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14 SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017 DT Opinion Anxiety in the Korean peninsula Will more sanctions against North Korea be effective? P O S T BREAKFAST • Muhammad Zamir David Wright, an international expert on the technical aspects of arms control, particularly those related to missile defense systems, missile proliferation, and space weapons, recently made an interesting analysis on North Korea and its reckless use of missiles to draw attention to itself. He pointed out that on July 28, Pyongyang demonstrated that it is not only acquiring expertise but also has the ability to potentially strike a US State. The July 28 test apparently demonstrated that Pyongyang can now fire a missile almost straight up to an altitude of about 2,300 miles and that on a standard trajectory it would have the range to reach a number of major cities in the US from the east to the west coast. To be fair, not all of North Korea’s missile launches have been successful. There were three failures in April after the failed test in March. Little is known about why those launches failed or even what missile was fired in March. At any rate, the United States along with Japan and South Korea, have decided to adopt a more hands-on response as a consequence of these long-range missile tests, with a re-think in tactics. Nations unite The US is taking the lead in the UN towards the adoption of a Resolution by the UN Security Council for unanimously imposing new sanctions on North Korea. Even Russia and China, two countries that have previously differed with others on how to handle Pyongyang, participated in this vote and joined in calls for North Korea to stop its missile tests; however, they also urged the US and South Korea to halt military drills. The sanctions include the following: (a) A ban on imports of coal, seafood, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore from North Korea; (b) countries won’t receive new North Korean workers; (c) a ban on further joint ventures with North Korean entities or individuals; (d) no new investment in existing joint ventures; (e) targeting more individuals with travel bans and asset freezes; and (f) member states have to report to the Security Council within 90 days on how they have implemented this resolution. North Korea has yet to officially respond to the new sanctions. However, a senior official has said: “We will make our stance clear when things are determined.” An alternative approach On the other hand, North Korea’s ruling party newspaper -- Rodong Sinmun -- has bluntly stated that nuclear action or sanctions taken by Washington would lead to an “unimaginable sea of fire” engulfing the US. Analyst Alexander Gillespie has made some interesting observations in this regard. He has pointed out that Trump and his allies could choose to expand the THAAD system of missile air defence but the risk with this approach is that it will lead to both North Korea and China rattling their sabres even louder. Although the chances of these planned events leading to intentional war is very small, “the risks of unplanned events caused by paranoia, accidents, mistakes, or uncontrolled anger make this one of the most dangerous situations facing humanity since we almost had a nuclear war over Cuba in 1962.” The world needs to remember that North Korea is the country that the 2014 Commission of Inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council accused of crimes of extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, persecution on political, racial, and gender grounds, enforced disappearance of persons, and prolonged starvation -- and that did not bother them at all. Nevertheless, despite the sanctions and international warnings and the stubbornness on the part of the North Korean authorities, there has been a faint glimmer of hope in the evolving dynamics. Informally, North Korea is supposed to have remarked that South Korea’s offer of talks was The North Korean dictator is a headache for many countries US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also urged North Korea to be more cautious about its tests and about attacking Guam “insincere.” This possible rejection has been interpreted as being connected with the mounting sanctions on North Korea. The Foreign Minister of China, Pyongyang’s closest ally (also present in the ASEAN meeting) was however more optimistic. He told journalists on August 7: “My feeling is that the North did not entirely reject the positive proposals raised by the South.” Wang Yi added that China also supported the South’s initiatives. This was the first high-level encounter between the two Koreas since South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office in May this year. Moon has long been a proponent of greater dialogue with Pyongyang in order to diffuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He helped craft the so-called “Sunshine Policy,” which called for increased engagement in the political and economic spheres. Unresponsive and uncooperative In July, South Korea’s Defence Ministry also proposed talks between the representatives of the two countries’ militaries at Tongil-gak on the North Korean side of Panmunjom, the so-called truce village in the De-militarised Zone (DMZ) that separates the two rivals. North Korea has yet to respond to the overtures. BIGSTOCK US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a recent discussion with the Russian foreign minister on growing tensions between the USA and Russia, also urged North Korea to be more cautious about its tests and about attacking Guam. He reiterated that the US hopes North Korea will choose a different path, and “when the conditions are right, we can sit and have a dialogue around the future of North Korea so that they feel secure and prosper economically.” The US has long said it would agree to talk only if North Korea agrees to denuclearisation -- something many analysts believe is unlikely. • Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador and Chief Information Commissioner of the Information Commission, is an analyst specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance, He can be reached at muhammadzamir0@gmail.com.
Opinion 15 Wake up and smell the Nazis The politics of hatred are everywhere DT SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017 off as he managed to impress ultra-conservative catholic and evangelical voters as well as college-educated voters aspiring for a less competitive job market. And, meanwhile, in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel received backlash after announcing to welcome refugees from war-torn Syria. Keeping it in the family Another key characteristic of these right-wing populist parties is the promotion of economic nationalism. They are the promoter of “mercantilist” or protectionist economic policies. UKIP, National Front, Freedom Party all are anti European Union parties. UKIP had the front-line role for the “Leave” campaign in Brexit referendum. Donald Trump repealed TPP agreement after his presidential win. He deliberately repeated, somewhat in a loop, that he was not a supporter of “free trade” their political advantage to fuel Islamophobia and raise fear among their voters about “Islamisation.” Telling tales Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his ultra-nationalist and pro-Hindu policy to bring a “saffron storm” in state election of Uttar Pradesh, the biggest province of India during February- March 2017. Without giving a single nomination to Muslim candidate in a state where 20% of the population are Muslims. And so, Modi and his BJP party sent a clear signal that BJP will not appease minorities. Populist parties of Europe and America promote each other in direct and indirect manners. 1. Liberals believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised the hacking of DNC and influenced the election. 2. Donald trump himself promoted Brexit and stands against EU. Anti-immigration, anti-EU, anti-Islam positions and economic nationalism are the key ideals advocated by these parties There should be no room for such overt racism in the 21st century REUTERS • FM Arafat The right-wing populist movement has become a dominant force in Western politics in the recent past. Following Brexit and victory of Donald Trump in the US election, the surge of right-wing populists is facing a test in wake of the election in France and upcoming German federal election. The manifesto of right-wing populist parties the world over has shaken the core institutional and pluralist values of Western liberal democracies. The antiestablishment populist movement is bound to challenge the status quo of the liberal political order for the first time in the post WWII period after the demise of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Francisco Franco -- all of whom spearheaded Nazi and fascist parties. Anti-immigration, anti-EU, anti- Islam positions, and economic nationalism are the key ideals advocated by these parties. Sometimes, they propagate “disinformation” or “fake news” to create an axis of fear and fuel insecurities and grievances among people. There is a strong assumption among Western liberals that the spread of “fake news” is orchestrated by Russia. You aren’t welcome here One of the focal points of the surge of populist movements is its antiimmigration motto. Because of the economic recession of 2008-14, people in the West were frustrated and angry with their respective governments. In the meantime, major terrorist attacks such as 9/11 and 7/7 perpetrated by illegal or temporary immigrants made people intolerant of immigrants. The negative perception about the immigrants fueled the rightwing politics as many populist parties like UKIP of UK, Freedom Party of the Netherlands, and the Tea Party movement of the US were founded in the early 2000s. Donald Trump, in his campaign, accused migrants of stealing jobs and prescribed building a wall in US-Mexico border to prevent illegal trespassing. Ultimately, his anti-immigration policy paid and that the US was being cheated by codifying treaties like TPP or TTIP. Such policies are getting popularity among people because of the false promise of creating more jobs by populist leaders as well as ultra-nationalistic or patriotic message circulated by them. Divide and conquer Growing “Islamophobia” is another essential factor which led to the surge of right-wing populism. After the 9/11 attacks, Islam was seen as the root of all evil by some who did not understand the religion. Subsequent terror attacks carried out by Islamist fundamentalists and the rise of IS consolidated the general fear and hatred against Islam. On the other hand, the Muslim population in Europe is growing faster than the Christian population because of immigration. A report by the Pew Research Centre predicted that Muslim population in Europe will be doubled by 2050 (up to more than 10% of total population). Populist parties took this information and used it as 3. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage visited the US during Trump’s presidential campaign. 4. French far right leader, Marine Le Pen visited Russia to meet Putin in March which invoked suspicion of Russian involvement in French and German elections. Another integral part of the populist surge which could not be ignored is the leadership quality of the leaders. The charismatic leadership of Donald Trump played a pivotal role in his victory. To listen to what liberals claim to be outright lies in his campaign speeches, millions of people attended his campaign rallies. With growing Islamist and Christian fundamentalism, European and American politics is passing a period of substantial change. It is apparent that the reality of right-wing populism cannot be ignored, and we can no longer overlook how xenophobic or bigoted it is. • FM Arafat is a graduate student of international relations at the University of Dhaka.
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