B.RAMAN
In the 1950s, in the beginning of the Cold War, an American Senator called Joseph McCarthy became notorious for his public witch-hunt of suspected communists and other leftists in the US, who were accused by him of being unpatriotic and unAmerican on the basis of allegations of their communist sympathies.His witch-hunt, which came to be known as McCarthyism, was viewed by right-thinking people as nothing but a publicity-hungry campaign of "reckless, unsubstantiated accusations and demagogic attacks" on the reputation of many persons, who were subjected to Hyde Park style pubic hearings on the basis of flimsy evidence, before such evidence was evaluated by an investigation agency and a court of law.
2.Wikipedia writes of McCarthyism as follows: "Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive or questionable evidence". It is this phenomenon of rousing public anger against persons on the basis of inconclusive or questionable evidence that came to be known as a witch-hunt.
3. In India, for the last one year, we are going through a period of a vicious McCarthyism by Arnab Goswami, a well-known TV anchor, who has been using his prime-time news programme every evening to level serious allegations of corruption, wrong-doing and sedition against Indian citizens on the basis of suspicions and evidence still under evaluation by the investigative agencies and on the basis of the public activities and statements of reputed persons such as Arudhati Roy, the Mirwaiz etc, who are accused by him of indulging in sedition for expressing their sympathy with the Maoists, the separatists in Kashmir and the insurgents in the North-East.
4. Many Government servants and retired Government servants let themselves be used by McCarthy in his Congressional hearings in order to demonise innocent persons and project them before the public as unAmerican and unpatriotic. Similarly, Arnab has been using some retired persons and others of dubious background to demonise dozens of people in his programme and to create an impression in the minds of the public that corruption is everywhere, that anti-nationalism and sedition are everywhere and that barring perhaps Arnab himself, most others are either corrupt or guilty of sedition. Anybody, who expresses his understanding of the anger of the Kashmiri youth, is projected as unIndian and unpatriotic.
5. Many persons, against whom McCarthy carried on his witch-hunt, were subsequently found to be innocent. The evidence on the basis of which McCarthy demonised them was subsequently found to have been unreliable. Unable to bear this demonisation campaign day in and day out, some of the persons accused by McCarthy of being unAmerican and unpatriotic committed suicide. It was only much later that the American public, which applauded the demagogic witch-hunt of McCarthy every day, realised how it had been misled by him. He was a hero to sections of the American public at the height of his witch-hunt----just as Arnab is now---- but when the real motive of his allegations and accusations came to be known, he became a hated figure in the US.
6. Noone can deny that there is widespread corruption in India. Noone can deny that people such as Arundhati Roy, the Mirwaiz etc are being unwise in unwittingly providing oxygen to those indulging in violence amounting to terrorism. To deal with this requires a mature, objective, non-hysterical approach based on constant evaluation and analysis of the evidence. It demands that our TV anchors observe self-restraint, fairness and decency in having these issues discussed. Demagogy and the reckless levelling of allegations in a hysterical, over-dramatised and over-sensationalised manner is not the way to do it. ( 27-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
TWO YEARS AFTER 26/11
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR---PAPER NO 695
B.RAMAN
( Article written at the request of the “Hindustan Times” of New Delhi for its issue of Nov.26,2010 at http://www.hindustantimes.com/We-are-in-this-alone/H1-Article1-631015.aspx)
Since the 26/11 sea-borne terrorist strikes in Mumbai by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), we have had three acts of suspected jihadi terrorism in the Indian territory outside Jammu & Kashmir. Indians were also among the victims of a terrorist attack in Kabul.
The three attacks in the Indian territory took place in Pune (about 10 fatalities) on February 13, in Bangalore outside a cricket stadium on April 17 (17 injured) and in Delhi on September 19 (two Taiwanese tourists injured) . According to the Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorism Squad, the Indian Mujahideen (IM), which has links to the LET, was responsible for the Pune attack. The IM was suspected in the Bangalore incident. It had also claimed responsibility for the Delhi attack.
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack on February 26, in which there were 17 fatalities, six of them Indians. The attack was directed against a guest house for foreigners. The Indians happened to be among the foreign customers.
All of these were conventional acts of terrorism with improvised explosive devices or hand-held weapons, which would not have required specialized training. There has been no commando-style complex attack like the one on 26/11, which required specialized training.
These attacks show that the LET, controlled by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and its affiliates in India such as the IM and the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) continue to plan terrorist strikes against Indian targets despite the international surveillance on the activities of the LET after the 26/11 strikes, which made the West realize that the LET is as dangerous as Al Qaeda.
A new source of threat to Indian targets has been the so-called 313 Brigade of Ilyas Kashmiri, allegedly a former commando of the US-trained Special Services Group of the Pakistan Army, who now works closely with the LET, the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) and Al Qaeda. Some reports, not yet confirmed, even describe him as a member of the shura (advisory council) of Al Qaeda. He is reportedly based in North Waziristan in Pakistan.
India continues to be as vulnerable as before 26/11 to possible terrorist strikes by these organizations and their affiliates. Among their other affiliates are the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JUM), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and the Pakistani Taliban called the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Post 26/11, Al Qaeda, an Arab terrorist group based in North Waziristan, has two major allies----the Pashtun Taliban, which attacks Western targets, and the Punjabi Taliban, which focuses on Indian targets. The LET is in the forefront of the Punjabi Taliban. The LET guides and controls the activities of the IM and the SIMI.
While India’s vulnerability is as serious as before 26/11, there has been no act of mass casualty terrorism after 26/11. From this, it will be inadvisable to draw the conclusion that as a result of the revamping of the security apparatus by Shri P.Chidambaram, the Home Minister, our agencies now have the upper hand over the terrorists.
The LET and other organizations have not been weakened. Their anti-Indian motivation remains strong. There has been no dilution in the ISI’s support for them. Their training infrastructure in Pakistani territory is intact. Their propaganda against India continues to be virulent. They are looking for opportunities to plan and carry out more acts of mass casualty terrorism.
The failure of the US to pressure Pakistan to arrest and prosecute the ISI officers named by David Coleman Headley of the Chicago cell of the LET as involved in the 26/11 attacks has strengthened the ISI’s belief that so long as it co-operates with the US against anti-US terrorists, the US will continue to turn a blind eye to its use of the LET brand of terrorists against India.
The lack of vigorous action by the US against Pakistan for its involvement in the 26/11 strikes and its disappointing co-operation with India in the Headley case have shown that any high expectations of US co-operation with India against terrorism of Pakistani origin would be an illusion.
We have to depend on our own intelligence and security capabilities in our battle against terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The revamping of the security apparatus by Shri Chidambaram can be described as successful only if there is an increase in the flow of preventive intelligence, if there is better co-ordination among the various agencies and if follow-up action on the intelligence collected is effective.
There has been an improvement in physical security and inter-agency co-ordination as seen during the Commonwealth Games and President Barack Obama’s visit, but there have been very few instances of detection and neutralization of sleeper cells of the LET and its associates. This shows that the flow of intelligence is still inadequate.
The follow-up action on many new ideas floated by Shri Chidambaram has been slow. He had spoken of the need for a separate Ministry dealing exclusively with internal security. He had suggested bringing under his control all intelligence-collection and follow-up action capabilities having a bearing on counter-terrorism----whether such capabilities are in the Intelligence Bureau or in the Research & Analysis Wing or in the Aviation Research Centre or elsewhere. He had also spoken of his plans to set up a National Counter-Terrorism Centre under his supervision similar to what the US had set up after 9/11. One does not know what is the present stage of implementation of these ideas.
We continue to find ourselves helpless against Pakistan. The prosecution of the Pakistan-based LET conspirators by the Pakistani authorities has become a sham. The LET and other anti-India organizations continue to be as active as ever from Pakistani territory. We have been reduced to a state where we are pathetically dependent on the US to make Pakistan act. The US is disinclined to apply that kind of pressure.
We are faced with diminishing options against Pakistan. How to reverse this situation? This question should seriously engage the attention of our policy-makers. We have to work out a policy of incentives and disincentives to make Pakistan act. Merely by repeating that we will not talk to Pakistan unless it winds up its terror machine is not leading us anywhere.
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
B.RAMAN
( Article written at the request of the “Hindustan Times” of New Delhi for its issue of Nov.26,2010 at http://www.hindustantimes.com/We-are-in-this-alone/H1-Article1-631015.aspx)
Since the 26/11 sea-borne terrorist strikes in Mumbai by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), we have had three acts of suspected jihadi terrorism in the Indian territory outside Jammu & Kashmir. Indians were also among the victims of a terrorist attack in Kabul.
The three attacks in the Indian territory took place in Pune (about 10 fatalities) on February 13, in Bangalore outside a cricket stadium on April 17 (17 injured) and in Delhi on September 19 (two Taiwanese tourists injured) . According to the Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorism Squad, the Indian Mujahideen (IM), which has links to the LET, was responsible for the Pune attack. The IM was suspected in the Bangalore incident. It had also claimed responsibility for the Delhi attack.
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack on February 26, in which there were 17 fatalities, six of them Indians. The attack was directed against a guest house for foreigners. The Indians happened to be among the foreign customers.
All of these were conventional acts of terrorism with improvised explosive devices or hand-held weapons, which would not have required specialized training. There has been no commando-style complex attack like the one on 26/11, which required specialized training.
These attacks show that the LET, controlled by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and its affiliates in India such as the IM and the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) continue to plan terrorist strikes against Indian targets despite the international surveillance on the activities of the LET after the 26/11 strikes, which made the West realize that the LET is as dangerous as Al Qaeda.
A new source of threat to Indian targets has been the so-called 313 Brigade of Ilyas Kashmiri, allegedly a former commando of the US-trained Special Services Group of the Pakistan Army, who now works closely with the LET, the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) and Al Qaeda. Some reports, not yet confirmed, even describe him as a member of the shura (advisory council) of Al Qaeda. He is reportedly based in North Waziristan in Pakistan.
India continues to be as vulnerable as before 26/11 to possible terrorist strikes by these organizations and their affiliates. Among their other affiliates are the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JUM), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and the Pakistani Taliban called the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Post 26/11, Al Qaeda, an Arab terrorist group based in North Waziristan, has two major allies----the Pashtun Taliban, which attacks Western targets, and the Punjabi Taliban, which focuses on Indian targets. The LET is in the forefront of the Punjabi Taliban. The LET guides and controls the activities of the IM and the SIMI.
While India’s vulnerability is as serious as before 26/11, there has been no act of mass casualty terrorism after 26/11. From this, it will be inadvisable to draw the conclusion that as a result of the revamping of the security apparatus by Shri P.Chidambaram, the Home Minister, our agencies now have the upper hand over the terrorists.
The LET and other organizations have not been weakened. Their anti-Indian motivation remains strong. There has been no dilution in the ISI’s support for them. Their training infrastructure in Pakistani territory is intact. Their propaganda against India continues to be virulent. They are looking for opportunities to plan and carry out more acts of mass casualty terrorism.
The failure of the US to pressure Pakistan to arrest and prosecute the ISI officers named by David Coleman Headley of the Chicago cell of the LET as involved in the 26/11 attacks has strengthened the ISI’s belief that so long as it co-operates with the US against anti-US terrorists, the US will continue to turn a blind eye to its use of the LET brand of terrorists against India.
The lack of vigorous action by the US against Pakistan for its involvement in the 26/11 strikes and its disappointing co-operation with India in the Headley case have shown that any high expectations of US co-operation with India against terrorism of Pakistani origin would be an illusion.
We have to depend on our own intelligence and security capabilities in our battle against terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The revamping of the security apparatus by Shri Chidambaram can be described as successful only if there is an increase in the flow of preventive intelligence, if there is better co-ordination among the various agencies and if follow-up action on the intelligence collected is effective.
There has been an improvement in physical security and inter-agency co-ordination as seen during the Commonwealth Games and President Barack Obama’s visit, but there have been very few instances of detection and neutralization of sleeper cells of the LET and its associates. This shows that the flow of intelligence is still inadequate.
The follow-up action on many new ideas floated by Shri Chidambaram has been slow. He had spoken of the need for a separate Ministry dealing exclusively with internal security. He had suggested bringing under his control all intelligence-collection and follow-up action capabilities having a bearing on counter-terrorism----whether such capabilities are in the Intelligence Bureau or in the Research & Analysis Wing or in the Aviation Research Centre or elsewhere. He had also spoken of his plans to set up a National Counter-Terrorism Centre under his supervision similar to what the US had set up after 9/11. One does not know what is the present stage of implementation of these ideas.
We continue to find ourselves helpless against Pakistan. The prosecution of the Pakistan-based LET conspirators by the Pakistani authorities has become a sham. The LET and other anti-India organizations continue to be as active as ever from Pakistani territory. We have been reduced to a state where we are pathetically dependent on the US to make Pakistan act. The US is disinclined to apply that kind of pressure.
We are faced with diminishing options against Pakistan. How to reverse this situation? This question should seriously engage the attention of our policy-makers. We have to work out a policy of incentives and disincentives to make Pakistan act. Merely by repeating that we will not talk to Pakistan unless it winds up its terror machine is not leading us anywhere.
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
MUMBAI 26/11: CONTINUING VICTIM LETHARGY IN INDIA
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR—PAPER NO. 694
B.RAMAN
( To be read in continuation of my article of July 11,2010, titled “ Lockerbie & Mumbai 26/11” at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers40%5Cpaper3937.html )
Since the Madrid conference on “Democracy & Terrorism” held in March 2005, to which I was invited,I have been repeatedly writing and speaking on the need for victim activism in India in order to make the Government of India act effectively against terrorism and Pakistan, the State-sponsor of terrorism against Indian nationals, but in vain.
2. Since Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) started using terrorism as a strategic weapon against India in 1981, we have had four acts of mass casualty terrorism in which there were more than 150 fatalities. These were the blowing up of the Kanishka aircraft of Air India by the Babbar Khalsa, a Khalistani terrorist organization, in June 1985, the multiple explosions in Mumbai in March 1993 carried out by a group of Pakistan-trained terrorists directed by Dawood Ibrahim, now living in Pakistan, the multiple explosions in some suburban trains of Mumbai in July,2006, carried out at the instance of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the sea-borne attacks in Mumbai by 10 Pakistanis recruited and trained by the LET with the help of the ISI from November 26 to 28,2008.
3.The relatives of the Canadian victims of the Kanishka explosion pursued their case against the Canadian authorities for their negligence in protecting the aircraft , which started from Toronto. As a result, the Canadian Government was forced to re-investigate the entire case and take necessary follow-up action.
4. In the other three cases, which took place in Indian territory, the total lack of interest by the relatives of the Indian victims in pursuing the cases from the point of view of justice and compensation to the affected families has enabled Governments responsible for the tragedies escape accountability. In all the three cases, the Governments of Pakistan and India were liable for action. The Government of Pakistan became liable because of the use of terrorism by the ISI. The Government of India was liable because of its failure to protect those who died at the hands of Pakistan-trained terrorists and to act against Pakistan as permitted by international law.
5. In the case of the Mumbai 26/11 terrorist strikes, the US Government and its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were also liable for action because of the FBI’s failure to alert the Indian security agencies about the frequent visits to India of David Coleman Headley of the Chicago cell of the LET. He was used by the LET to collect information about the targets to be attacked and to select a suitable landing point for the LET boat. The FBI had been alerted by the wives of Headley about his links with the LET. The Indian agencies were not told by the FBI about the visits of Headley to India before the attacks and about the one visit made by him after the attacks. Had the Indian agencies been told about his visits in time, they might have arrested him and foiled the plans of the ISI.
6. During his interrogation by a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of the Government of India, which had visited the US for the purpose earlier this year, Headley has reportedly given details of serving and retired officers of the ISI who had played a role in the attacks.
7. Thus, three parties are liable for action by the relatives of the victims of the 26/11 terrorist strikes:
* The Government of Pakistan and its ISI for their role in the attacks.
* The Government of the US and its FBI for their failure to alert the Indian security agencies about the LET background of Headley and his frequent visits to India to help the LET in drawing up its plans for the attacks.
* The Governments of India and Maharashtra and their agencies for their failure to prevent the attacks despite the availability of intelligence about the plans of the LET to carry out a sea-borne terrorist strike on some seafront establishments, including the Taj Mahal hotel.
8. All the three Governments have been able to get away with their acts of commission ( in the case of Pakistan) or omission ( in the case of the US and India) because of the failure of the relatives of the victims to pursue the cases against the three Governments. Unfortunately, in India we have not had a tradition of victim activism in terrorism cases and no precedents are available which could have guided the relatives of the victims to take up the cases. Even public-spirited lawyers, who often take up such cases, show a lack of interest in terrorism related cases.
9. In contrast, see what the US-based relatives of some Jewish victims of the terrorist attacks have done. “The Hindu” of November 24 has reported that the relatives of four of the victims of the 26/11 terrorist strikes, who had the dual nationality of Israel and the US, have filed a law suit in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, against the ISI and the LET with the help of James Kreindler, the famous lawyer, who helped the American victims of the Lockerbie terrorist attack sponsored by the Libyan Intelligence in obtaining compensation from Libya. In the Lockerbie incident in 1988, a Pan-Am aircraft was got blown up off Scotland, allegedly by the Libyan intelligence. Two of those, who have filed the suit in respect of the Mumbai attack, are reported to be related to a Jewish couple---- a man and his pregnant wife--- who were brutally killed by the LET terrorists in the Chabad Jewish religious-cum-cultural centre.
10. According to “The Hindu”, Kreindler said that under the US anti-terrorism laws, the plaintiffs had the right to sue the defendants in the US. Unfortunately, the relatives of the Indian victims cannot possibly make themselves parties to the suit filed in the US because they are not US citizens and their relatives were killed in Indian territory. The benefits under the US anti-terrorism laws will not be applicable to them and they may not be able to sue the ISI and the LET in a US court.
11. They should still explore the possibility of intervening in the case against Headley in a Chicago court and suing the US Government and the FBI for not acting in time against Headley despite the warnings of his LET connection from his wives. Legal action against the Governments of India and Maharashtra and the ISI in an Indian court should also be pursued. Even if their cases do not succeed, it could have a deterrent effect. India’s anti-terrorism laws should be studied by public spirited lawyers and necessary changes proposed in order to make them victim-friendly as the laws in the US are. ( 25-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
B.RAMAN
( To be read in continuation of my article of July 11,2010, titled “ Lockerbie & Mumbai 26/11” at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers40%5Cpaper3937.html )
Since the Madrid conference on “Democracy & Terrorism” held in March 2005, to which I was invited,I have been repeatedly writing and speaking on the need for victim activism in India in order to make the Government of India act effectively against terrorism and Pakistan, the State-sponsor of terrorism against Indian nationals, but in vain.
2. Since Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) started using terrorism as a strategic weapon against India in 1981, we have had four acts of mass casualty terrorism in which there were more than 150 fatalities. These were the blowing up of the Kanishka aircraft of Air India by the Babbar Khalsa, a Khalistani terrorist organization, in June 1985, the multiple explosions in Mumbai in March 1993 carried out by a group of Pakistan-trained terrorists directed by Dawood Ibrahim, now living in Pakistan, the multiple explosions in some suburban trains of Mumbai in July,2006, carried out at the instance of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the sea-borne attacks in Mumbai by 10 Pakistanis recruited and trained by the LET with the help of the ISI from November 26 to 28,2008.
3.The relatives of the Canadian victims of the Kanishka explosion pursued their case against the Canadian authorities for their negligence in protecting the aircraft , which started from Toronto. As a result, the Canadian Government was forced to re-investigate the entire case and take necessary follow-up action.
4. In the other three cases, which took place in Indian territory, the total lack of interest by the relatives of the Indian victims in pursuing the cases from the point of view of justice and compensation to the affected families has enabled Governments responsible for the tragedies escape accountability. In all the three cases, the Governments of Pakistan and India were liable for action. The Government of Pakistan became liable because of the use of terrorism by the ISI. The Government of India was liable because of its failure to protect those who died at the hands of Pakistan-trained terrorists and to act against Pakistan as permitted by international law.
5. In the case of the Mumbai 26/11 terrorist strikes, the US Government and its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were also liable for action because of the FBI’s failure to alert the Indian security agencies about the frequent visits to India of David Coleman Headley of the Chicago cell of the LET. He was used by the LET to collect information about the targets to be attacked and to select a suitable landing point for the LET boat. The FBI had been alerted by the wives of Headley about his links with the LET. The Indian agencies were not told by the FBI about the visits of Headley to India before the attacks and about the one visit made by him after the attacks. Had the Indian agencies been told about his visits in time, they might have arrested him and foiled the plans of the ISI.
6. During his interrogation by a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of the Government of India, which had visited the US for the purpose earlier this year, Headley has reportedly given details of serving and retired officers of the ISI who had played a role in the attacks.
7. Thus, three parties are liable for action by the relatives of the victims of the 26/11 terrorist strikes:
* The Government of Pakistan and its ISI for their role in the attacks.
* The Government of the US and its FBI for their failure to alert the Indian security agencies about the LET background of Headley and his frequent visits to India to help the LET in drawing up its plans for the attacks.
* The Governments of India and Maharashtra and their agencies for their failure to prevent the attacks despite the availability of intelligence about the plans of the LET to carry out a sea-borne terrorist strike on some seafront establishments, including the Taj Mahal hotel.
8. All the three Governments have been able to get away with their acts of commission ( in the case of Pakistan) or omission ( in the case of the US and India) because of the failure of the relatives of the victims to pursue the cases against the three Governments. Unfortunately, in India we have not had a tradition of victim activism in terrorism cases and no precedents are available which could have guided the relatives of the victims to take up the cases. Even public-spirited lawyers, who often take up such cases, show a lack of interest in terrorism related cases.
9. In contrast, see what the US-based relatives of some Jewish victims of the terrorist attacks have done. “The Hindu” of November 24 has reported that the relatives of four of the victims of the 26/11 terrorist strikes, who had the dual nationality of Israel and the US, have filed a law suit in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, against the ISI and the LET with the help of James Kreindler, the famous lawyer, who helped the American victims of the Lockerbie terrorist attack sponsored by the Libyan Intelligence in obtaining compensation from Libya. In the Lockerbie incident in 1988, a Pan-Am aircraft was got blown up off Scotland, allegedly by the Libyan intelligence. Two of those, who have filed the suit in respect of the Mumbai attack, are reported to be related to a Jewish couple---- a man and his pregnant wife--- who were brutally killed by the LET terrorists in the Chabad Jewish religious-cum-cultural centre.
10. According to “The Hindu”, Kreindler said that under the US anti-terrorism laws, the plaintiffs had the right to sue the defendants in the US. Unfortunately, the relatives of the Indian victims cannot possibly make themselves parties to the suit filed in the US because they are not US citizens and their relatives were killed in Indian territory. The benefits under the US anti-terrorism laws will not be applicable to them and they may not be able to sue the ISI and the LET in a US court.
11. They should still explore the possibility of intervening in the case against Headley in a Chicago court and suing the US Government and the FBI for not acting in time against Headley despite the warnings of his LET connection from his wives. Legal action against the Governments of India and Maharashtra and the ISI in an Indian court should also be pursued. Even if their cases do not succeed, it could have a deterrent effect. India’s anti-terrorism laws should be studied by public spirited lawyers and necessary changes proposed in order to make them victim-friendly as the laws in the US are. ( 25-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
CONTINUING NORTH KOREAN THREAT TO REGIONAL PEACE & STABILITY
B.RAMAN
The continuing North Korean threat to regional peace and stability has again been demonstrated by its surprise artillery attack on the Yeonpyeong island under South Korean control on November 23,2010, which has caused artillery exchanges between North and South Korea and by reports of its setting up an uranium enrichment plant with nearly 1000 centrifuges of unestablished origin ( Pakistan or Iran or local make).
2.According to the Beijing correspondent of “The Hindu”, the daily of Chennai (November 24), North Korea has said the artillery fire on the South Korean-controlled island was in response to live ammunition military drills that South Korea has been conducting in recent days. A statement from the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) of North Korea has been cited by the correspondent as alleging that South Korea had “recklessly fired into our sea area.”
3. These exercises and the repeated joint naval exercises by ships of the US and South Korean navies since the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel by North Korea in March have been of equal concern to North Korea and China. China had condemned these exercises in strong language and held its own exercises in the Yellow Sea area with live ammunition. Even though there is no evidence of Chinese complicity in the North Korean decision to fire the artillery, Pyongyang’s action would suit the Chinese objective of seeking to deter the exercises and joint exercises. Barring an uncontrolled and uncontrollable escalation of the artillery exchanges, one can rule out a war, which could damage the Chinese economy as badly as it would the economies of other countries in the region.
4.The usual Chinese reluctance to join the international community in condemning North Korea is an indicator of the limitations to the Chinese ability or willingness to moderate the behaviour of the North Korean regime. Even though China is the country with which North Korea has the closest relations, one should not over-estimate the Chinese ability to moderate the actions of the Pyongyang regime. Condemning China for its reluctance as some have done in the US could prove counter--productive.
5. Does Pyongyang have other objectives in addition to protesting against the South Korean military exercises? Is it, in addition, trying to force the US to make political and economic concessions to it and to promise to roll back the present policy of escalating sanctions? Or does it reflect emerging domestic challenges to the recent action of Kim Jong-il in having paved the way for his youngest son Kim Jong-Un as his eventual successor overlooking the claims of other aspirants in the party, the Armed Forces and the family itself. There is a strong possibility of the artillery attack being a diversionary move engineered by his son and his supporters in the Armed Forces to isolate those not yet reconciled to Kim Jong-Un succeeding his father as the ruler of North Korea. There were unconfirmed reports before the artillery attack that Kim Jong-Un had initiated a purge of those suspected of opposition to him.
6. The US-led international community must avoid over-reaction and deal with the situation tactically and tactfully without playing into the hands of those in North Korea who want an escalation of tension.
7. The initiative taken earlier by the North Korean authorities in showing an emerging uranium enrichment plant with the centrifuges to a visiting US scientist ( Stanford University professor Siegfried Hecker) on November 12 poses important questions. Did they show the centrifuges to the scientist in order to establish the authenticity of their claim and convince the US that nothing can prevent them from doing what they consider is in their national interest? Where from they got the centrifuges? Were they locally made or did they get them from Pakistan, which was known to have bartered in the past enrichment technology in return for long-range North Korean missiles to intimidate India? Or did Iran supply them as a barter for missile technology to intimidate Israel?
8. There is no fourth way of their securing the technology and the centrifuges. To find acceptable answers to these questions, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna has to interrogate A.Q.Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist, who had negotiated Pakistan’s nuclear-missile barter with North Korea and had it implemented till his proliferations activities were discovered by the West and Gen. Pervez Musharraf was forced by the US to act against him.
9.Till now, the US and the IAEA have refrained from using the means of pressure available to them against Pakistan for forcing it to hand over A.Q.Khan for interrogation outside Pakistan. Outside North Korea and China, A.Q.Khan is the only person, who was having inside knowledge of North Korea’s capabilities and future plans. If his interrogation rules out the possibility of the new centrifuges having been locally manufactured or acquired from Pakistan, the needle of suspicion will more firmly point in the direction of Iran. The interrogation of A.Q.Khan has, therefore, to be the starting point of any exercise to find answers to these questions. By continuing to refrain from exercising pressure on Pakistan, the US will continue to grope in the dark. (24-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
The continuing North Korean threat to regional peace and stability has again been demonstrated by its surprise artillery attack on the Yeonpyeong island under South Korean control on November 23,2010, which has caused artillery exchanges between North and South Korea and by reports of its setting up an uranium enrichment plant with nearly 1000 centrifuges of unestablished origin ( Pakistan or Iran or local make).
2.According to the Beijing correspondent of “The Hindu”, the daily of Chennai (November 24), North Korea has said the artillery fire on the South Korean-controlled island was in response to live ammunition military drills that South Korea has been conducting in recent days. A statement from the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) of North Korea has been cited by the correspondent as alleging that South Korea had “recklessly fired into our sea area.”
3. These exercises and the repeated joint naval exercises by ships of the US and South Korean navies since the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel by North Korea in March have been of equal concern to North Korea and China. China had condemned these exercises in strong language and held its own exercises in the Yellow Sea area with live ammunition. Even though there is no evidence of Chinese complicity in the North Korean decision to fire the artillery, Pyongyang’s action would suit the Chinese objective of seeking to deter the exercises and joint exercises. Barring an uncontrolled and uncontrollable escalation of the artillery exchanges, one can rule out a war, which could damage the Chinese economy as badly as it would the economies of other countries in the region.
4.The usual Chinese reluctance to join the international community in condemning North Korea is an indicator of the limitations to the Chinese ability or willingness to moderate the behaviour of the North Korean regime. Even though China is the country with which North Korea has the closest relations, one should not over-estimate the Chinese ability to moderate the actions of the Pyongyang regime. Condemning China for its reluctance as some have done in the US could prove counter--productive.
5. Does Pyongyang have other objectives in addition to protesting against the South Korean military exercises? Is it, in addition, trying to force the US to make political and economic concessions to it and to promise to roll back the present policy of escalating sanctions? Or does it reflect emerging domestic challenges to the recent action of Kim Jong-il in having paved the way for his youngest son Kim Jong-Un as his eventual successor overlooking the claims of other aspirants in the party, the Armed Forces and the family itself. There is a strong possibility of the artillery attack being a diversionary move engineered by his son and his supporters in the Armed Forces to isolate those not yet reconciled to Kim Jong-Un succeeding his father as the ruler of North Korea. There were unconfirmed reports before the artillery attack that Kim Jong-Un had initiated a purge of those suspected of opposition to him.
6. The US-led international community must avoid over-reaction and deal with the situation tactically and tactfully without playing into the hands of those in North Korea who want an escalation of tension.
7. The initiative taken earlier by the North Korean authorities in showing an emerging uranium enrichment plant with the centrifuges to a visiting US scientist ( Stanford University professor Siegfried Hecker) on November 12 poses important questions. Did they show the centrifuges to the scientist in order to establish the authenticity of their claim and convince the US that nothing can prevent them from doing what they consider is in their national interest? Where from they got the centrifuges? Were they locally made or did they get them from Pakistan, which was known to have bartered in the past enrichment technology in return for long-range North Korean missiles to intimidate India? Or did Iran supply them as a barter for missile technology to intimidate Israel?
8. There is no fourth way of their securing the technology and the centrifuges. To find acceptable answers to these questions, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna has to interrogate A.Q.Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist, who had negotiated Pakistan’s nuclear-missile barter with North Korea and had it implemented till his proliferations activities were discovered by the West and Gen. Pervez Musharraf was forced by the US to act against him.
9.Till now, the US and the IAEA have refrained from using the means of pressure available to them against Pakistan for forcing it to hand over A.Q.Khan for interrogation outside Pakistan. Outside North Korea and China, A.Q.Khan is the only person, who was having inside knowledge of North Korea’s capabilities and future plans. If his interrogation rules out the possibility of the new centrifuges having been locally manufactured or acquired from Pakistan, the needle of suspicion will more firmly point in the direction of Iran. The interrogation of A.Q.Khan has, therefore, to be the starting point of any exercise to find answers to these questions. By continuing to refrain from exercising pressure on Pakistan, the US will continue to grope in the dark. (24-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Monday, November 22, 2010
AL QAEDA'S OPERATION HAEMORRHAGE
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR -- PAPER NO. 693
B.RAMAN
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has already claimed responsibility for the failed attempts to send two parcel bombs to Chicago by courier planes of the FedExpress and the UPS on October 29,2010, has come out with a detailed account of its operation code named Operation Haemorrhage in its online magazine titled "Inspire". The article giving the detailed account was noticed on November 20,2010, by some US organisations, which closely monitor the propaganda of Al Qaeda and its affiliates. The "New York Times" has carried details of the "Inspire" account in its issue of November 20.
2. According to the "Inspire" article as quoted by the NY Times, "the operation cost only $4,200 to mount, was intended to disrupt global air cargo systems and reflected a new strategy of low-cost attacks designed to inflict broad economic damage. " The AQAP’s online magazine said that it had adopted a “strategy of a thousand cuts.” It explained this strategy in the following words: “To bring down America we do not need to strike big. In such an environment of security phobia that is sweeping America, it is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked so hard to erect.”
3.The magazine repeated an earlier claim of the AQAP that it was also responsible for the September 3 crash of a UPS plane in Dubai that killed the two pilots. While this claim has not so far been proved due to lack of evidence that the September 3 crash was due to an explosive device, its claims of having hoodwinked the security authorities at the point of dispatch in Yemen of the two parcel bombs by successfully booking them without the explosive devices concealed in printer cartridges being detected stand proved by the details given in the "Inspire" article.
4. The strategy of a thousand cuts adopted by the AQAP against the US is reminiscent of a similar strategy used by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) against India. The objectives of the ISI's strategy are to discredit the Indian security agencies in the eyes of the Indian public, cause demoralisation, damage the Indian economy and drive a wedge between the Muslims and non-Muslims in India.
5. The objectives of the AQAP are to create a fear psychosis in the US, make it over-react and spend an enormous amount on physical security thereby damaging the US economy. This is, in fact, not a new strategy of the AQ. Osama bin Laden had outlined this strategy in an audio message disseminated through Al Jazeera on November 2,2004. After saying that Al Qaeda's goal was to force the US into bankruptcy, bin Laden added: "We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat. al Qaeda found it "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration." As part of the "bleed-until-bankruptcy strategy," bin Laden cited a British estimate that it cost al Qaeda about $500,000 to carry out the attacks of September 11, 2001, an amount that he said paled in comparison with the costs incurred by the US. "Every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars, by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs. As for the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars. "
6.After the July,2005 bombings in London, Al Qaeda has not been able to carry out any major terrorist strikes in the West. Two of its attempts----- the attempt to blow up a US plane bound for Detroit from Amsterdam on December 25 last year by a Nigerian student and the attempt of a US resident of Pakistani origin motivated and trained by the Pakistani Taliban to cause an explosion in the Times Square of New York on May 1--- almost succeeded, but were thwarted at the last minute by an alert passenger of the aircraft and an alert member of the public in New York. However, the Pakistani Taliban did carry out a spectacular strike against the Central Intelligence Agency in the Khost area of Afghanistan on December 30 last year.
7. Barring these incidents which were not detected in advance by the intelligence agencies, all other attacks plotted by Al Qaeda and its associates against Western targets outside the Af-Pak area were detected in advance and foiled by the intelligence agencies. Al Qaeda and its associates have reasons to be worried because of the repeated leakage of information about their conspiracies to the US and other Western intelligence agencies. Such leakages enabled the US intelligence to thwart the plans of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the 313 Brigade of Ilyas Kashmiri to attack the offices of the Danish newspaper which published cartoons of the Prophet in 2005, and the latest attempt of the AQAP to cause explosions either on board two courier planes or in Chicago through parcel-bombs. A precise tip-off from the Saudi intelligence about the parcel-bombs booked by these flights enabled the intelligence agencies of Dubai and the UK to intercept and de-activate the parcel-bombs.
8. The Saudi tip-off clearly shows a weakening of internal security in Al Qaeda. It was strong internal security which enabled Al Qaeda to carry out a series of successful and spectacular strikes between 1998 and 2005 without its plans being detected. The weakening of internal security should account for its low success rate after July,2005 in the West. This weakening can be attributed to the fact that Al Qaeda is no longer a homogenous organisation consisting largely of Arabs loyal to bin Laden. The difficulties faced by Arabs in traveling to the West have forced Al Qaeda to depend more and more on non-Arabs such as Pakistanis, Nigerians, Uzbeks, Turks, white converts to Islam etc for its operations in the West. This has affected its internal security. The recent receipt of intelligence by the German authorities about Al Qaeda's plans for a terrorist strike in Germany is also due to this weakening of its internal security, which has resulted in a leakage.
9. The AQAP has sought to play down this weakening of internal security in Al Qaeda as a whole by projecting its latest operation as a success, which it was not. ( 22-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
B.RAMAN
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has already claimed responsibility for the failed attempts to send two parcel bombs to Chicago by courier planes of the FedExpress and the UPS on October 29,2010, has come out with a detailed account of its operation code named Operation Haemorrhage in its online magazine titled "Inspire". The article giving the detailed account was noticed on November 20,2010, by some US organisations, which closely monitor the propaganda of Al Qaeda and its affiliates. The "New York Times" has carried details of the "Inspire" account in its issue of November 20.
2. According to the "Inspire" article as quoted by the NY Times, "the operation cost only $4,200 to mount, was intended to disrupt global air cargo systems and reflected a new strategy of low-cost attacks designed to inflict broad economic damage. " The AQAP’s online magazine said that it had adopted a “strategy of a thousand cuts.” It explained this strategy in the following words: “To bring down America we do not need to strike big. In such an environment of security phobia that is sweeping America, it is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked so hard to erect.”
3.The magazine repeated an earlier claim of the AQAP that it was also responsible for the September 3 crash of a UPS plane in Dubai that killed the two pilots. While this claim has not so far been proved due to lack of evidence that the September 3 crash was due to an explosive device, its claims of having hoodwinked the security authorities at the point of dispatch in Yemen of the two parcel bombs by successfully booking them without the explosive devices concealed in printer cartridges being detected stand proved by the details given in the "Inspire" article.
4. The strategy of a thousand cuts adopted by the AQAP against the US is reminiscent of a similar strategy used by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) against India. The objectives of the ISI's strategy are to discredit the Indian security agencies in the eyes of the Indian public, cause demoralisation, damage the Indian economy and drive a wedge between the Muslims and non-Muslims in India.
5. The objectives of the AQAP are to create a fear psychosis in the US, make it over-react and spend an enormous amount on physical security thereby damaging the US economy. This is, in fact, not a new strategy of the AQ. Osama bin Laden had outlined this strategy in an audio message disseminated through Al Jazeera on November 2,2004. After saying that Al Qaeda's goal was to force the US into bankruptcy, bin Laden added: "We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat. al Qaeda found it "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration." As part of the "bleed-until-bankruptcy strategy," bin Laden cited a British estimate that it cost al Qaeda about $500,000 to carry out the attacks of September 11, 2001, an amount that he said paled in comparison with the costs incurred by the US. "Every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars, by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs. As for the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars. "
6.After the July,2005 bombings in London, Al Qaeda has not been able to carry out any major terrorist strikes in the West. Two of its attempts----- the attempt to blow up a US plane bound for Detroit from Amsterdam on December 25 last year by a Nigerian student and the attempt of a US resident of Pakistani origin motivated and trained by the Pakistani Taliban to cause an explosion in the Times Square of New York on May 1--- almost succeeded, but were thwarted at the last minute by an alert passenger of the aircraft and an alert member of the public in New York. However, the Pakistani Taliban did carry out a spectacular strike against the Central Intelligence Agency in the Khost area of Afghanistan on December 30 last year.
7. Barring these incidents which were not detected in advance by the intelligence agencies, all other attacks plotted by Al Qaeda and its associates against Western targets outside the Af-Pak area were detected in advance and foiled by the intelligence agencies. Al Qaeda and its associates have reasons to be worried because of the repeated leakage of information about their conspiracies to the US and other Western intelligence agencies. Such leakages enabled the US intelligence to thwart the plans of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the 313 Brigade of Ilyas Kashmiri to attack the offices of the Danish newspaper which published cartoons of the Prophet in 2005, and the latest attempt of the AQAP to cause explosions either on board two courier planes or in Chicago through parcel-bombs. A precise tip-off from the Saudi intelligence about the parcel-bombs booked by these flights enabled the intelligence agencies of Dubai and the UK to intercept and de-activate the parcel-bombs.
8. The Saudi tip-off clearly shows a weakening of internal security in Al Qaeda. It was strong internal security which enabled Al Qaeda to carry out a series of successful and spectacular strikes between 1998 and 2005 without its plans being detected. The weakening of internal security should account for its low success rate after July,2005 in the West. This weakening can be attributed to the fact that Al Qaeda is no longer a homogenous organisation consisting largely of Arabs loyal to bin Laden. The difficulties faced by Arabs in traveling to the West have forced Al Qaeda to depend more and more on non-Arabs such as Pakistanis, Nigerians, Uzbeks, Turks, white converts to Islam etc for its operations in the West. This has affected its internal security. The recent receipt of intelligence by the German authorities about Al Qaeda's plans for a terrorist strike in Germany is also due to this weakening of its internal security, which has resulted in a leakage.
9. The AQAP has sought to play down this weakening of internal security in Al Qaeda as a whole by projecting its latest operation as a success, which it was not. ( 22-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Sunday, November 21, 2010
THE CHINESE RAIL WEB: KUNMING--YANGON HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK
COLLATED BY B.RAMAN
The "People's Daily Online" has carried the following report on November 22,2010.
High-speed rail between Yunnan and Myanmar on agenda
Construction of a high-speed rail link between Yunnan province and neighboring Myanmar, part of a project to upgrade transport connections with Southeast Asian nations, will start in about two months, a top rail expert said.
The line, from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, will be 1,920 kilometers long, said Wang Mengshu, an academic of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Trains will run at about 170-200 km/h once it is completed, he added.
Wang, who is also a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, has been involved in Chinese high-speed rail projects from the outset.
Wang told China Daily that a high-speed rail connection between southwestern China and Cambodia is also under discussion. And an exploratory survey for another route that would link Yunnan and Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is under way.
The three new rail connections being developed, along with another linking China and Vietnam, will form a network that is likely to be completed within 10 years, Wang said.
"The project, which aims to boost cooperation between China and Southeast Asian nations, will greatly enhance the economic development of China's western regions," said Wang.
A national rail plan will see the network extended to 120,000 km by the end of 2020 and to 170,000 km by the end of the 2030, Wang said. Upon completion, 60 percent of the country's railways will be located in western China.
A Ministry of Railways spokesman said a detailed construction plan to link Southeast Asian countries had not yet been finalized, but confirmed that the ministry has set up working groups with these countries.
Piamsak Milintachinda, Thailand's ambassador to China, earlier told China Daily that a ministry team went to Thailand in August to gauge the investment environment for a high-speed railway as well as a rail network connecting Thailand, China and other Southeast Asian countries.
The proposed 240-km high-speed railway in Thailand, estimated to cost about $25.6 billion, would be the first such line in that country and connect Bangkok with Rayong, the industrial base in the east of the country.
Thailand has long intended to upgrade its network and learn from China's experience in "operating a high-speed rail system", the ambassador said.
Chinese experts believe that China has the technical ability to carry out the project, but other considerations may come into play.
"There is no technological barrier to building high-speed railways to Southeast Asian countries but China needs to take profitability into account," said Ji Jialun, a professor with Beijing Jiaotong University.
Domestic companies are upgrading technology to keep up with innovation and growth in the high-speed rail industry and are well positioned to benefit from increased interest in high-speed rail routes.
China's high-speed trains have clocked speeds as high as 416.6 km/hour, according to Zhao Xiaogang, chairman of the China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp, the largest listed railway equipment maker in China.
"Europe, the United States, Russia, India, Brazil and the Middle East are all mulling over plans to develop high-speed railways, indicating a boom in the industry globally," Zhao said.
Tan Zongyang, Zhou Siyu and Liu Yiyu contributed to this story.
By Du Juan and Wan Zhihong, China Daily
The "People's Daily Online" has carried the following report on November 22,2010.
High-speed rail between Yunnan and Myanmar on agenda
Construction of a high-speed rail link between Yunnan province and neighboring Myanmar, part of a project to upgrade transport connections with Southeast Asian nations, will start in about two months, a top rail expert said.
The line, from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, will be 1,920 kilometers long, said Wang Mengshu, an academic of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Trains will run at about 170-200 km/h once it is completed, he added.
Wang, who is also a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, has been involved in Chinese high-speed rail projects from the outset.
Wang told China Daily that a high-speed rail connection between southwestern China and Cambodia is also under discussion. And an exploratory survey for another route that would link Yunnan and Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is under way.
The three new rail connections being developed, along with another linking China and Vietnam, will form a network that is likely to be completed within 10 years, Wang said.
"The project, which aims to boost cooperation between China and Southeast Asian nations, will greatly enhance the economic development of China's western regions," said Wang.
A national rail plan will see the network extended to 120,000 km by the end of 2020 and to 170,000 km by the end of the 2030, Wang said. Upon completion, 60 percent of the country's railways will be located in western China.
A Ministry of Railways spokesman said a detailed construction plan to link Southeast Asian countries had not yet been finalized, but confirmed that the ministry has set up working groups with these countries.
Piamsak Milintachinda, Thailand's ambassador to China, earlier told China Daily that a ministry team went to Thailand in August to gauge the investment environment for a high-speed railway as well as a rail network connecting Thailand, China and other Southeast Asian countries.
The proposed 240-km high-speed railway in Thailand, estimated to cost about $25.6 billion, would be the first such line in that country and connect Bangkok with Rayong, the industrial base in the east of the country.
Thailand has long intended to upgrade its network and learn from China's experience in "operating a high-speed rail system", the ambassador said.
Chinese experts believe that China has the technical ability to carry out the project, but other considerations may come into play.
"There is no technological barrier to building high-speed railways to Southeast Asian countries but China needs to take profitability into account," said Ji Jialun, a professor with Beijing Jiaotong University.
Domestic companies are upgrading technology to keep up with innovation and growth in the high-speed rail industry and are well positioned to benefit from increased interest in high-speed rail routes.
China's high-speed trains have clocked speeds as high as 416.6 km/hour, according to Zhao Xiaogang, chairman of the China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp, the largest listed railway equipment maker in China.
"Europe, the United States, Russia, India, Brazil and the Middle East are all mulling over plans to develop high-speed railways, indicating a boom in the industry globally," Zhao said.
Tan Zongyang, Zhou Siyu and Liu Yiyu contributed to this story.
By Du Juan and Wan Zhihong, China Daily
Saturday, November 20, 2010
IAF COPTER CRASH IN TAWANG AREA---AS REPORTED BY CHINESE MEDIA
B.RAMAN
An M-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Tawang in India's Arunachal Pradesh on November 19,2010, killing all the 12 persons---11 from the Indian Air Force including the two pilots, and a Lt.Col from the Army---who were on board.
2. "The Hindu" of Chennai quoting Indian defence sources reported that "the chopper, bound for Guwahati, crashed minutes after it took off from the helipad of the Army Brigade Headquarters in Tawang at 12.04 p.m. It was on an air maintenance sortie. " It added: "IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ranjib Sahoo, based in the Eastern Air Command headquarters in Shillong, told The Hindu that all the bodies have been retrieved from the crash site, about 10 km from Tawang. A court of inquiry has been ordered."
3. The Government-controlled Xinhua news agency of China disseminated two different versions of the news about the crash----one for the English language media of China and the other for the Chinese language media.
4. The version for the English language media stated as follows: " According to AFP news, an Indian military transport helicopter in the northeast, in the border areas crashed, killing all 12 people.The plane is Russian-made military helicopter . It crashed shortly after take-off. The cause of the accident may be due to local weather. Indian Defense Ministry spokesman told the media that 12 people were on the helicopter.There were no survivors. All the dead bodies have been found." ( My comment: This English version has been taken from a Chinese blog. This has not yet been carried by the English language editions of the "Global Times", the "People's Daily" and the " China Daily")
5. The Chinese language version, as translated in Chinese blogs, stated as follows: " Press Trust of India quoting Indian military sources reported that 12 o'clock noon, local time, the Indian Air Force transport helicopter Mi -17 in the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" fell to the ground.Two pilots and 9 flight trainees killed . Indian Air Force has ordered a cause of the accident investigation. The so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" is located in southern Tibet, China, which has always been Chinese territory. China's repeated solemn declaration that China never recognized the illegal "McMahon Line" and the Indian authorities in February 1987 announced the establishment of the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh." Unquote .(21-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt.of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
An M-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Tawang in India's Arunachal Pradesh on November 19,2010, killing all the 12 persons---11 from the Indian Air Force including the two pilots, and a Lt.Col from the Army---who were on board.
2. "The Hindu" of Chennai quoting Indian defence sources reported that "the chopper, bound for Guwahati, crashed minutes after it took off from the helipad of the Army Brigade Headquarters in Tawang at 12.04 p.m. It was on an air maintenance sortie. " It added: "IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ranjib Sahoo, based in the Eastern Air Command headquarters in Shillong, told The Hindu that all the bodies have been retrieved from the crash site, about 10 km from Tawang. A court of inquiry has been ordered."
3. The Government-controlled Xinhua news agency of China disseminated two different versions of the news about the crash----one for the English language media of China and the other for the Chinese language media.
4. The version for the English language media stated as follows: " According to AFP news, an Indian military transport helicopter in the northeast, in the border areas crashed, killing all 12 people.The plane is Russian-made military helicopter . It crashed shortly after take-off. The cause of the accident may be due to local weather. Indian Defense Ministry spokesman told the media that 12 people were on the helicopter.There were no survivors. All the dead bodies have been found." ( My comment: This English version has been taken from a Chinese blog. This has not yet been carried by the English language editions of the "Global Times", the "People's Daily" and the " China Daily")
5. The Chinese language version, as translated in Chinese blogs, stated as follows: " Press Trust of India quoting Indian military sources reported that 12 o'clock noon, local time, the Indian Air Force transport helicopter Mi -17 in the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" fell to the ground.Two pilots and 9 flight trainees killed . Indian Air Force has ordered a cause of the accident investigation. The so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" is located in southern Tibet, China, which has always been Chinese territory. China's repeated solemn declaration that China never recognized the illegal "McMahon Line" and the Indian authorities in February 1987 announced the establishment of the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh." Unquote .(21-11-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt.of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
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