There’s Nothing Moral About Sex

Madhav Nepal Enjoying with Spice Girl:

By Divas

Someone has to speak the truth, and if I will not, then who will?  People often ask me how can I be so sure of myself…the reason I can be so sure of myself is because i’ve always believed that every age has its own set of problems and therefore its own set of solutions…the basic philosophy behind my assumption is that everything in this world is always in a flux…

And one of the most problematic issues of our times is that of sex… Aldous Huxley said about a century ago that sex is the biggest nothing of our time…and I will say that it’s still a biggest nothing of our time…looks like humans would never be able to keep a healthy attitude toward sex…and after hunger, sex is the most basic issue behind human suffering… in this post, I’m illuminating certain basic things related to sex, which everyone knows but very few dare to speak..even the intellectuals speak on these things only within their close circles…but my aim is to release people from their unnecessary suffering by bringing the taboo issues into the public sphere..

Everyone  is Sexual:

Everyone without exception is sexual. You know it, I know it. Most of the visitors to this blog come looking for sexual gratification. The Top Post of All Time on this blog is Sex in Kathmandu City, and I’d to block comments on that post coz most of the comments there are solicitations for sex. And you know what sorts of search words bring people to this blog? Here are some of today’s search words for your amusement: i want sex tonight in kathmandu, call girl in kathmandu with mobile number, naked girls and fuck, how can i find nepali prostitute in Kathmandu, is prostitution legal in Nepal, nepali women in fucking business, girl want to be fucked, kathmandu boy sex, women seeking men Nepal…

What does this show? This shows that people are sick with sex. Our films, TVs, news items, advertisements, and internet virtually bombard every human being with contents that arouse your sexual instincts. That’s making people sick. Moreover, unlike in the past, the average  marriageable age for both sexes is around 30+ at present…This shows that if you use today’s technology and if you extend your marriageable age beyond puberty, you cannot stick to the  conventional morality on sex which assumes that you will get married once  you reach puberty.

Sexual Atrraction:  

Therefore, there is no need to feel guilty for being sexual. Being sexual means that you’re healthy. And it applies to both male and female, without any prejudice. Sexual attraction can happen between any two people, even among the relatives.  Freud is right there. So is Osho. Therefore no need to feel guilty about being sexual.

Sexual Relations:

Since everyone is sexual, there’s nothing moral about sex. What kind of relationship two people are in is nobody’s business.

Sex and Sexual Violence:

Sexual violence is like any other violence, there is no need to make any taboo of sexual violence. Those who commit violence on others  suffer themselves. But, you don’t lose your prestige if you’ve suffered  sexual violence.  What amuses me that even feminists demand compensation arguing on behalf of ‘prestige’. As long as you’re going to associate your prestige with sex, you are bound to suffer.

Therefore, there’s nothing called prestige related to sex. Btw, who’s that fucking thing called ‘prestige’ anyway? As Parijaat wrote in her Sirisko Phool, who’s prestige? no body has any prestige… it’s just that people pretend with each other…

Sex and Society:

However, if you’re not careful, society will put you in many difficulties in life.  Because, society is always there to blackmail you with sex. But, remember, sex surely has practical difficulties but if you fear the society, then you’ll always remain paranoid about sex. Let me tell you one truth that I discovered, I’ve found that sex workers are happier than the so-called ‘good girls and women’ because sex workers aren’t paranoid about their false ‘prestige’. And one of the reason why my mother suffered was because she was a ‘good’ woman. So, if necessary, be ‘bad’ and be happy. Because, your happiness is your greatest responsibility. You can do any good in this world only if you’re happy.

Moral of the Story:

So, am I encouraging promiscuity? No, I’m not encouraging promiscuity. As far as possible, keep your sexual experience to a minimum…and you don’t even have to have sexual intercourse for sexual gratification. Masturbation, hugging, kissing, etc would be enough to satisfy your sexual urges. Because, promiscuity has its own set of problems. Besides the possibility of getting sexual diseases, there’re social, interpersonal, and spiritual problems related to promiscuity. Moreover, if you indulge too much in sex, it might interfere with your career and business. Sex is just an energy, just divert the energy through exercise, play, and other creative pursuits.

In any case, there’s nothing to feel guilty or paranoid on any aspect of sex coz there’s nothing moral about sex. Whoever preaches morality on sex, know him/her to be either a hypocrite or paranoid.

PS: Btw, let me tell you one thing from my experience, it’s not even necessary to have  sex to live a fulfilling life: love is enough!

Cruising Mountain Bike in Kathmandu Streets: Fulfilling Childhood Dream

By Divas

Of late, I’ve gotten wakka (fed up) with writing & preaching on political matters, hence i’d like to share a bit of my personal life with the readers.

The news is that i’ve been riding a bicycle for the past two months. And i’ve gathered quite a bit of experience as a mountain biker.

The day i bought my mountain bike or MB, many people declared that it was another proof of my craziness. Although it was not the first time they were saying that to me. It’s simply unacceptable in bourgeois Kathmandu society for a respectable middle-aged man to ride a bicycle while commuting to & from his workplace.

But, as is my habit, which would not die anytime soon, i’d to break this fucking bourgeois status concept of the Kathmanduites. Besides, i’d to also fulfill the great responsibility of saving the humankind from the impeding climatic disaster. So, i did it again by riding a MB instead of a motorbike.

And i’m really happy to regularly ride a bicycle after so many years. In fact, riding a MB was one of my childhood dreams. When i’d just finished my school, MBs were still a rare possession even among the professional bikers. My one friend’s relative had brought an MB from Japan. And i used to wish that my dad would also buy me a similar MB.

But, as my dad was a civil servant and also a very very kanjoos or miser, he told me bluntly that he could not afford to buy me an MB. Instead, one not-so-fine day, he brought an Indian bike Atlas. Thus was how my dream of riding a MB shattered. And i promised myself then & there that one day i’d buy myself an MB with my own hard-earned bucks and cruise it on the main road.

What amused me the most was that from my dad to relatives, and from friends to colleagues, all were literally shocked to see me riding a bicycle. In fact, when i proudly posted the picture of my new MB on the Facebook Wall, only one of my several bosom friends clicked ‘Like’ on it. And he, too, went agape when he saw me riding a bicycle while commuting to & from my workplace.

And no one has congratulated me yet for riding a bicycle… not even the incumbent Environment & Climate Minister.  Boo…. !

To be continued

Asbestos & Cancer: Occupational Hazards of Asbestos

A Guest Post by Eric Stevenson

Canada has often been viewed as one of the kindest, most peaceable nations of the modern world.  But with the news of the intentions of Canada regarding the toxic mining and exporting of asbestos, opinions on Canadian morals are rapidly changing.

Canada has been mining chrysotile, a mineral also known as white asbestos, for decades. In fact, entire towns, such as Asbestos, Quebec, have been built around the prosperity of the asbestos mining industry. Asbestos mines have been collecting and selling the toxic mineral for years for a number of reasons.

Asbestos is relatively inexpensive and profit is considerable. Factories and mines provide jobs for the townspeople and pump life into the towns.  Asbestos is also well-known for its fire and heat resistant qualities and its tendency not to rust or decay naturally.

However since the 1970’s, many countries, including the United states and several European nations, have banned the usage of asbestos in homes, public buildings, and schools because of the danger the toxin poses to their citizens.

Asbestos in building materials like drywall and insulation is perfectly safe when it is kept structurally undamaged and intact.  However, when asbestos is disturbed, it releases invisible fibers into the air. Mine and factory workers then inhale and ingest the fibers. Fibers also cling to hair and clothing, and thus are transported and inhaled by family members and neighbors. Those living in homes or frequenting buildings that contain asbestos products are also exposed to the fibers.

Inhaling and ingesting asbestos fibers leads to a deadly cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms are subtle and lie dormant for up to 50 years after the workers and families inhale the asbestos.  When the cancer does become symptomatic, it has often already metastasized, making treatment ineffective. Therefore, mesothelioma life expectancy rates are extremely short.

Even Canada has banned the usage of asbestos in its own country because of the negative health effects it can have on its citizens.  Yet Canada has recently set out to reopen abandoned asbestos mines. Canada intends to allow the export of asbestos and asbestos contaminated products to countries that do not yet have major bans on asbestos usage.

The Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Quebec is the largest asbestos mine in the world and from this Canadian region has come 90% of the world’s commercially used asbestos for over a century.  The Jeffrey Mine’s team of geologists believes that they have discovered the world largest reserve of asbestos and investors fully intend to ship immense quantities of asbestos to countries like India, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Nepal, where, they claim, people are less equipped with knowledge of the dangers of asbestos.

According to statistics by the World Health Organization, over 107,000 people die every year from diseases caused by asbestos. The carcinogen has helped the Canadian industry group, the Chrysotile Institute, to gain at least one million dollars for asbestos propaganda and promotion.

However, many citizens of Canada do not condone what the asbestos industry claims to do.  Statistics presented by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment showed that 76% found Canada’s asbestos export plans unacceptable.  Yet, without more oppoistion, it seems as though the Jeffrey Mine project may be successful.

By raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos and symptoms of mesothelioma, we can help to bring other countries closer to placing their own bans on asbestos.  It is up to us to spread information that can save lives and put a stop to greed and the ill-intentions of those whose goal is to profit despite the risk to others.

Wikileaks Censored: A Dying US Democracy

By Dr. Abdul Ruff

(Part-1)
[Behind the smiling faces of capitalist imperialists, there is the ugly truth about their hidden terror agendas. Recent history has proved without ambiguity that the US is a bloodthirsty rogue state run by its military-industrial-bureaucratic system guided not by democracy rules but by the Pentagon-CIA nuts bent upon imposing US hegemony over the heavily terrorized world. If the Muslim nations are unable to comprehend this simple fact, rather universal truth, it is their fault!

USA and its Western terror allies have demonstrated to the world that their democracy is just a gimmick, sheer crap and only a showpiece to hook other nations for their resources and that democracy every where is also dying. More so, the so-called American democracy occupying 3 Muslim nations, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, murdering innocent Muslims on fictitious pretexts is on the deathbed. USA has been threatening to invade Islamic Iran for its vast energy resources. It is extremely funny, therefore, that US leaders make it point to shamelessly declaring they are not fighting Islam or Muslims! The WikiLeaks has exposed the real face of US capitalist imperialism.

Posing to be the top most democratic nation existing only to help Islamic world to imbibe democratic or American values, USA has now become too panic, at least pretend to be so, so that the illegal terror wars the NATO GST rogue states wage are not disturbed. US Terror Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has generated false threat perceptions after the release of some 250,000 messages from US envoys around the world by the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. The cables offer candid and sometimes unflattering views of world leaders and frank assessments of security threats.

The cables are a huge sampling of communications between the US State Department and its embassies and consulates around the world. The messages were sent between 1966 and 2010 but most are from this decade. Among the revelations is a report that my friend King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, among other Arab leaders, urged the US to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. European nations have roundly criticized the leaks, with France saying they represent a threat to democratic authority. US puppet Pakistan’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, condemned what it called “the irresponsible disclosure of sensitive official documents”.

In a statement, the White House said: “Such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world that come to the USA for assistance in promoting democracy and open government. US officials being instructed to spy on the UN leadership by Hillary Clinton; Corruption in Afghanistan with concerns heightened when a senior official was found to be carrying more than $52m (£33m) in cash on a foreign trip; Germany being warned in 2007 not to enforce arrest warrants for CIA officers involved in an operation in which an innocent German citizen with the same name as a suspected militant was abducted and held in Afghanistan; Alleged links between the Russian government and organized crime, with intelligence agencies using underworld bosses to carry out operations, etc.

NATO rogues are together only to destabilize Arab world and control and loot their resources. As to diplomats’ portrayals of world leaders, Italian terror PM Silvio Berlusconi is said to have been described as feckless, vain and ineffective and sharing a close relationship with the “alpha dog”, Russian terror PM Vladimir Putin. Jewish N Sarkozy of France is said to be thin-skinned and authoritarian, while German boss Angela Merkel is described as risk-averse.

The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, rightly said the US authorities were afraid of being held to account. Wikileaks argues the release of the documents has shed light on the wars, including allegations of torture and reports that suggest 15,000 additional civilian deaths happened in Iraq. The cables release is the third mass Wikileaks release of classified document; it published 77,000 secret US files on the Afghan conflict in July, and 400,000 documents about the Iraq war in October.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the leak as US propaganda which would not affect Tehran’s relations with its neighbors. USA takes special care in roping in all NATO rogues syndicate and their Eastern terror allies to face the fallout of the frank and bold disclosures against the US global energy interests. This disclosure is not just an attack on America’s foreign policy interests,” Mrs. Clinton said, adding, the expose of US hidden agendas is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity.

Behind the smiling faces of capitalist imperialists, there is the ugly truth about their hidden terror agendas. Recent history has proved without ambiguity that the US is a bloodthirsty rogue state run by its military-industrial-bureaucratic system guided not by democracy rules but by the Pentagon-CIA nuts bent upon imposing US hegemony over the heavily terrorized world. If the Muslim nations are unable to comprehend this simple fact, rather universal truth, it is their fault!

(Part-2)
WikiLeaks expose has hit a deep nail on the US democracy- though not the final one as yet- and the Obama website boys and girls are now engaged in open dirty anti-democratic campaigns in blocking the release of documents obtained by WikiLeaks; worse, there is an escalating campaign, led by the US Obama government, to bring down the organization’s web site and continue the GST terror operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan with aids from the puppet regimes there, pretending to have faced no opposition to the illegal terror wars of “great” America.

Also, the NATO terror syndicates are also targeting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. This is what perhaps Obama had called “change”, which the innocent world misunderstood as change for peace. The nasty western networks are trying to block the funds for the WikiLeaks, thinking that would play the terror role and make the site pro-US and pro-NATO and anti-humanity like the bulks of hard-line global media. This is nothing but economic terrorism on media, just like US ploys against Islamic Iran.

WikiLeaks has released only a small fraction of these documents, since it has very limited resources available to process them. However, even this much of information is enough to expose the hidden agendas of democracies. Washington and other western capitals illegally occupying Islamic nations consider the WikiLeaks website posing a danger to all the hidden agendas of USA-UK terror combines.

Since a few days before the recent release of US State Department cables, WikiLeaks has been subject to an escalating Internet-based attack involving massive requests for data aimed at overloading and crippling the organization’s servers. The site has been coming under pressure from naughty US government officials as the usual tactics by all so-called democracies like India and Israel also to bully the media to get what they want by sheer fanaticism and pressure, if not by force. US is spearheading a dirty threat campaign to isolate WikiLeaks from other media and target it at will. The Obama government has taken a number of mis-steps aimed at strengthening its ability to shut down many web sites has already seized the domain names of 82 organizations. Is not US democracy dying slowly?

US foreign terror minister has asked the democratic intelligence to be still more secretive and outsourcing I in intelligence and said it is now essential that the diplomatic community be able to conduct private communications on terror wars. The work of our diplomats doesn’t just benefit Americans but also billions of others around the globe. She cautions that every country, including the USA, must be able to have candid conversations about the people and nations with whom they deal.

There has been increasing tension between the fascist US and its Afghan terror allies. US terror strategists claim USA-UK and its nasty allies have every right to invade nay nation on fictitious pretexts, kill innocent people, loot their resource and destroy the nations at will, but the WikiLeaks does not have the legal right to publish the leaked documents. Are these guys mere jokers to do and say whatever they feel like to justify their illegal and immoral operations in the name of democracies?

Meanwhile, during an unannounced visit to Bagram air base near Kabul, US top criminal of the day US Obama has told the paid US terror troops in Afghanistan they are making crucial “progress” against Afghans, indirectly praising GST terrorism and genocides in NATO occupied Afghanistan. Obama’s trip to Afghanistan comes about one year after he announced at West Point Military Academy the US would strengthen combat troops in Afghanistan with 30,000 reinforcements as part of his bull “change” policy only to continue the Bushdom state roguism. Obama maybe right when he said “the land of the brave” but rogues.

Yes, the NATO terror syndicate led by the US-UK terror twins cannot escape from hereon and they all will have to be brought to justice from severest punishment for all their illegal massacres and destruction in Afghanistan, Ira, Pakistan and the hidden agenda for the Islamic world led by Islamic Iran. Washington and the hard-line media it leads create all sorts of illusions, gimmicks and fake threat perceptions to advance its illegal interests around the globe by immoral means. When USA wanted to attack Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan Pakistan, it generated false alarms about “fundamentalist threat to “democratic world” and now as the WikiLeaks make headlines, for whatever reasons, Washington has denounced the release of classified diplomatic cables meant to destabilize the occupied Islamic nations as an “attack on the international community”. GST media know how to fool and terrorize the world.
د. عبد راف

What Happens When UNMIN Exits From Nepal ?

By Divas

UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe wrapped up his 40-hours visit to Nepal after talking to more than 40 personalities directly involved in the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants within UNMIN’s Jan. 15, 2011 deadline. The visit is significant as an indication of the Security Council’s intention to follow closely developments in the Nepal’s peace process during the final months of UNMIN. Pascoe will report his findings to the Security Council on Wednesday.  During his earlier visit to Nepal in March, Pascoe had strongly objected to the criticism of UNMIN as unfair and absurd and criticized the present Madhav Kumar Nepal Government and his political allies for blaming the UN mission to “cover up their failures”.

The debate on the fate of Maoist Army has intensified with the Maoist Party’s insistence on integrating the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) guerillas into the National Army, and on the other hand, the opposition Nepali Congress’s  strong reservation over integrating PLA into the National Army. The Terai parties like MJF & TMDP also have strongly objected to what they call “wholesale integration” of the Maoist guerillas into the Army. Similarly, Nepal Army Chief Chatraman Singh Gurung  has reiterated his predecessor Rukmagad Katwal’s Army policy of accepting only those “deemed fit through free competition.”

Tackling the issue of “integration” or “rehabilitation” of around 20,000 UNMIN certified Maoist combatants would be the most daunting task for the political leaders after the peaceful abolition of monarchy and promulgation of republic in Nepal two year’s back. However, some Nepal Army officers claim that “integration” of the guerillas would not be of much concern provided the politicians refrained from attaching their personal egotism with the issue and begin vigorous but informal track-three consultations among the stakeholders.

There is a widespread concern among the commoners that if the UNMIN really exits from Nepal in January 2011 and if the integration issue is not resolved by then, there is a real danger of the issue flaring up into another armed conflict.

An Adoptive Mom’s Plea to United States Government

*Author’s Identity Withheld on Request

I am one of the US adoptive parents adopting from Nepal. On August 6th 2010, US suspended inter-country adoption program from Nepal. The wordy and heartbreaking notice posted on US Department of State’s website (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/08/145767.htm) was essentially to tell US citizens who did not receive the referral before August 6th to give up seeking adoptions from Nepal, and ask those parents who received referral before suspension to be prepared for the worst scenario. I am posting my voice here to hope that anyone came across this message to help us fight for the following causes:

First we need to fight for the Nepali orphans to have the right to a forever family.

Second we need to fight for the families that have a referral of a child to get their child home safely and in a timely manner. (We do not wish to see the indefinite delay for the reunion of the 80 families in the pipeline due to the complexity of the structure within the US government, which could mean layers of approval requirements from one office to another).

Third we need to help fight for those families that have submitted dossiers into Nepal Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare but are waiting for a child.

As an adoptive parent, I do want ethical adoptions in Nepal, but I am also hoping that US government is taking into account Nepalese culture and ways of life. When a parent abandons a child in the US do we have to ask why? So why is the US asking Nepal this? Would a Nepali mother tell people in her village that she abandoned her child, would she do it in public, is she shamed how she would be treated in her village….? Is it that the US thinks that the policemen in Nepal are stealing the children? Then we need to investigate if there is such corruption in Nepal, is this common in their culture. If a family has had their child stolen do they not shout out for help in their village? Does the US have a person that has been educated in Nepalese culture to help with these sorts of questions in order to fully understand what is going on with finding orphans with very little information?

We know that US is allowing adoption programs in some other countries that have similar issues. In China adoption program, very few biological parents would step out to admit they abandoned their kids because of the shame and fear of legal sanctions. Most Chinese orphans adopted to US have no information of their biological parents, and just for the record, China is not a country totally innocent of corruption charges… If US government can solve these issues in China’s adoption program and other western countries are able to work with China to carry out a well-organized adoption program, I am confident that they will be able to work out a solution with Nepal government to solve the very similar problems. I am urging Nepal government and US government to keep working together to find a solution for these Nepali orphans as soon as possible.

It is very tragic that these adorable Nepali children may have to remain in orphanages (where they have already lived for one or more years) for the rest of their childhood because the US Department of State is now reviewing each abandonment case on a guilty until proven innocent view instead of an innocent until proven guilty burden. These children who have been abandoned for years living in an orphanage are not going to be given a visa to the US to come and live with their forever family that will provide a safe, loving and nurturing home because their original abandonment cannot be substantially verified. That is, these Children might not have any  opportunity simply                because these mothers/family members/relatives will go to all costs not to be identified due to the Nepalese culture, norms and rules. Doesn’t sound reasonable, does it?

I hope that the US government is taking into account these things.

Lastly, I would like to request that you help the orphans and the adoptive families to be joined together as soon as possible. Please advocate for these children now. Hurry, time is of the essence.

Thanks for your time and thanks in advance for your immense support.

Corruption in Nepal Child Adoption Business

*Authors’ Names Withheld on Request

We are the adoptive parents expecting a baby from Nepal. Nepal adoption process has been much delayed due to what happened recently. Several parents already withdrew from the process and switched to Ethiopia adoption program because they are tired of waiting (They had waited 3 years). We are still hanging in there, and we hope things will move forward in Nepal, and we really adore Nepali children. We are just wondering what is really going on with “Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare”. Are you familiar with this organization (www.mowscsw.gov.np)?

They are responsible to process all international adoptions from Nepal, and we are under the impression that one of the key positions in the department remains vacant, and nobody is really doing anything right now. If you know anything about current situation of this organization, We’d appreciate your help if you share your knowledge with us.

The parents adopting from Nepal are getting very desperate, rumors are circling around… We really don’t know who to believe.  We are not supposed to get too much insider information during adoption process, but our fear is building up due to increased uncertainties. We hope all the children in orphanage are being properly cared, and the situation in Nepal will get better.

We are better off than many other parents adopting from Nepal. Lots of them have waited for over 2 years. We stay busy at work just to keep our mind off the adoption, because there is nothing we can do now to accelerate the Nepal adoption process. One of the other adoptive parents is flying to Nepal soon to personally find out what is really going on, I am afraid he is going to waste his effort, because situation will not change just because he is there.

We know Nepal government has a lot of other more important projects rather than taking care of international adoption. Whatever happens, we hope it will be the best for your people.

 

European Scene: Poll & Crisis in Moldova

European Scene: Poll & Crisis in Moldova – By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

I

Moldova or Moldavia, a former Republic of the Soviet Union and now a part of “democratic” Europe, however, remains, like the Central Asian states that also once formed the parts of the USSR, one of the pro-communist dispensations. Moldavians went to the polls on April 05 to vote for a new parliament that will in course choose a replacement for President Vladimir Voronin, the only Communist leader in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Voronin, in office since 2001, cannot stand for a third consecutive term but has made it plain that he wants to remain close to power by taking another senior post in the manner of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Russia.

The final election results released on April 08 showed the Communist Party with 49.5% of the vote, winning 60 parliamentary seats. That is one seat less than the number required for the party to control the presidential election. Three other parties are more amenable to working with the Communists, and they may pass the 6 percent of support needed to gain a seat in the parliament. The Communists need 61 seats if they want to vote through their candidate for the presidency. No candidate has been named so far. The Communists gain much of their support from the older generations and civil servants.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has already congratulated Voronin on his party’s election win, and the Foreign Ministry said Russia was deeply concerned by the events in Moldova.  The Moldova parliament elects the president, and the Communists appeared very close to securing the 61 seats they need in the 101-seat assembly to secure victory for their chosen candidate.  Voronin’s Communists, who held 56 of the 101 seats in the outgoing parliament, are far ahead in a field of 15 parties, with support of 36 percent. Three opposition parties, broadly favoring closer ties with Romania and the European Union, lie far behind. Voronin did not rule out forming a coalition in the parliament, saying, “It would be good for as many parties to get in … then there’ll be someone with whom to create a coalition.”

Opposition leaders said the election result was fraudulent. Moldova‘s president has since called for a full recount of disputed elections won by the ruling Communist Party, bowing to a key demand of protesters who stormed the parliament. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin said in an official statement: “I am convinced that a complete recount of votes will become a major argument for maintaining political stability, peace and mutual trust in Moldova“.

Meanwhile, about 10,000 demonstrators massed for a second day in the capital of Europe‘s poorest country to denounce the vote as rigged. The opposition called for ballots to be recounted or the vote to be re-held. Most of the protesters are students who see no future if Communists keep their hold on the former Soviet republic of 4 million people — located on the European Union’s border but within what Russia sees as its sphere of influence. They hurled computers into the street while police took cover behind riot shields. Moldovan protesters ransacked the president’s offices and the parliament on April 07in violent protests over parliamentary elections that President Vladimir Voronin said amounted to a “coup d’etat, referring to opposition leaders.” RIA-Novosti reported that the authorities and opposition leaders agreed to a recount of votes cast in Sunday’s parliamentary election, which was easily won by Voronin’s Communist Party. Voronin said in a television address that opposition leaders had embarked on a “path to the violent seizure of power.” He said the authorities “would resolutely defend the state against the leaders of the pogrom.”

Some of the protesters had carried Romanian flags and called for the unification of Moldova with Romania, its bigger neighbour and even shouted “We are Romanians”.  Protesters overwhelmed riot police protecting both the president’s office and the parliament — located opposite each other on the capital Chisinau’s main boulevard — and poured into both buildings through smashed windows. They heaped tables, chairs and papers onto a bonfire outside parliament, and fires could also be seen in some of the building’s windows. Some people gathered to demand the release of the 193 people reportedly arrested. Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, called the demonstrations “a spontaneous action by protesting young people”. He said the opposition had tried to prevent excesses.

II

Protestors indirectly sought to end communist regime and also seek better ties with neighboring Rumania. They however did not demand the resignation of Voronin. The leaders of three opposition parties that won seats in parliament spoke to reporters after emerging from talks with Moldova‘s president and prime minister in the aftermath of protests that caused serious damage to government buildings. They sought to stop violence. “We must stop this violence, secure the right to a recount of all the votes. And we demanded the right to stage peaceful protests “Dorin Chirtoaca, leader of the Liberal Party and mayor of Chisinau, said. Vlad Filat of the Liberal Democrats said the opposition, which stands broadly for closer ties with neighboring Romania, was demanding the right to check all electoral lists.. “As a result of this, I can assure you that the elections were rigged and we will organize a new election.”

Opposition leaders called for a halt to the protests and said they were pressing for a recount of all votes cast. Moldovan state television said one young woman choked to death from carbon monoxide poisoning in the parliament building. It cited a senior doctor at Chisinau emergency hospital as saying 34 other protesters had been injured, including two in a serious condition in hospital. Some 80 police officers also received treatment for injuries, it said. Some demonstrators were seen chasing police away after seizing truncheons and riot shields

Officials in Moldova and Russia accused Romania of fomenting the riots, but witnesses said they were spontaneous. Moldova‘s president has accused neighboring Romania of stoking the protests that erupted into violence in the capital Chisinau. Romania has rejected the accusation as a “provocation”. Vladimir Voronin, a communist, was quoted by Russian agency Interfax saying: “We know that certain political forces in Romania are behind this unrest. The Romanian flags fixed on the government buildings in Chisinau attest to this.” He ordered that Romania‘s ambassador be expelled, recalled the Moldovan envoy from Bucharest, and said Romanians would in future need visas to cross into Moldova. But Romania‘s foreign ministry said: “This accusation is a provocation aimed at the Romanian state.” It is “unacceptable that the Communists in power in Chisinau shift the blame for internal problems in Moldova onto Romania and the Romanian people”, the statement added.

III

International observers said the vote appeared to have been fair. The EU sent an envoy to Moldova to mediate in the dispute between President Voronin’s Communist Party and the three centre-right opposition parties. Observers from the European security body, the OSCE, concluded that the vote had been generally fair, but opposition parties and many students accused the authorities of fraud. A report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s vote gave a mostly positive assessment of the poll. But the BBC in Moscow says that any Romanian connection with the uprising is to do with economics, rather than politics. EU foreign policy Chief Javier Solana called on all sides to show restraint and to refrain from violence and provocation..

Moldova is one of six former Soviet states with which the EU is due to launch a new program of enhanced ties at a summit in Prague next month. Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, is the poorest country in Europe, where the average wage is just under $250 (£168) a month. The people speak Romanian and the country shares many cultural links with Romania. However it was annexed by the Soviet Union in World War II and gained independence in 1991. There remains an unresolved conflict with the breakaway region of Trans-Dniester, which has run its own affairs, with Moscow‘s support, since the end of hostilities in a brief war in 1992.

President Voronin, in power since 2001, is governing a country where poverty has pushed a quarter of adults to work abroad. Voronin has overseen stability and economic growth since 2001 but has been unable to solve the rebellion in its Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transdnestr, where Russia has had troops since Soviet times. The region, like in previous elections, boycotted Sunday’s vote. With little mineral resources, Moldova‘s economy depends on agriculture, including wine production, and remittances from the hundreds of thousands who left the country to work in EU states. The global economic crisis threatens to aggravate Moldova‘s poverty as workers’ remittances dry up.

As it stands now, Moldova’s liberal, pro-Western opposition on April 14 dismissed as a “trick” a planned recount of the recent disputed election won by the ruling Communist Party and said it would take no part in the process. Opposition parties demand a new election and say they expect no new results. They say their concern is fraud with voters’ lists, which they allege contain the names of dead voters and Moldovans working abroad.

Word of the demonstrations was spread by text message, via the internet, and on social networking tools. Moldovans can see the success that Romania has enjoyed since throwing off communism and joining the EU. On average, Romanians earn five times as much as their Moldovan neighbours. The conclusion that many young Moldovans have come to is that a return to communist government and close friendship with Moscow has brought them nothing. Needless to state that the Western powers are instrumental in the post-poll troubles in Moldova but their merits or otherwise cannot be diagnosed here. Voronin is due to step down, having served the maximum of two consecutive terms.

Indo-US Economy: Economic Stimulus May Bypass Poverty Eradication?

Obama Injects Stimulus: But will it work?

Economic Stimulus May Bypass Poverty Eradication?

Prof. J. George and Ayushya Mohan George

The announced economic package is primarily aimed at avoiding bankruptcy of a few at the cost of neglecting poverty eradication. The 836 million ‘aam adami” appears to have lost relevance with this spectrum of economic activities targeted as the main recipients.

Public service delivery mechanism as domestic demand stimulant, hence, attains exceptional significance when global meltdown in market fundamentals leads to loss of confidence along with depression. A close reading of Paul Krugman’s columns in the New York Times should convince any hard core sceptics.

Poor people in particular should not despair if appropriate economic stimulus as public expenditure is stepped up. Or will fiscal prudence driven public expenditure protocol make a mockery of even recent enactment of the social security law for the unorganised sector? Fiscal profligacy, though, will accelerate movement towards mocking the poor people.

It is extremely momentous, however, to ensure modest mechanism to access basic public services like health care, sanitation, drinking water and education; and access to meaningful political participation (73^rd and 74^th amendments to the constitution), respectable work and modest security in addition to adequate access to income to steer the stimulus package indeed towards a sustainable and real social protection.

The Indian Constitution and the millennium development goals (MDGs) has mandated to ‘Take Action’ to end poverty and inequality. Did we succeed in either? Should not poverty/BPL be such an emotive issue today as well? Why does it not keep popping up in a typical Gresham’s Law fashion every day in the media?

A plausible explanation is available if we cared to revisit Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Eric Maskin or the 2008 commemoration theme of the International Day (17 October) for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), namely, ‘human rights and dignity of people living in poverty’.

Income is essential to acquire material personal effects in this consumer driven world. The famous 17^th century philosopher Immanuel Kant posited that whereas material possessions are replaceable, dignity of the human beings is distinct and hence irreplaceable.

Prof. Amartya Sen is very categorical in stating that all development agenda must underscore ‘dignity of human beings’. His treatises on famines and social security, etc. are prime examples suggesting protocols for practicing such precepts.

Eric Maskin through his “theory of mechanism design” has demonstrated that to attain a given goal, suitable and appropriate mechanisms need to be designed.

UN (Division of Social Policy and Development) maintains poverty as “a human condition of deprivation of resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights”.(42 words)

The bottomline is to move away from exclusionary to inclusionary platform of actions and deeds. The interdependence of three factors, namely, access to income, basic services and level of people’s participation makes or mars goal attainment, albeit with people’s dignity, of the economic stimulus package.

The received global wisdom and thesis is that faster economic growth is the only remedy to come out of poverty. The Planning Commission and all international development finance institutions subscribe to this flawed obsession and theory. In tune with the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) objective of faster and inclusive economic growth, some states, Haryana for instance, has added now a ‘social revolution’ spin.

The average year to year economic growth, such as in Haryana, during the period 1999/2000 to 2007/08 has been estimated to be about 8.67 per cent. The derived per capita income surely is higher than the notional poverty line. Under these economic circumstances consumption will soar to raise the volume in the own tax revenue kitty. This and other associated steps in public expenditure control template advocated by the Bretton Woods institutions lead to the much celebrated fiscal governance outcome of actions diligently taken under the fiscal responsibility and budget management (FRBM) circuit in the country.

The immediate question that will follow is at what cost to the society. The bitter truth, however, is that recently one in every four households in Haryana has been officially declared to be poor. Hence the nagging concern that the economic stimulus will impoverish more than ameliorate the targeted as well as the general masses.

Can it be mere neglectful that this new poverty estimate is different from the Planning Commission reckoning? Is this contradiction valid given the economic prosperity ushered in by the new ‘growth story line’? Should rise in poverty follow rise in income? Will current economic slowdown adversely impair all good work expected out of the social security law enactment or enhanced public expenditure?

This is grossly undesirable and yet a practical contradiction witnessed in a fiscally prudent and high economic growth state. If we consider attainment levels in the 18 targets of the UN millennium development goals (MDGs) the emerging social regression sends chill down the spine. How does one justify the feasibility of this paradox?

The paradox is made feasible due to the limitations inherent in the income measure of poverty. A poor delivery mechanism across programmes invariably explains the reality. It is explained also by the crucial interlocking mechanism between poverty reduction and human rights. Both are issues of societal rights and obligations rather than mere welfare or selflessness of the public institutions’ service delivery dictum. This query attains frightening dimension right across developing countries that is growing slower than the Haryana state economy.

A foolproof, transparent and painless mechanism to ensure comfortable access to basic public services is the answer. The social construct, for instance,does not follow a narrow and beaten path of ‘ceteris paribus’ so wantonly used in the economic growth calculations.

The social profile in liaison with the economic milieu does provide useful and crucial insights to the paradox. In a more functional term, however, current status of mechanism to access the delivery of myriad public services by the states vindicates feasibility of this inconsistency.

A more cerebral explanation to this absurdity is found in the ‘capabilities’ and ‘functionings’ treatise of the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Capabilities are tangible and intangible resources or endowments with the household, while ‘functionings’ are the activities, operations or performance rooted in the capabilities of the household.

Thus higher income should encourage better access (demand segment) to basic services and better functioning (supply segment) of the public delivery institutions. Latter has not happened and the former, given a chance, forcefully get articulated at the hustings. The economic stimulus package must address this dichotomous challenge. The interim budget of the central government did make a beginning by raising the threshold support level to the rural employment guarantee scheme and the rural infrastructure flagship scheme called “Bharat Nirman”. The urban renewal missions too see a heightened support along with a number of soft social sector schemes and programmes in health and education. Increased and higher budgetary support will only be one part of the stimulus package. The other part will be the triology of accessibility mentioned earlier.

Be that as it may, the apex 16 member expert group constituted recently (August 2008) in the union ministry of rural development must be seized of the quibble over numbers in all seriousness. Their task however has been made easier and feasible with the groundbreaking recommendations of the National Commission for Enterprises in Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) headed by Prof. Arjun Sengupta. NCEUS has estimated vulnerability of at least 836 million ‘aam adami’ spread across rural-urban spaces to livelihood and food security concerns in India. Cavil over numbers, in comparison, will merely serve the livelihood security of a handful of number crunchers.

We must recall here that the erstwhile PRSP intervention of the World Bank suggested that poverty data can and must be ignored. The current World Bank flavour, District Poverty Intervention Programme (DPIP) also suggests the same bold inference. The flawed enthusiasm for poverty data per se alone hence is misplaced and motivated. Hopefully, the 16 member committee appointed by the rural development ministry will not fall into this precipice.

At the recent UN meet fears were indeed, expressed about funds shortfall to successfully meet 2015 deadline for the 8 Millennium Development Goals. The current financial crisis sweeping the world is certain to heighten worries of donor agencies and the poor alike. Besides, paradox of increasing capital flow from south to north has already led to new belt tightening procedures in the development financing approaches. Market failures and abdication by the state of her leadership in the public service deliver domain is the intimidating backdrop.

Given the contemporary discourse, corruption in the delivery of public services must top the agenda. For example, imagine that the front level functionary disbursing the old age pension sum of say, Rs. 500 per month illegally demands Rs.100 per month as part of the rent for delivering the service. In a year the same person is deprived of Rs.1200/- on account of a miniscule proportion of the poverty reduction programme.

The Indian Constitution’s 11^th Schedule lists 29 functions for rural and 18 functions for urban development. Each element has a number of subgroups, either exclusively or in association with others, making engagement with poverty reduction challenges. The myriad and opaque procedure to access these functions only enhances rent seeking premiums.

The stimulus packages and high stakes do not necessarily yield automatic stimulus to basic ‘poor-performance’ services delivered by the public services system. The leadership, depth and spread of delivery by public agencies, it may be recalled, have no parallels and cannot be matched by private operators. Keynes and George Stigler demonstrated this a long time ago.

The West Bengal Governor firmly recommended that ‘Land cannot be treated as a dematerialised share certificate’ to ‘swing in tune with the Sensex’ as many poor people eke out their livelihood in dignity using diminutive ‘capability’ and ‘functioning’s.

The deprivation index based new approach of the Planning Commission may appear promising provided explicit measures to factor in access to education, healthcare and other basic services emerge in the public domain. We know that even the half measure outlay-outcome attempt by the state can bring relief to the poor.

The key challenge therefore is to figure out transformation pathways for public service delivery functions and functionaries. SAARC development goals makes a fervent plea towards this direction.

The bureaucracy and members of the local bodies will be necessary evils in any strategic measure attempting to engage with worrisome issue on poverty eradication. Their partnership in pelf must give way to progress for poverty eradication. Concentration on three entities – ‘competent authority’, front level functionary and their standard operating protocol – become imminent.

A partnership with sensitive civil society grassroots bodies has enabled a few of the ‘competent authority’ to transform the public services delivery mechanism. The authority specific SEA – service efforts and achievements – can be mapped to clearly correct a number of ‘service delivery disabilities’.

The functionary strength deficit has been mounting since 1995. The norms for these cadre level public servants are based on the 1951-55 vintage community development block days. At these dated norms the current deficit may range upto 40-50 per cent in most of the states. The concerted drive towards ‘outsourcing’ and ‘rightsizing’ have, albeit, worsened the situation.

The poor equity and efficiency observed in the public service delivery is fully explicable by the dearth of LOADS, namely, leadership, ownership, accountability, decentralisation and sustainability. Absence of LOADS, for example, explains why many high income growth states have high incidence of manipulation in the poverty reduction programmes; social regression far surpasses economic growth, implementation is mired in corruption. A poor service delivery protocol is the general outcome across India.

Increasing vulnerabilities in the society, ‘targeted growth fixation’ scenario amid market failure episodes have imparted a new spin of uncertainty to the delivery of basic services. These vacillations need to be now taken gravely because ‘aam adami’ will decide livelihood and food security issues of many people except the babudom and the number cruncher. This handful should not be allowed to tread on the dignity of people living in poverty.

When push comes to shove, public services must ensure easy mechanism to access. Failing which even the less than 2% of GDP demand (Rs. 58,000 crores) put forth by NCEUS as a bailout package may not suffice.

[The first author teaches and consults on Strategic Economic Management in Delhi and the second is an avid student of public economic analysis.]

Click the link to Download the doc file :economic_stimulus_may_bypass_poverty_eradication.doc

Democracy & the West: Iran marks Islamic revolution

Last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and his wife, Empress Farah

By Dr. Abdul Ruff

I

Islamic Revolution in Iran is still being criticized by the Western powers led by the “democratic leader” USA, though it was purely an internal politico-religious matter of Iran. Even as being under constant threat from anti-Islamic nations led by USA and Israel which is supported by countries like India, Iran has launched 10 days of celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that overthrew the US-backed former ruler, the Shah. As a bully policy, the USA rapes Iran by slamming the lack of Western democracy in the country and insists that many in Iran would like more “democracy” and personal freedoms. But a recent study has revealed US aversion to any criticism of its government’s destructive role in Mideast and Afghanistan. But Iranians are also receptive to US President Barack Obama’s invitation to heal relations with Washington.

Most Iranians are still proud of the independence from foreign domination they won in 1979. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said speaking at a ceremony in the capital, Tehran, at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini – the father of the revolution that the revolution is “lively and alive”. “We are still at the beginning of the path and greater changes are ahead,” Ahmadinejad was quoted by AFP news agency as saying, “Although the Islamic revolution happened in Iran it is not limited to Iranian borders”.

The US broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in 1979, after students stormed the US embassy in Tehran after the Islamist revolution overthrew the US-backed Shah. Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile in Paris on 1 February 1979. It took only 10 days before the Shah’s regime collapsed. Iranians are as usual united and stand behind their leader. The chants of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” on Jan 31 reminded the long standing animosity between the super power and the nuclear aspiring Islamic state. May be there was no longer the fervour of those early days of the revolution, as the western reports suggest.

In an unprecedented move, President Ahmadinejad congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his election win. Barack Obama has offered to open unconditional dialogue with Iran about its nuclear program. US President Obama has used his first formal TV interview since taking office to reach out to the Muslim world – saying Americans are not its enemy. Obama reiterated that the US would extend the hand of friendship to Iran if it “unclenched its fist”.

Iran‘s president has responded to an overture by the new US president by demanding an apology for past US “crimes” committed against Iran. The US “stood against the Iranian people in the past 60 years”, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during an address in the western region of Khermenshah. “Those who speak of change must apologize to the Iranian people and try to repair their past crimes,” he said.

The presidential poll is approaching and the chances of Ahmadinejad getting reelected are greater than projected by the USA. Iran’s rhetoric war has united the Iranian as never before and Iran is on its way to have nukes, if not already have them, as the president once even claimed having got some last year at the height of “Iran-US nerve war. Nowadays, however, Iranian governments get judged on much more mundane issues like the state of the economy or the ever worsening Tehran traffic.

II

Relations between Washington and Tehran reached new lows in recent years over attempts by the US and its allies in the United Nations to curtail Iran’s nuclear programme over fears it is trying to build nuclear weapons. Tehran says its programme is to develop civilian nuclear power only. The new US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said that she was looking forward to “vigorous diplomacy that includes direct diplomacy with Iran “. Iran has called the US bluff all along ad blamed it for pursing the Jewish policy to appease the fascists..

Ahmadinejad also attacked US support for Israeli fascism and also its own wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He called on Obama to withdraw US troops from their bases around the world and for America to “stop interfering in other people’s affairs”. Referring to Obama’s predecessor, George W Bush, he said he trusted that he had “gone to hell”. Last year, while in Iraq, Ahmadinejad called the occupying foreign terror forces led by the USA to quit Iraq and Afghanistan.

The remarks are the first Iranian comment on the US since Obama took office eight days ago on 20 Jan. In Tehran the BBC’s Jon Leyne who opposes Iran and other Islamic nations describes it as one of Ahmadinejad’s strongest tirades against the US. The new US president Barack Obama has offered to extend a hand if Iran “unclenched its fist”. President Obama discussed the possibility of a softening of US policy towards Iran in his first interview recorded with a Saudi-owned Arabic TV network. Ahmadinejad congratulated Obama after his election in November but the message was criticized in Iran and received a cool response from Obama.

USA believes in threats and tactics to bully the weak nations, while keep applying diplomatic rules with strong nations like Russia, China and others. America’s crimes against Iran, the Iranian leader said in his televised speech, included support for the Iranian coup of 1953 and backing for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. The Iranian president welcomed the possibility of US change, but said it should be “fundamental and effective” rather than just a change of tactics.

III

It is a very sad commentary on Islam today that there is not even one Muslim country that truly practices Islamic tenets in true spirits, although there are over 57 declared Muslim nations, both big and small in size and population, strong and weak economic politically and security wise; both nuclear and non-nuclear and aspiring nuclear powers; both terrorist and anti-terrorist nations depending on their equations with USA and other anti-Islamic nations controlling the world. All that the Muslim leaders seek is wealth for themselves and their kith and kin and they promote nepotism and rampant corruption inflicting a serious blow to Islam at their levels, anti-Islamic tenet like inequality and drunkardness.

The US-led anti-Islamic world does not allow any real Islam to flourish any where in the world and after the destruction of Afghanistan that tried to establish a true Islamic society, no Islamic nation takes any risk of establishing an Islamic nation based on Sharia’. All anti-Islamic nations now led by US-India-Israel are ganged up to “defeat Islam and kill the Muslims under fictitious pretexts like terrorism that are created by themselves to uproot Islam. They cleverly use the services of some of Muslim organizations promoted by CIA-Mossad-RAW globally and regionally.

That Iran even after an Islamic revolution could not make any real progress in implementing Islam in true spirits is another story now. Ahmadinejad will, as expected, stand for re-election in June, Aliakbar Javanfekr, a close aide of Iranian president asserted. World may see twists and turns out of Iran as its leaders work out whether Obama is offering real change and what they may offer in return. While he was playing to the crowd, he could also be staking out his position ahead of Iran’s presidential election in June.

III

A brief calendar of events concerning Iran’s problems with USA and UNSC and IAEA: Iran waged a long war with its neighbor Iraq with American weapons. But USA wants to disarm Iran after it destroyed Iraq. Iran’s nuclear path is being used by the USA and Israel to invade Tehran, but Iran has challenged them to do that. The US-led anti-Islamic West is using Iran against the Arab nations.

Rise of Anti-Americanism

2002 January – US President George Bush describes Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an “axis of evil”, warning of the proliferation of long-range missiles being developed in these countries. The speech causes outrage in Iran and is condemned by reformists and conservatives alike. 2002 September – Russian technicians begin construction of Iran’s first nuclear reactor at Blusher despite strong objections from US. 2003 June – Thousands attend student-led protests in Tehran against clerical establishment. 2003 September – UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, gives Tehran weeks to prove it is not pursuing an atomic weapons programme. 2005 June – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Tehran’s ultra-conservative mayor, wins a run-off vote in presidential elections, defeating cleric and former president Amber Hashemite Rafsanjani.

Nuclear crisis

2005 August-September – Tehran said it had resumed uranium conversion at its Isaac plant and insists the programme is for peaceful purposes. IAEA finds Iran in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 2006 February – IAEA votes to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities. Iran resumes uranium enrichment at Nathan. 2006 April – Iran says it has succeeded in enriching uranium at its Nathan facility. 2006 31 August – UN Security Council deadline for Iran to halt its work on nuclear fuel passes. IAEA says Tehran has failed to suspend the programme.

Holocaust denial

2006 December – Iran hosts a controversial conference on the Holocaust; delegates include Holocaust deniers. UN Security Council votes to impose sanctions on Iran’s trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology. Iran condemns the resolution and vows to speed up uranium enrichment work. 2007 April – President Ahmadinejad says Iran can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale.

IAEA says Iran has begun making nuclear fuel in its underground uranium enrichment plant. It also says that Iran has started up more than 1,300 centrifuge machines. 2007 May – IAEA says Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in three to eight years if it so chooses. 2007 July – Iran announces plans to stop making cars that only run on petrol and switch to dual-fuel vehicles, which also run on gas.

Iran agrees to allow inspectors to visit the Ark nuclear plant following talks with the IAEA. 2007 December – A new US intelligence report plays down the perceived nuclear threat posed by Iran. 2008 February – Iran launches a research rocket to inaugurate a newly built space centre. Washington describes the launch as “unfortunate”. 2008 March – President Ahmadinejad makes unprecedented official visit to Iraq, where he calls on foreign troops to leave. He also stresses his government’s desire to help rebuild Iraq and signs a number of cooperation agreements. UN Security Council tightens economic and trade sanctions on Tehran. 2008 June – EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana presents an offer of trade benefits, which Tehran says it will look at, but will reject if it demands suspension of uranium enrichment. 2008 July – Iran test-fires a new version of the Shahab-3, a long-range missile it says is capable of hitting targets in Israel. Iran says it has successfully launched a test rocket capable of carrying a satellite into space. 2008 September – UN Security Council passes unanimously a new resolution reaffirming demands that Iran stop enriching uranium, but imposes no new sanctions.

(End)