-term strategy torn from the pages of Sun Tzu.

Still, money won’t make the security problems in East Asia disappear. The region seems to have a high tolerance for both trade and tribulation. The heads of the region – Abe, Xi, Park – have all stimulated nationalist passions in their countries, and they believe that they ignore these passions at their political peril. South Koreans, however much they like sushi or Tokyo boy bands, treat Japan with as much fear and loathing as they do North Korea. Japanese views of China have reached the worst levels in ten years, and Chinese views of Japan are not much better. These views have worsened even as trade among the countries has increased. As the country that subjugated the region for much of the 20^th century, Japan must take the lead in reconciliation. The region awaits a truly visionary Japanese leader who can, once and for all, solve the “history problem” – as Willy Brandt did in Germany – and leverage the resulting regional good will to pull Japan out of its long economic slumber.

But Washington, too, has a major role to play. The United States has traditionally presented itself as the guarantor of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The island disputes, history spats, and clashing nationalisms would all be a great deal worse, the Pentagon asserts, without the presence of U.S. military bases, the Pacific fleet, and close security alliances. It’s certainly true that the animosities in the region have roots that precede U.S. military presence (though the United States didn’t help matters, for instance, when it seized the Philippines and gave the seal of approval to Japan’s colonization of Korea way back in 1905).

But Washington needs to recognize that its Pacific pivot is adding insecurity to the region, not stability. With its arms sales and encouragement of ally assertiveness, the United States is bringing peace to the region just like the Colt .45 “Peacemaker” brought peace to the Wild West.

The APEC summit offered an important respite from the brewing conflicts in the region. The Okinawan election delivered an important message that, despite all manner of carrots and sticks from Washington and Tokyo, the people in Japan’s southernmost prefecture don’t want any part of the Pentagon’s rebalancing. The lesson should be clear. Peace doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun. China is offering Silk Road 2.0. What is Washington’s counter-offer?

John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus.

The post Asia Smiles For The Cameras – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

At a recent American Antitrust Institute (AAI) symposium in Washington, D.C., I asked the presenters about the ability of cash and checks to compete with the credit card industry and its strict controls on merchants. This obvious point becomes less obvious when one takes into account the expanding exclusion of cash/check payments due to the overwhelming expansion of goods and services that you cannot buy unless you have a credit card or a friend with one whom you can reimburse.

When sending some types of express mail, renting a car, or paying for the services of airlines/trains or hotels, you either cannot pay with cash/check or it is a real hassle of inquiries and conditions. The overall trend is to limit more and more what legal tender can actually buy in America because of exclusionary fine print contracts (see faircontracts.org).

For many people, the convenience of a credit card and potential for rewards justify their preference to forgo cash. Moreover, lower income consumers want a brief extension of credit, however expensive. Credit card carriers are given “points” such as frequent flyer miles, but often the consumer pays in other hidden ways for these “freebies.”

Notwithstanding the above obstacles, I still do not have a credit card or a signature-based debit card. There are ten relevant reasons for my preferring cash or checks over plastic.

1. Plastic lays the groundwork for massive, daily invasions of privacy. Personal purchasing data now floats around the world without controls. The data mining industry is everywhere and both government and hackers can get into peoples’ files. As Facebook and Google demonstrate, it is almost impossible to keep up with the sharing of your personal information.

2. Once you enter the credit economy you fall under the controls of arbitrary credit rating and credit scoring merchants. So if you complain strenuously to an auto dealer or insurance company, if you are a victim of false information in your credit file, or even if you have too many credit cards, your credit can suffer so that you pay more or are denied loans.

3. The credit card economy, with its anti-competitive no-surcharge rules, etc. is inflationary and affects negatively consumer purchasing power as well as lower savings rates.

4. Credit cards encourage impulse buying. The industry knows this very well. Swiping a plastic card rather than opening a wallet and directly taking cash out creates a disconnect between the purchase and the loss of money to the consumer.

5. Credit card terms—what Senator Elizabeth Warren calls “mice print”—are mostly inscrutable and non-negotiable. You sign on the dotted line, shut up and shop. Companies rarely compete over fine print terms that favor the consumer. Compare, with a suitable microscope, the standard form contracts of Visa, Mastercard or Discover or GM, Ford and Toyota, or Bank of America, Citigroup or Wells Fargo. Consumers have been driven into a choiceless contract of peonage or contract servitude.

6. Using cash/check encourages consumers to live within their means and not get caught in an ever deeper cycle of debt. For instance if you are out shopping with cash and set a budget for yourself, it is impossible to overspend if you simply do not bring more than has been allocated for your purchases.

7. Paying by cash/check avoids the gouging of fees, penalties, termination charges, and of course, sky-high interest rates for consumers. Corporations on the other hand enjoy low-interest rates across the board. (Remember, however, checks have a fee if they bounce.)

8. Paying by cash/check—say in a restaurant—saves time and follow-up monitoring for errors. Furthermore, it prevents the addition of any fraudulent charges to the bill.

9. Paying by cash/check avoids having to give away your personal property to the likes of internet companies that turn around and very profitably sell this free information to advertisers with such specificity that the latter knows what ailment or craving you have.

10. Credit card issuers often approve consumers for credit cards with maximum spending limits that are too high considering their salary or lack thereof.

Apple is now out with a payment system that does not require signing or clicking. You can regularly fall into the credit penitentiary with a mere swipe. What’s next, the evocation of brain waves?

There is a strong case for giving cash discounts to consumers, as is done by many gas stations. This would pass along the savings that the vendor would make by bypassing the credit card companies to benefit the consumers, a win-win situation. In addition, there should be no discrimination against consumers based on their choice of legal tender; vendors should have to accept all methods of payment.

The post Ralph Nader: Ten Reasons Why I Don’t Have A Credit Card – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

People who hate religion in general, and Islam and Judaism in particular, often attack circumcision as a cruel, barbaric ritual lacking any positive outcome. But in the last two decades several medical studies have shown the positive effect of circumcision; and this had led the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support male circumcision procedures for male newborns and teenagers in the US, according to a draft of federal guidelines released December 2, 2014.

Clinical trials and observational studies have found that men who are circumcised are less likely than their uncircumcised peers to acquire sexually transmitted infections during vaginal sex. Being circumcised reduced the risk of infection with HIV from a female sexual partner by 50% to 60%. It also reduced the risk of getting
genital herpes by up to 45% and of getting cancer-causing strains of human papillomavirus by 30%.

Studies have also found that sex with circumcised men is safer for women. They are less likely to become infected with HPV, bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis, the CDC guidelines state. There is no medical evidence linking male circumcision to reduced risk of HIV for female partners, the guidelines note.

The CDC states that the risk of adverse events from circumcision is low, and that minor bleeding and inflammation are the biggest problems. The agency says complications arise in less than one-half of 1% of newborns, 9% of children and about 5% of adults. “Severe complications can occur but are exceedingly rare,” the
CDC wrote.

“It’s important to know that male circumcision has been associated with a 50 to 60 percent reduction of HIV transmission, as well as a reduction in sexually transmitted infections such as herpes, bacterial vaginosis, and the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes penile and cervical cancer,” said the director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS at the CDC.

Muslims and Jews do not circumcise their children for medical health reasons, although neither religion believes that circumcision is harmful to a man’s health. However, there are vociferous groups in Europe and the U.S. that attack this religious ritual under the guise of medical and moral concern, claiming that circumcision is painful (like a vaccination) and an unnecessary procedure (like plastic surgery).

Yet more and more evidence is accumulating that circumcision is good for men physically as well as spiritually. According to a recent U.S. study, circumcised men may have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who still have their foreskin.

Although most U.S. men are circumcised, the procedure has become less popular over the past decade, and various groups have spoken out against it. In September 2011, the Dutch Medical Association discouraged the practice, calling it a “painful and harmful ritual.”

The foreskin is known to be prone to tiny tears during sex, which may help bacteria and viruses enter the bloodstream. so some viruses can trigger cancer when they are incorporated into human DNA. Another possibility is that sexually transmitted microorganisms could lead to cancer by causing chronic inflammation. One in six U.S. men will get prostate cancer during his lifetime, although only a minority of them will die from the disease.

As I stated above Muslims and Jews do not circumcise their children for medical health reasons. For Jews and Muslims ritual circumcision is a sign of communal loyalty and acceptance of God’s will.

Christianity, Islam and Judaism all teach that circumcision was already practiced by Prophet Abraham, who is revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims to this day.

Christians do not believe circumcision is still a required observance. But, even during Medieval times, Christian governments never prohibited ritual circumcision for Jews and Muslims living under their rule. Equally, Jews and Muslims never tried to force Christians to circumcise their children.

Only pagan governments like the Greeks and the Romans, or anti-religious secular governments like Communist Russia, have done this.

These governments are led by people who believe that their own humanistic, rational philosophy is on a much higher level than what has been taught by traditional religions, which they do not believe in.

For Jews, the ritual dates back to God’s covenant with Abraham. The Torah declares: (Genesis 17:7) “I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you…

(17:8-11) “And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God. God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

(17:12) “You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old,”

Jews have observed this commandment for almost 4,000 years. More than once, attempts to prevent Jews from circumcising their sons led to resistance, and in the case of Hanukah, to open revolt.

For Muslims circumcision is connected to Allah commanding Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to follow the religion of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). When Allah says (Qur’an 16:123) “Then We inspired you: ‘Follow the religion of Ibrahim, the upright in Faith’.” And part of the religion of Ibrahim is, as is evident from the verses cited above, to practice circumcision.

Abraham was an old man when he circumcised himself, thus becoming a good example that one is never to old to do God’s will. As a Hadith says: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ” Prophet Ibrahim circumcised himself when he was eighty years old and he circumcised himself with an axe.” (Related by Bukhari, Muslim & Ahmad.)

Abraham’s first born son Ishmael, was a young boy when he was circumcised, so Muslims do not have to circumcise their son’s on an exact date. A Hadith states: When Ibn Abbas was asked “How old were you when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died?” He replied, “At that time I had been circumcised. At that time people did not circumcise boys till they attained the age of puberty (Baligh).” (Bukhari)

Prophet Muhammad himself selected the 7th day after birth to circumcise his own grandsons: Abdullah Ibn Jabir and Aisha both said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the Aqiqah of al-Hasan and al-Hussein (the prophets grandsons) circumcising them on the 7th. Day.” (Related in al-Bayhaq & Tabarani)

Thus, for Jews circumcision is a sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham and his sons Ishmael and Isaac and their descendants for future generations. For Muslims it is a sign of their close connection to Abraham, which is also celebrated each year at the annual Hajj ceremonies.

For both Muslims and Jews it is a sign that one who submits to God’s commandments and covenant cannot expect a life without some pain and suffering. But when endured for the right reasons duty to God’s commandments always leads eventually to great spiritual, and even physical benefits.

The post Is Circumcision Holy And Healthy? – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has withdrawn charges of crimes against humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, reports MISNA.

According to MISNA, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda filed a notice to the court withdrawing the charges, claiming that there is insufficient evidence to prove, “Kenyatta’s alleged criminal responsibility beyond reasonable doubt”.

President Kenyatta faced crimes against humanity charges related to allegations that he helped instigate – along with others, including his current Vice President William Ruto – violence that followed Kenya’s December 2007 presidential election, when more than 1,000 people were killed and over 600,000 displaced, MISNA noted.

The President’s lawyers had already asked that charges be dropped over lack of evidence.

The prosecution earlier had accused Nairobi authorities of obstructing the trial, refusing to hand over documents vital to the case and not guaranteeing the safety of prosecution witnesses. Many witnesses in fact withdrew their testimonies.

Also Fergal Gaynor, the lawyer representing the victims, stated that the government had done the utmost to obstruct the case. “Frankly the victims have been trying to get justice in Kenya, and failed. They tried to get justice from the ICC, and they failed. It is a sad day for them”, he said.

The post Kenya: ICC Drops Charges Against President Kenyatta appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Almost 500 inmates in the Ivory Coast have gone on hunger strike to protest their continued detention, reports MISNA.

“The reason for this mass participation in the hunger strike in various prisons of the nation is that after four years they have still not been tried for the November 2010 post-election clashes”, said the lawyer of one of the inmates, according to MISNA.

During the 2010 elections, supporters of exiting president Laurent Gbagbo clashed violently with supporters of the election winner Alassane Quattara, leaving at least 3,000 dead.

Gbagbo is currently detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where he faces four counts of crimes against humanity in a trial expected to begin at the end of 2015.

“The end of the strike depends on the government”, said Desiree Douati, daughter of Alphonse Douati, a minister in Gbagbo’s government, cited by MISNA.

Around 480 inmates are under medical observation after starting the hunger strikes, with about 70 prisoners taking part in Abidjan’s central prison.

The post Ivory Coast: 500 Prisoners On Hunger Strike appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Muhammad Umar*

These past two weeks, pundits in the media have gone back and forth discussing and analyzing the implications of the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan. The concerning tone of their voices is reasonable, but the accusation that Pakistan is some how the aggressor, and has provoked this arms race is absolutely illogical.

Let me start at the beginning: In 1966, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Sharifuddin Pirzada made clear that Pakistan “supported the call for a world conference against proliferation of nuclear weapons.” The following year, after having received credible intelligence that India was pursuing nuclear status, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister warned the world at the United Nations, that if India pursued nuclear status, then Pakistan would also pursue it.

Mr. Bhutto clearly understood that a nuclear-armed India would be detrimental to Pakistan’s future, and therefore a nuclear deterrence would be required.

India proved that Pakistan’s intelligence was accurate on May 18th, 1974, when India tested its first nuclear bomb, codenamed, “Smiling Buddha.” The Indian leadership, fearing international backlash, quickly termed the nuclear explosion a “peaceful nuclear explosion,” no one bought it, especially not Pakistan.

Mr. Bhutto, now Prime Minister, reiterated his initial stance, and promised the world that Pakistan would also test its own nuclear bomb, and “would never succumb to nuclear blackmail.” This is the how India provoked, and pushed a reluctant Pakistan into a nuclear arms race.

In 1991, Pakistan still very much unenthusiastic about the prospect of a nuclear arms race, or presence of nuclear weapons in South Asia, proposed to create a “nuclear free weapons zone,” which India opposed.

And finally, on May 11th, 1998, India once again provoked Pakistan by conducting five nuclear bomb tests in Pokhran. This time Pakistan had no choice, but to respond by conducting tests of their own nuclear weapons. And seventeen days later Pakistan also conducted nuclear tests.

Now the point here is that Pakistan had nuclear weapons but was disinclined to test them, but had no choice after India conducted its tests. Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal would not have served as a suitable deterrence if they had not proven credibility by testing the weapons. Again, it was India that triggered Pakistan’s response, and in-turn motivated it further to pursue nuclear weapons for deterrence purposes.

As India and Pakistan conduct back-to-back tests of nuclear capable missiles, I hear media gurus still referring to Pakistan as the instigator, which is absolutely asinine. I have even heard some calling for bi-lateral arms control agreements, which would be the best way to move forward, but let me give those media commentators one more lesson in history.

Two weeks ago I attended a very informing conference at the Stimson Center in Washington D.C. The topic of the conference was “The Challenges of Chemical Weapons Proliferation and Use.” A very important subject, considering what recently happened in Syria.

One of the speakers, Ambassador Robert Mikulak, the US Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), pointed out that it came as a great shock to the international community in 1996, a month after India has ratified the CWC, to learn that India had a substantial chemical weapons stockpile.

Why is this important?

This is a very important lesson for both Pakistan, and the international community, which is that India, cannot be trusted. In 1992, Pakistan and India signed a bilateral agreement that neither country would possess chemical weapons. And in 1993, when India signed the CWC, and again in 1996, when they ratified it, they said, they had no chemical weapons, essentially lying to the whole world. It was only a month after ratifying the CWC that India declared its stockpile. That means India violated a bilateral agreement it had with Pakistan, and lied to the 150 nations that were part of the CWC.

The point I am trying to make here is that India has created such a mess of things in South Asia that it is impossible for Pakistan to trust anything they say or do. Even if India and Pakistan were to sign a bilateral disarmament treaty, what guarantee would Pakistan have that India will not violate it.

I urge those media pundits who have no knowledge of the subject matter to please stop your commentary, or read up on issue before analyzing it.

*Muhammad Umar is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad. He tweets @umarwrites.

The post India-Pakistan Relations: Baseless Accusations – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Public Lecture by Richard Howitt MEP, Foreign Affairs Committee,
European Parliament to mark standing down as Rapporteur on EU accession, Skopje, (December 4, 2014)

First, I want to say it has been a privilege to serve as Rapporteur working to try to bring your country closer to EU membership.

In my new role in the European Parliament I promise you I will continue to advance that aim.

I have been elected as spokesperson for my political group for the whole Foreign Affairs Committee and for all countries, but I am genuinely sorry that means that this is not compatible with me being able to continue my role with you in particular.

Nevertheless, let me tell you that I have opted to remain Shadow Rapporteur for your country on behalf of my political group, which will mean I will continue to be part of negotiating parliamentary positions on your country’s EU membership.

I am deliberately in Skopje this week in a joint visit with my successor, to introduce him, to demonstrate our joint commitment and to do my utmost to help him to be successful.

I believe he will show the same enthusiasm for the country as I have always sought to show myself.

And I believe we will offer continuity in the European Parliament in seeking to help your country to advance.

I use the word “enthusiasm” because I deliberately got to know your country and I want to say how much I have genuinely enjoyed each of my visits here.

I want to offer sincere thanks for the deep warmth and friendship I have received from many in your society.

As some of you know, I didn’t just come here as a politician but, as a private citizen, I also brought my own family here on holiday – I have to say at my own personal expense.  We enjoyed the beauty of your country, its diversity and its wonderful people.

Afterwards, when my children saw the Macedonian flag flying at the London Olympics, they were excited. And they want to come back here too.

Indeed my fourteen year old daughter once said to me, as I explained one of my visits: Why don’t you just draw up a bit of paper, saying “I agree to all the terms and conditions of the European Union,” get them to tick a box at the bottom, sign it and then they can join tomorrow?!

I wish it was as easy as that.

But it isn’t.

Am I disappointed that we have not made more progress than we have?

Yes, of course I am.

I have always said that those of us from the European Union can’t want a European future for your country more than the people of the country want for yourselves.

Occasionally I have felt that some of you may not, and I do stand by this statement.

However, I recognise my own disappointments simply match a deep and genuine disappointment of many in this country, that greater progress towards the EU has not been achieved.

And although our feelings cannot be more than yours, I hope people here will understand that there are friends of this country who do fully share your feelings, your frustrations and disappointments.

Today I express my hope that this country and its people will remain committed to a future in the European Union

Keeping faith that it can happen and that it will happen.

And to say that your determination, your enthusiasm, your commitment is crucial to making it happen.

Understand too that those of us who say we want it to happen are ourselves making this statement in good faith.

We have faith in your country’s European future.

And I have to say that I do not see any viable alternative for your country.

There are enough frozen conflicts in Central Europe.

And I do not want this country to become a new frozen conflict, but one inside the external geographical boundaries of the European Union itself.

What are some of my greatest satisfactions working as Rapporteur for your country?

The way people here have genuinely welcomed and opened up to me in my work in each and every one of my visits.

Without doubt.

I am satisfied that in each year I have delivered large European Parliament majorities, across the political spectrum, in favour of the start of EU accession talks for your country.

Always paragraph one, point one and without qualification.

I am satisfied that we have defended the visa liberalisation regime, which I know is so important to people here – as a sign as to whether Europe is really keeping the door open to you.

I have very much valued my relationship with outgoing Commissioner Stefan Fule.

I believe he was an excellent Commissioner and I hope our record showed a good example of Europe’s ability to work together.

I have already begun to build a good relationship with his successor, Johannes Hahn. I believe he will give great emphasis, among other things, to the economic case for your EU membership, a case which I know is strongly felt here by everyone and much-needed for your country.

I hope you will agree, when I record points of personal satisfaction, that I have always kept my own promises as well.

I’m proud that, despite many predictions to the contrary, I believe I was able to maintain a reputation for political impartiality and to retain respectful and constructive relations with political actors across the different political parties in the country.

I am satisfied with the way those parties have engaged with their equivalents in European Union countries, which is part of bringing you in to the EU family. And I encourage this to continue in the future.

I am satisfied that I have not avoided difficult questions such as the situation of Roma peoples or of recognition of the rights of LGBT people.

Overall I recognise that some of my own criticisms would have been hard to accept. And I accept there are some issues where some would have been disappointed that I didn’t go further.

But throughout I adhered to my promise to be as objective as possible and to offer criticisms which were friendly in character because they were always motivated by a desire for this country to succeed.

I believe that is the right position for someone in my position to take and that is part of the friendly advice which I offer to my successor too.

I do record a great satisfaction in my role in assisting to negotiate the agreement between the political parties dated 1 March 2013, even if this negotiation failed to be as long-lasting as I would wish.

What are my biggest disappointments?

Of course that a commitment was made at Thessaloniki to all Western Balkans countries, and that there is real concern that the European Union does not have the collective will to honour the commitment made.

My own concern has been intensified that Europe’s own strategic interests in relation to the country and the region could be compromised, if EU countries allow ourselves to have a false complacency about the maintenance of political status quo in Skopje.

On the name issue.

There may be issues about sequencing.

There may be a proper debate about the UN process towards mediation.

There may be a proper sense of grievance – perhaps on both sides.

But I can only conclude that there is no shortcut which will be able to achieve EU membership for this country, without a mutually agreed, negotiated solution to the name dispute.

And this is ultimately an issue of political will between the two capitals.

I believe there was a timeframe when a solution was possible but that the opportunity was not taken.

I do not know when a similar window will open again.

But what I do know is that, when it does, this country has to be ready to take it – not just its Government but its people too.

And that requires consistent advocacy towards a solution within the country, and leaders at all levels and in different spheres being willing to undertake that advocacy.

In terms of my personal position, I never pretended I could be the mediator. But I did travel to Athens and to Sofia too to undertake private discussions, and did my best to at least try to foster a better atmosphere and environment in which agreement could be reached.

In the European Parliament and in all my public pronouncements, I referred to the name issue in a way which sought to be respectful to both sides, and which succeeded in avoiding battles about the name issue within the European Parliament itself.

Each year I was confronted by dozens of amendments from colleagues who quite simply wanted to use my own text to ‘score points’ in favour of their own side or deliberately to provoke the other.

And each year I was able to prevent them doing so.

But I did understand the sense of grievance here and wanted to show that the feelings of the people here were important in Brussels.

So I adopted what I thought was the right approach objectively and legally, to use the adjective “Macedonian” in my own text and to persuade the European Commission to do the same.

And in a similar way during each of my visits, I have sought to meet ordinary people of the country, not just its politicians or other leaders.

I’ve been in schools, talked with parents and with children. I’ve met young people’s groups and students. I’ve met local Mayors. I’ve been in Roma communities. I witnessed the elections high up in remote mountain villages.

Each of these was important for my own understanding.

But I hope in doing this, to have continuously sent a message that European Union membership isn’t simply about the Government of the country or about this country as a nation state. It’s for the people of this country, your well-being, your future and that of your children.

For all its flaws, the European Union has brought political unity out of our own history of conflict and division. The EU has been an island in the world of relative peace, stability and of prosperity.

I wanted to show throughout my work and I want to repeat to you today: joining the European Union is an aspiration which you are right to cherish.

It’s an aspiration for which it’s worth making difficult compromises to achieve.

It is a better future for this country.

It is the only good future for this country.

And what is my biggest worry?

I do worry about cohesion in the country and believe it is still necessary to be vigilant in preventing any development which could lead to a return to conflict.

I agree with Carl Bildt, then Swedish Foreign Minister, when he said – I paraphrase – Europe must not wait to focus on a country after conflict has arisen but must show the intelligence to do so to prevent it happening.

The history of religious difference is unique in this country.

Nevertheless the challenges of religious differences are common to all our countries. And non-discrimination on the basis of religion and belief is a core value of the European Union and part of fundamental human rights in the United Nations.

International engagement must help you to promote true and lasting reconciliation here.

Throughout I have remained aware of how fragile the situation could be here.

But I want to record how the Ohrid Framework Agreement was a truly historic act, one which showed leadership in the region and one which saved lives.

One of the further satisfactions of my time as Rapporteur was to be present and to take part in the events marking its tenth anniversary.

I am worried that the actions promised at the time of the review are being forgotten.  They must not be.

But my appeal to you today as well, is for the spirit not just the letter of Ohrid to remain – however difficult that sometimes may seem.

Now let me turn to why we haven’t seen as much progress towards Europe as everyone in this room would have liked to have seen?

I have tried different strategies to seek to make a breakthrough and to make progress.

That the name issue is dealt with “in the early phase of the negotiations” rather than prior to them starting.

That the country is awarded “functioning market economy status.”

I have been prepared to criticise the UN process whilst being careful not to undermine it.

But perhaps one of the ways we can make further progress might be by reforming the approach within the UN itself.

Where we are already fellow Member States.

I have called for there to be a quantification of the costs of non-enlargement.

I have recommended an immediate start to the screening process.

I have sought to link progress here to progress elsewhere.

Conversely I have used the argument that you must be treated on your merits, irrespective of others.

And it is a question of merit.

All we are talking about is starting talks, not concluding them.

And I remain firmly in the belief that you sufficiently meet the Copenhagen criteria in order to be able to start accession talks.

Now let me say a word, next, about how I’ve sought to deal with the repeated failures each December, for the European Council to act on the positive recommendation of the European Commission and the European Parliament.

We came closest to success in 2012 by the way, which made what happened next even more disappointing.

Nevertheless this demonstrated a point to European politicians that what they do there does have consequences here.

That is not an excuse for anyone to fail to take their responsibilities here, but represents a statement of our mutual responsibility.

Over the period I’ve been Rapporteur, I’ve worked with some Member States and with our friends in the United States, who at different times have worked very hard to try to make a difference.

I’ve pressed a number of EU presidencies not to allow your country to be – what I have described in simple terms – as “left behind.”

But I think it is only responsible to share a brutal truth with you today.

Some of them have been and are willing to leave this country behind.

Whatever their concerns, the problems of Skopje were not at the same level in their minds as the problems or Belgrade-Pristina, of Sarajevo or indeed of Ankara.

Please don’t take this as a message to envy or even to start to compete with your neighbours. One clear aspect of your country’s progress has been its engagement and leadership in the wider region, for which I congratulate you.

But I make a wider point that in wanting deep engagement from EU Foreign Ministers, you are competing with complex situations in the wider region and in the world.

We’re asking them to come to difficult decisions about Skopje, when they’re worrying about Kabul, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Cairo and Kiev.

And that brutal truth is that this country hasn’t been and may not be important enough in that reckoning, to lead EU member states to want to do the difficult things to make the diplomatic breakthrough here.

I’ve seen countries engaged with your issues who have in practice walked away.

They remain engaged in name but I’ve seen in name only.

They’ve not been convinced that this country was willing to do the things it had to do on its side.

And I’m not simply talking about the name issue.

And so the outcome is that you are left behind.

I don’t like or agree with that.

But my message is that to change it will not come from outside.

The change has to come, I suggest, from within the country.

Which brings me to the whole issue of reform.

Of course adapting your national legislation to meet the European Union acquis is an immense effort.

But the word ‘reform’ has become a truism, even a mantra of the EU enlargement process.

No-one says or can say that they are against reform. And vast numbers of strategies and action plans and programmes of reform are designed – and to some extent are delivered – all in fine detail.

One of the things I chose to do was to sit in the offices with your national civil servants responsible for the reform process.  To show them how seriously their work is perceived to be and to personally thank them for their continuing efforts.

I want to place on record my respect for the professional, committed and conscientious way those officials conduct their duties.

I want to pay the same respect and thanks to all the EU Delegation colleagues in Skopje and to the group of EU ambassadors here – to acknowledge the great cooperation and assistance which they have given to me in my work too.

And which I have sought to give to them.

However when it comes to the reform process, my experience as Rapporteur for your country and, comparing it with other candidate countries, is that the incentive to make the most difficult reforms comes only as the real prospect of EU accession draws nearer.

Some of the sensitive changes that need to happen in this country on procurement, on combatting corruption, on judicial reform, on media plurality have indeed begun. But I do have the impression that the decisive changes, the most significant reforms necessary, are still a long way away.

That budget decisions too do not yet fully reflect the commitments made.

I hope as a country you will not choose to wait. I believe big steps now will be seen outside and can help to change external perceptions and thus change the decisions needed from outside.

But that requires political will that only you within the country can determine.

And let me say some of the most difficult moments I have had to deal with as Rapporteur have been where there has been the appearance of backsliding.

Momentum appears to me to be a key facet of the EU enlargement process- not just in this country.

And not simply the absence of reform but the appearance of deterioration, or going backwards, is deeply damaging to the prospects of success.

It fundamentally questions the commitment to reform itself.

This is the bicycle where you have to keep moving forward in order not to fall off altogether.

And I do urge you to do everything possible to avoid backsliding in all of the sensitive areas, where you know your country is under scrutiny.

Now as Rapporteur, I have always sought to encourage you to seek to avoid misunderstandings, gestures, statements or actions which could provoke opposition from your neighbours – irrespective of whether there is provocation in return, intentional or unintentional.

As someone from Western Europe, I have come to respect the extra importance history plays in the politics of South East Europe.

In the political tradition of my own country, politics is more about the future than the past. Indeed sometimes as politicians, we get frustrated at how short the memory is in our electorate.

But I acknowledge that it is different here.

It is why I made a point of congratulating you in one of the parliamentary reports I authored on your country’s success in the European Basketball Championships.

Some criticised me for encouraging what they considered to be an unhelpful point.

But partly as a sports fan myself, I believe in the power of sport to bring people together.

More than that, I wanted to send a signal in Brussels that we can respect legitimate national pride and patriotism here, as distinct from ultra-nationalism here or anywhere else, which must always be opposed.

Indeed to do one may actually assist in preventing the other.

But I do admit that I haven’t found it easy to navigate the issues which have arisen concerning national monuments and religious symbols.

One suggestion I have made to your leaders is for you to create some public artworks that send a very different signal within the country and outside it: one of tolerance, reconciliation and of peace.

Of course you have already done this in relation to your Holocaust Memorial Museum, which honours an important memory for our whole world.

I do not compare what happened to Europe’s Jews to any other division in our world. Any such comparison is invidious.

But the national museum of my country, the British Museum, was established to raise understanding and to combat bigotry and intolerance at a time when anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish sentiment was prevalent in Great Britain.  The Imperial War Museum in London honours those who have fought and died for my country, but it faithfully reflects the true horrors of war and contributes to educate new generations on the need to build and maintain peace instead.

Not just in Britain but around Europe, we see symbols of inter-religious and international cooperation and unity.

From the massive works of the Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida Jusntegui to the pop art on the remaining fragments of the Berlin Wall in Germany.

I certainly don’t want to encourage you to create more massive monuments at any great expense to your public purse.

But I suggest again that some small artworks representing the bringing of peoples together might indeed be a gesture or symbol which can help to do precisely that.

Next, I want to say a little about polarisation in the country.

Not division between ethnic or religious groups but between political parties and their opponents.

My country Great Britain has what is known as the ‘mother of parliaments’ in the world, dating from as long ago as the fourteenth century.

Key facets of parliamentary democracy are embedded in our history, including the separation of legislature and executive, the principle of ministerial accountability, the rights and obligations of a loyal opposition, the performance of parliamentary scrutiny, the existence of an independent civil service and the neutrality of the Speaker.

I promise you democracy is far from perfect in my own country and in other European Union states, but it has certainly been my ambition as Rapporteur to strengthen parliamentary democracy in this country and my conclusion today is that this work remains a priority for your country.

There will be people as always who will want me to pronounce on the current dispute between the major parties.  But I have never sought to comment on who is right and who is wrong in this country and I will not do so this week.

Internal divisions cannot be solved from outside and it is up to those within the country to take responsibility for resolving differences.

On the principles.

I have always said that boycotts by political parties are the wrong step to take – and you will understand that I do not refer to just one political party in making that comment.

But I have always said too that proper respect for political opposition and for governmental accountability are essential elements of a healthy democracy in this country.

And I am of course concerned that the legal package following up the Committee of Inquiry recommendations set up through 1 March agreement including  an improved budget process and for greater possibilities to set up committees of inquiry, are frozen today because of the current boycott.

My observation is that all parties have a responsibility to improve the functioning and legitimacy of parliament itself.

Instead I am saddened to record that there is a returning failure of political dialogue in this country.

The Sobranie is not yet fully trusted as a forum where political differences can be expressed and reconciled – and not just by one political party.

I hope our parliament-to-parliament contacts have begun to make a difference, to strengthen parliament itself as an institution.

I would like to encourage that to continue.

I see some of the differences between political parties today with genuine dismay.

A healthy democracy must also allow the expression of differences.

But I feel forced to have to warn again against the party interest superseding the national interest.

A certain level of consensus and of mutual respect for democratic standards is an essential prerequisite persuading international opinion that this country is ready to move forward.

Conversely, the failure of your institutions to be able to achieve this level of unity of respect, will be used by those who oppose you to hold this country back.

The question is not whether there are political differences in this country as there are in all countries, but in whether such political differences become some profound that they prevent the country from pursuing its strategic interests.

That is my worry.

And I would wish, today, to extend this comment on the scale of polarisation in relation to the way that this is spread to your wider society.

Europe’s motto is unity through diversity.

But in this country, real diversity in some areas of public life remains missing.

Still too many journalists and civil society organisations here define themselves, not by their own independence, but by their political affiliation.

I say “define themselves” because it is too easy – from outside – to suggest that this has somehow been determined by the politicians.

However the impression I have had is that this is more a product of the culture in your country and – let us be honest – in some of your neighbours too.

Indeed arguably in some of our European Union countries as well.

For the politicians, criticism has not simply to be tolerated but actually to be encouraged – not simply in your parliament but in the media and wider civil society too.

Journalistic ethics of free and fair reporting have to be encouraged in the media itself.

The ‘association of journalists’ here has sometimes been characterised as part of the political opposition.

But journalists are supposed to scrutinise those in power – whoever is in power.  They are supposed to make those of us in the world of politics uncomfortable by asking and reporting hard questions about what we do?

It is part of our democracy that political debate can be conducted through a free and independent media.

Therefore I encourage all efforts to promote a more pluralistic media here in the years ahead.

Many of you in this audience will also be aware that – in a similar vein – I have sought to encourage a more independent and pluralistic civil society too.

I set up a round table of civil society organisations on which I consulted on my work and which was carefully drawn from across the spectrum of different opinion within the country.

In those meetings, I called on civil society organisations to promote their own independence and objectivity, to make statements and undertake their activities true to the people and to the issues which they represent – to seek to avoid being identified simply by party political affiliation.

I included special sections in my reports giving recommendations on how civil society organisations as a whole can be strengthened.

Once again I hope those recommendations and the efforts which they represent can be continued in the future.

Let me finish today on a note of absolute humility.

I have talked to you in this lecture about my own country, of which I am proud. And about the virtues of European cooperation, of which I am equally proud.

But I do recognise our own mistakes, flaws and limitations.

I have never tried to ‘preach’ to your country that we are better, but to be self-critical about our own countries in the EU, in order to be able to share lessons and to build mutual understanding.

And some of you will remember that I arrived at Skopje Airport once in 2012, on an aircraft that had developed a fault and which was forced to make an emergency landing.

As the ‘plane landed, I really didn’t know if I would walk away from it alive.

Such a realisation of your own mortality is the most poignant reminder of the limitations of what we can achieve in politics or in life.

But I want to say this.

I have got no idea what I will do in my future career beyond what I am doing today and, of course, I hope it will be long, happy and fulfilling.

But if my ‘plane today or tomorrow did crash and it all came to an end, the experience of working as a Rapporteur trying to achieve something with and for your country, is an experience I would be very happy to record as a highlight of my career and of what politics is meant to try to be.

It has been an incredible experience and has given me a life-long interest in your country which I promise I will not lose.

Once again I would like to thank you and, through you, I would like to thank all in this country for the privilege of being able to do this work.

And when I finish by wishing you well and say to you that I will never forget my commitment to you – I think you will understand that this is something which I really mean.

The post Full Text Of Richard Howitt’s Public Lecture Upon Standing Down As Rapporteur appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Andrea Gagliarducci

In a recent article for the Catholic Herald, Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, shed light on the progress made in the reform of Vatican finances, which he is spearheading.

Cardinal Pell wrote in the Dec. 4 article that “three basic principles lay at the heart” of their work of reforming, and that these principles “are not original, and not exactly rocket science.”

First, the Vatican “should adopt contemporary international financial standards, much as the rest of the world does”. Second, “Vatican and procedures should be transparent, with financial reporting broadly similar to that of other countries, and the consolidated annual financial statement would be reviewed by one of the Big Four audit firms.” And third, “within the Vatican, there should be something akin to a separation of powers and that within the financial sector there would be multiple sources of authority.”

These principles have led to the drafting of a handbook of financial management, which rationalizes the accounting procedure of all the Vatican offices.

The training of employees to fill the new accounting procedures has already began, and it is expected that the new procedures will be in effect by January, 2015.

“It is important to point out that the Vatican is not broke,” Cardinal Pell wrote. “Apart from the pension fund … the Holy See is paying its way, while possessing substantial assets and investments.”

He added that “in fact, we have discovered that the situation is much healthier than it seemed, because some hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet.”

While some might take this as a suggestion that Vatican entities held “black funds,” Fr. Federico Lombardi, Holy See press officer, told CNA Dec. 5 that “Cardinal Pell did not speak about illegal, illicit, or badly managed funds,” but rather about “funds that were not in the official balance sheet of the Holy See or of the Vatican City State,” of which “the Secretary for the Economy has been aware in the course of the process of study and revision of Vatican administrations.”

“It was known, and even already publicly explained by the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs, that the Holy See / Vatican City State consolidated balance sheet given to the Council of Fifteen Cardinals did not include the overall of the numerous administration linked to the Vatican, but only the main institutions of the Curia and of the State,” Fr. Lombardi added.

It is likely that Cardinal Pell was referring to three independent balance sheets which are not included in the general Vatican balance sheet: those of the State Secretariat, of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.

Cardinal Pell explained that the questions of why Vatican finances had been in a poor state for some time is “one of the first that would come to our minds as English-speakers … but one that might be much lower on the list for people in another culture, such as the Italians,” adding that “those in the Curia were following long-established patterns.”

The normalization of Vatican finances was begun in 2010 by Benedict XVI, the cardinal noted, with the establishment of the Financial Information Authority, an agency “dedicated to preventing and eradicating money laundering.”

Pope Francis, has continued this process of reforms, Cardinal Pell noted, “which are well under way and already past the point where it would be possible to return to the ‘bad old days’. Much remains to be done, but the primary structural reforms are in place.”

In several places in the article, Cardinal Pell noted the importance of lay financial experts in the reform process, highlighting its novelty and aid in transparency. In particular, a lay auditor general will be appointed next year.

Cardinal Pell also outlined the continuity of the Institute for Religious Works, saying it “will continue to be governed by an expert lay board, set up by a commission of cardinal, but will not technically be the Vatican bank as it deal with money from dioceses, religious orders and Vatican employees.”

The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, he clarified, will be the Vatican treasury, adding that “it will continue to link up and liaise with central banks.”

Investments, Cardinal Pell explained, “will be made through the Vatican Asset Management, controlled by an expert committee, which will offer a range of ethical investment options, with varying degrees of risk and return, to be chosen by individual agencies such as Congregation. Prudence will be the first priority, rather than risky high returns, in order to avoid excessive losses in times of turbulence.”

“These reforms are designed to make all Vatican financial agencies boringly successful, so that they do not merit much press attention,” the cardinal concluded.

“Donors expect their gifts to be handled efficiently and honestly, so that the best returns are achieved to finance the works of the Church, especially those aimed at preaching the Gospel and helping the poor escape from poverty. A Church for the poor should not be poorly managed.”

The post Vatican Finance Czar Finds Robust Reserves, Transparency Measures Continue appeared first on Eurasia Review.