World of opinion
On Africa and China: The exact number of protesters shot dead at a demonstration in Guinea last month is unknown. Estimates vary between 150 and 200. Soldiers of the ruling junta beat and raped survivors. The massacre was condemned by the EU, the UN secretary-general and the African Union. On what foundations, observers asked, does the Guinean regime stand other than murderous repression?
The answer came last week, with reports that Chinese investors are planning infrastructure, oil and mining projects in the country worth up to $7 billion. The deal appeared to confirm a trend: China propping up noxious regimes in Africa in exchange for natural resources, no questions asked.
… After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the west acquired a near monopoly in African trade. That it made human rights part of the terms of discussion is laudable; that it failed to make much progress is a tragically wasted opportunity. Now the monopoly is lost. If western democracies want to influence African development they must compete with the offer from Chinese autocratic state capitalism.
It is meaningless just to assert the moral superiority of trade with conditions of good governance and transparency attached.
It is time to start proving it with sustained investment aimed at fostering civil society that will yield real political benefits for Africa.
The Observer, London
On Afghanistan:
Afghan politics and international security stand at a critical point today. President Hamid Karzai has accepted the verdict of the Independent Election Commission and the disputed August elections to go for a run-off on November 7.
The IEC has thus validated the findings of the UN-backed Electoral Complaint Commission, released a day earlier, bringing Karzai’s total votes to below the 50 per cent needed to form the next government. Karzai will now face his closest contestant, former Foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, once again in a scenario fraught with challenges.
While U.S. disgruntlement with Karzai is no secret especially over his penchant for choosing controversial figures for key government positions, it is still unsure about which horse to back in the presidential race. Karzai may have disappointed in not delivering, but Abdullah’s test is yet to come. …
A second run, now considered necessary as the only alternative, is likely to come with its own set of woes. For one, the security challenges surrounding the exercise are immense. …
Unfortunately, so far, the biggest problem in Afghan politics has been of legitimacy. This issue has dogged even the latest elections, the irrefutable evidence of fraud branding its mark on the face of the Karzai government. Added to legitimacy is now credibility.
Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On Tamils leaving Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka’s postwar human exodus is washing up on faraway shores: Hundreds of Tamils have reached Indonesia and Australia, and others apparently are being drawn here. While authorities are still investigating, the Canadian Tamil Congress says 76 men from the merchant ship Ocean Lady off the British Columbia coast are Tamil refugees.
“Sri Lanka has become hell for Tamils and they have to get out,” says Congress spokesperson David Poopalapillai. Others who fled to Indonesia have made the startling claim that they are facing “genocide.”
While that strains belief, the Sri Lankan military continues to hold some 260,000 Tamils in detention camps, in poor conditions, five months after shattering the Tamil Tiger insurgency in mid-May. The government says only some 30,000 have been sent home. Tension in the camps is reportedly reaching the boiling point. …
That leaves Canada and other countries of asylum in a fix. More Tamils are bound to flee if they can’t live normal lives. We can either grant them asylum, or ship them back to a clouded future.
The better course would be for President Mahinda Rajapakse to close the camps, restore normalcy and make flight a less desirable option. …
In the meantime officials should give the refugees a sympathetic hearing. Some would “draw the line” against taking in the refugees. But provided that they are not Tiger leaders, they should be entitled to temporary sanctuary until Sri Lanka finds a humane way to deal with people displaced by the fighting. Sri Lanka’s defeat of the Tigers should lead to national reconciliation, not indefinite internment.
The Toronto Star