Saturday, March 15, 2008


jean paul guzmán saldaña
La Paz, (apro).- A dos años de que Evo Morales llegó a la Presidencia, con el apoyo de 53.7% del electorado, Bolivia se encuentra hoy en un callejón político sin salida:

El proyecto de nueva Constitución es rechazado por dos terceras partes del país, y cinco de los nueve departamentos (gobernaciones) están a punto de aprobar, mediante referendos, estatutos autonómicos que fracturarán la estructura del Estado y pulverizarán la concentración del poder.

El origen de esta crisis se ubica en el proceso de elaboración del proyecto de nueva Constitución, que arrancó el 6 de agosto de 2006 con la instalación de la Asamblea Constituyente y concluyó el 9 de diciembre de 2007, con un documento que únicamente fue aprobado por el partido oficialista, el Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), en una sesión que la oposición, ausente por decisión propia en la votación, denunció como ilegal, argumentando la violación de varios procedimientos.

El proyecto de Constitución, que otorga al Estado el control del sistema económico, limita las autonomías regionales y privilegia a los sectores indígenas con un poder de representación y decisión superior al de cualquier otro sector social, encontró de inmediato una firme oposición, primero en la gobernación de Santa Cruz, la región económicamente más próspera del país, que luego se extendió a otras cinco (Tarija, Beni, Pando, Chuquisaca y Cochabamba) , que comenzaron a gestar, con distinto ritmo, procesos autonómicos.

Esos procesos concretaron la redacción de los Estatutos Autonómicos, que establecen en cada gobernación una normativa administrativa, legislativa y judicial propia, que desconoce la actual composición del Estado y es incompatible con la Constitución en vigencia y con la nueva que deberá aprobarse mediante referéndum.

Los autores de los Estatutos Autonómicos afirman que la normativa propia no desintegra al país y, por el contrario, impulsa el desarrollo económico y social de las regiones para una Bolivia con más progreso.

Únicamente en las gobernaciones leales a Evo Morales (La Paz, Oruro y Potosí, ubicadas en la región andina, la de más altos índices de pobreza en el país) no se inició la redacción de sus Estatutos Autonómicos.

Para el gobierno, los Estatutos Autonómicos no sólo se encuentran fuera de la normativa jurídica, sino plantean una amenaza de desintegración del país, mientras que para las gobernaciones son la opción a un proyecto de nueva Constitución que desecha el derecho de las regiones a avanzar en procesos autonómicos. La autonomía, de hecho, fue respaldada mediante elecciones en cuatro de las nueve gobernaciones de Bolivia, el 2 de julio de 2006.

La gobernación de Santa Cruz encabeza los procesos autonómicos y, a través de la Corte Electoral de la región, convocó inicialmente a un referéndum para el 4 de mayo, en el que la población votará por el Sí o No al Estatuto Autonómico. Todas las encuestas aseguran una victoria mayoritaria del Sí.

Las gobernaciones de Beni y Pando convocaron a sus propios referendos para el 1 de junio, mientras Tarija, Chuquisaca y Cochabamba se encuentran en plena organización de esas elecciones.

Punto de quiebre

Este panorama de crisis alcanzó su punto culminante el 28 de febrero, cuando el Congreso Nacional aprobó dos leyes cruciales: una para convocar a un referéndum el 4 de mayo, destinado a aprobar o rechazar el proyecto de nueva Constitución, y otra destinada a anular la legalidad de los referendos autonómicos programados por las gobernaciones.

Sin ningún debate, el Congreso aprobó esas medidas en apenas media hora, con la oposición ausente, debido a que grupos de choque de campesinos y mineros leales al MAS cercaron el Palacio Legislativo, ante la indiferencia de la policía, e impidieron que diputados y senadores de otros partidos participaran en la sesión.

Además de la oposición, juristas y constitucionalistas calificaron de “ilegal” la sesión de Congreso, ya que su directiva, presidida por el vicepresidente de la República, Álvaro García Linera, ignoró varios procedimientos necesarios para la aprobación de las leyes, entre ellos la comprobación del quórum reglamentario, la verificación del voto y el análisis previo en comisiones de los proyectos de Ley.

Desahuciada cualquier posibilidad de diálogo y, por tanto, de concertación, la decisión del Congreso abrió las puertas a posiciones radicales. En Santa Cruz, el Comité Cívico (organización opositora que congrega a los sectores sociales y económicos mayoritarios de la región) convocó, mediante declaración de su presidente, Branko Marinkovic, “a defender la democracia y nuestro referéndum autonómico que tanto anhelamos”.

Jorque Quiroga, jefe de Poder Democrático y Social (Podemos), principal partido de la oposición, fue más drástico aún y afirmó que, tras la decisión congresal, “el señor (Evo) Morales ha dejado de ser presidente democrático y constitucional, y se ha convertido en un gobernante de facto. La democracia está herida de muerte por esas acciones”.

Evo Morales, por su parte, promulgó el 29 de febrero las leyes aprobadas en el Congreso y convocó a iniciar una campaña destinada a lograr la aprobación del proyecto de Constitución, “votando por el Sí” y “todo por la unidad de los bolivianos”.

La determinación más drástica surgió el 3 de marzo del Consejo Nacional Democrático (Conalde), integrado por los gobernadores y representantes cívicos de Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija, Cochabamba y Chuquisaca, quienes decidieron desconocer el carácter democrático del gobierno y no acatar las leyes aprobadas en el Congreso para convocar al referendo de aprobación del proyecto de Constitución y sobre las consultas autonómicas.

“Las determinaciones (del Conalde) lo único que hacen es conducir hacia un cauce antidemocrático y, por supuesto, están orientadas a que un régimen (neoliberal) retorne al país”, comentó inmediatamente el ministro de la Presidencia, Juan Ramón Quintana.

Sin embargo, el propio Senado, con mayoría opositora, aprobó el 6 de marzo una resolución que recomienda la “inobservancia” a las leyes mencionadas. El presidente del Senado y militante de Podemos, Oscar Ortiz, declaró al respecto: “La Constitución del MAS nunca entrará en vigencia porque dos tercios del país la desconocen y se niegan a aceptarla”.

Pero las cosas podrían no quedar allí. Las gobernaciones de Santa Cruz, Beni y Pando estudian adelantar el referéndum autonómico para el 27 de abril, es decir una semana antes de lo previsto y una semana antes, también, de la fecha del referéndum para aprobar el proyecto de Constitución.

Con esa decisión, las gobernaciones planifican tener refrendados sus Estatutos Autonómicos por el voto popular antes de la probable aprobación del proyecto de Constitución.

Así, sostienen, podrán ignorar la posible vigencia de la nueva Constitución, al haber aprobado con anterioridad sus Estatutos Autonómicos.

Incertidumbre

Con este panorama, políticos y analistas consultados por Apro, independientemente de su posición ideológica, comparten la incertidumbre y, sobre todo, el pesimismo sobre la convivencia democrática en Bolivia.

“(El MAS) avanza sin reparos en imponernos las condiciones para votar una Constitución manoseada sin límites (primero un índice leído en un cuartel, luego una sesión congresal ilegal que trasladó la sede de los debates, luego una lectura atropellada de 411 artículos en Oruro, luego los cambios a ese texto que un equipo clandestino hizo, vulnerando las más elementales normas). ¡Y esa es la Constitución que deberemos votar los bolivianos el próximo 4 de mayo!”, dijo Carlos Mesa, periodista y expresidente de la República, agregando que el gobierno y las gobernaciones opositoras actúan “movidos por la lógica de ‘tú tienes tu Constitución, yo tengo mis estatutos’, como si todo se resumiera a un empate de irracionalidades. En ese contexto, era obvio que el diálogo de enero era imposible, pues las partes sabían que no tenían nada para ceder”.

Otro expresidente de la República, Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, propone: “Concertar un referéndum único que permita reconducir todo el proceso constituyente, incluyendo el tema de las autonomías. Es indispensable recuperar la genuina representación del poder constituyente ciudadano, erosionado por la forma de su ejercicio y sus resultados. Si existiera una voluntad política sana y con miras a una Constitución de amplio respaldo, corresponde preguntarle al soberano únicamente si está de acuerdo con abrir un nuevo proceso constituyente con reglas claras que garanticen su normal desarrollo y la aprobación ordenada de sus resultados. Esta consulta evitará la confrontación y corresponderá a la voluntad y vocación ciudadanas”.

Sin embargo, hoy no existe en Bolivia una iniciativa de concertación que logre sentar en una mesa de diálogo a los protagonistas del conflicto. El vicepresidente de la República, Álvaro García Linera, graficó esta coyuntura de la siguiente manera:

“Bolivia observa hoy la próxima colisión de dos locomotoras: una impulsada por el proceso de cambio que se expresa en la nueva Constitución y otra alimentada por los Estatutos Autonómicos, que buscan el renacimiento del neoliberalismo y la desintegración del país”.

A este panorama político debe agregarse una situación económica que tiende a deteriorarse con una inflación al borde del descontrol.

De acuerdo con el Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, la inflación acumulada entre enero y febrero llegó a 3.74%, más de la mitad de la previsión establecida para todo el 2008 (7.07%).

En febrero la inflación alcanzó 2.62%, la más alta desde julio del 2007, cuando registró 2.68%. En los últimos doce meses la inflación acumulada se situó en 13.32%, la más alta de Sudamérica después de Venezuela y Argentina.

“Si no se frena la agenda política y se prioriza la agenda económica para detener el desorden, la inflación y el desabastecimiento, se agudizará el desempleo y la pobreza; por lo tanto la crisis se hará insostenible”, comentó el presidente de la Confederación de Empresarios Privados de Bolivia, Gabriel Dabdoud.

Para el politólogo Jorge Lazarte, “no otra cosa que el pesimismo puede marcar hoy la realidad de Bolivia, porque los posibles puentes de concertación se han quebrado”. El proyecto de Constitución que debía fundar un pacto social “ha sido suplantado por un proyecto impuesto unilateralmente y, por lo tanto, sin legitimidad. Ciegos, los actores políticos están empujando al país al despeñadero, unos a través de un proyecto de Constitución con el que no está identificada la mayoría del país, otros por medio de Estatutos que fundan mini-Repúblicas”, agrega.

“Vale decir que con la ley sancionada el jueves 28 de febrero, en el Parlamento sitiado y secuestrado, y promulgada al día siguiente por Evo Morales, se han dejado todas las formalidades para el cesto de basura y el vale todo se ha impuesto. Que nadie dentro de Bolivia y en el resto del mundo se confunda: la Asamblea Constituyente ha muerto, la ley ha muerto… es la hora de los señores de la guerra”, comentó el analista Ricardo Paz Ballivián.

Hoy, definitivamente, no es posible encontrar pronósticos políticos alentadores en Bolivia. (10 de marzo de 2008)

Protesters claim that more than 100 have been killed as violence spreads and international protests mount

* Jonathan Watts in Xining
* guardian.co.uk,
* Sunday March 16 2008
* Article history

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This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Sunday March 16 2008. It was last updated at 19:26 on March 15 2008.

China brought tanks and troops on to the streets of Lhasa, witnesses said yesterday, as the international community urged an end to the bloodshed in Tibet that has already claimed at least 10 - possibly dozens more - lives.

Security forces were also used to regain control of a second community yesterday as a violent protest in Xiahe, Gansu province, followed the worst riots in Lhasa in almost 20 years. Thousands of protesters smashed government offices in Xiahe after marching through the streets chanting support for the Dalai Lama, according to overseas support groups. Observer correspondent Tania Branigan said the crowd was dispersed by tear gas, but quickly regrouped.



The disruption comes just months before the Olympic Games, when China's leaders had hoped to display a 'harmonious society'. However, chaos has gripped Xiahe, which is home to a large community that considers itself part of greater Tibet even though it is outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

According to Sanjay Tashi of the Free Tibet Campaign, the city centre was filled with tear gas, cars were set on fire, government buildings ransacked and the banned Tibetan flag flew over a school.

Other witnesses said they saw 10 to 20 truckloads of riot police moving into the area. Police have fired tear gas rounds and arrested some protesters. But the crowd stormed the jail and released the prisoners, Tashi said.

In Lhasa, police have locked down the city, patrolling the streets and setting up checkpoints on many roads. Foreign tourists have been ordered to leave the central area, with many flying out of Tibet. Those who stay are restricted, though they say there has been no official curfew.

'The army and police forbid us from walking down the road, so our activity is confined to the hostel,' said one traveller. He said tanks and soldiers were patrolling the streets and guarding junctions. Other witnesses have reported troops setting up machine gun positions and there were unconfirmed reports of shooting.

The authorities blame Tibetan insurgents working on the orders of the Dalai Lama and have vowed to hunt down the perpetrators of what state media called 'sabotage'. Police warned that anyone who did not turn themselves in by Monday faced 'stern punishment by the law'.

The government has confirmed 10 fatalities which it says were mostly 'innocent civilians' who burned to death in fires started by 'Tibetan vandals'. Independent witnesses described violent attacks on people from other ethnic groups. Several Chinese shops and a mosque were burned down, cars were stopped and destroyed and angry mobs turned on Chinese passers-by.

Overseas Tibetan groups say police killed at least 36 Tibetan protesters, including three monks. Free Tibet Campaign reports that 26 demonstrators were shot or blown up while demanding the release of political prisoners in Lhasa's notorious Drapchi prison. Other groups say the death toll could be more than 100.

The United Nations joined the US, UK and EU in calling for a halt to the conflict: 'We urge that care be taken by all concerned to avoid confrontation and violence,' said the office of UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

Communications to central Lhasa seem to have been disrupted or blocked. The government said this was because fire had interrupted communications. Tibetan supporters said the signals were more likely to have been jammed by the authorities. Satellite TV viewers in Beijing are left with blank screens when CNN or BBC reports what happened.

But the state media released its version of events today with a furious denunciation of the Dalai Lama, who is accused or orchestrating the unrest. 'Now the blaze and blood in Lhasa has unclad the nature of the Dalai Lama, and it's time for the international community to re check their stance,' said a commentary carried by the Xinhua news agency. The Dalai Lama has denied the accusation and called for an end to violence, but urged the world to focus on the decades of repression that Tibetans have endured under China rule.

Officials insisted the unrest would not impede the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay, due to pass through the region in the next months. Preparations to carry the torch across Everest and Tibet 'have been proceeding very smoothly and according to schedule', a spokesman for the organising committee told reporters.

But supporters of the protesters warned that long-simmering resentment would not die down soon. 'China has swamped Tibet with settlers, poured money into colonialist mega-projects that solidify its control and ruthlessly attacked Tibetan culture and religion,' said Tenzin Dorjee, deputy director of Students for a Free Tibet. 'The timing and scale of this unrest indicate a truly national Tibetan uprising against China's illegal occupation.'

Storm follows twister that ripped through downtown overnight
MSNBC News Services
updated 4:52 p.m. ET March 15, 2008

ATLANTA - A tornado in northwest Georgia killed two people and injured others on Saturday, officials said, one day after a twister slammed into Atlanta's downtown, causing widespread damage.

One person died in Polk County and a second died in Floyd County on Saturday, said Buzz Weiss of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Both counties are on Georgia's state line with Alabama.

A new tornado warning was in effect for parts of Atlanta as well as parts of northeast Georgia at 4:05 p.m. EDT as the storms moved quickly east, the National Weather Service said.

"In addition to the threat of a tornado ... very large hail to the size of baseballs can be expected," the service said.

Workers were clearing debris in the heart of Atlanta following Friday night's storm, which damaged landmark buildings, overturned cars and injured 27 people.

The National Weather Service confirmed that it was a tornado, equipped with 130-mph winds, that struck Atlanta about 9:40 p.m., ruling out the possibility that severe winds had caused the devastation.

All downtown events scheduled for Saturday were canceled, including the St. Patrick's Day parade.

"It's a mess," said said Lisa Janak of the state emergency management agency.

Streets around the Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena, the CNN Center and Centennial Olympic Park were littered with broken glass, downed power lines, crumbled bricks, insulation and even the occasional office chair. Billboards collapsed onto parked cars. Stunned fans from the arenas and hotel guests wandered through the debris in disbelief.

'It was creepy'
"It was crazy. There was a lot of windows breaking and stuff falling," said Terrence Evans, a valet who was about to park a car at the Omni Hotel when the apparent twister hit.

There was no announcement of the approaching storm for the 18,000 fans inside the Georgia Dome for the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. The first sign was a rumbling from above and the rippling of the Fiberglas fabric roof. Catwalks swayed and insulation rained down on players during overtime of the Mississippi State-Alabama game, sending fans fleeing toward the exits and the teams to their locker rooms.

"I thought it was a tornado or a terrorist attack," said Mississippi State guard Ben Hansbrough, whose team won 69-67 after an hour-long delay under a roof with at least two visible tears. A later game between Georgia and Kentucky was postponed. SEC officials said the tournament's remaining games would be played at Georgia Tech.

"Ironically, the guy behind me got a phone call saying there was a tornado warning," fan Lisa Lynn said. "And in two seconds, we heard the noise and things started to shake. It was creepy."

A half-mile away, the sign of the Phillips Arena parking garage was left mangled by the storm, but basketball fans inside the arena noticed little disruption during a game between the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers. Power was knocked out to about 19,000 customers.

Atlanta Fire Department Capt. Bill May said the department was working "multiple incidents" and that part of a loft apartment building collapsed, but he did not know if there were any injuries.

Shelter opened
The loft apartment building, built in an old cotton mill had severe damage to one corner, and appeared to have major roof damage. Fire officials said it "pancaked," and they were uncertain whether all the occupants had escaped.

Darlys Walker, property manager for the lofts, told WSB-TV there was one minor injury.

Taylor Morris, 29, who lives near the lofts, said he and his girlfriend took shelter in the bathroom when the storm passed over in a matter of 15 to 20 seconds.

"The whole house was shaking," he said. "We didn't know what was going on."

He said shingles and a sheet of plywood were ripped from his roof and tossed into a neighbor's tree.

May said at least 27 people were transported to hospitals. Grady Memorial Hospital, the city's large public hospital where many of the injured were taken, had broken windows but was operating as usual.

Kendra Gerlach, spokeswoman for Atlanta Medical Center, said late Friday the hospital was treating about five patients in the emergency department. She said each patient suffered minor injuries with only cuts, scraps and bruises.

May said a vacant building also collapsed, with no apparent injuries. Weiss said state officials and the American Red Cross were setting up a shelter at a senior center to house more than 100 people displaced by the storm.

More bad weather
Officials were unsure of the extent of the damage, he said, but said it "seems to be a little more widespread than it initially appeared." The Fulton County Emergency Management Agency will comb downtown at sunrise to survey damage, Weiss said.


"One thing that concerns is greatly is we have more bad weather moving in," he said.

All downtown events scheduled for Saturday were canceled, including a St. Patrick's Day parade, WXIA-TV reported.

On its Web site, CNN said its headquarters building sustained ceiling damage, allowing water to pour into the atrium, and windows shattered in the CNN.com newsroom and the company's library.

In East Atlanta, downed trees, debris and power lines were strewn in the street, which was eerily quiet in the wake of the pounding hail, sheets of rain, flashes of lightning and growling thunder.

Melody and Brad Sorrells were at home with their two children when the storm hit. The family was in their living room when Melody Sorrells said she heard the huge pine in their front yard crash into their house.

"I saw it falling and we ran into the back bedrooms in the closet," she said, while turning to look at the trunk blocking the front door. "I feel sick."

The family escaped out of the back of the house. Brad Sorrells said the winds sounded like a roaring train.

"It was a tornado," he said, with arms folded.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the most recent tornado to hit a major city's downtown was on Aug. 12, 2004, in Jacksonville, Fla. Downtown tornadoes have also struck Fort Worth, Texas; Salt Lake City, Little Rock, Ark.; and Nashville, Tenn., in the past decade.

If confirmed, the tornado would be the first in recorded history to hit downtown Atlanta, said Smith, the meteorologist. The last tornado to strike inside the city was in 1975, and it hit the governor's mansion north of downtown, he said.




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No reports of a tsunami threat to the area, USGS says
MSNBC News Services
updated 12:01 p.m. ET March 15, 2008
PORTLAND, Oregon - A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday at 10:44 a.m. ET off the U.S. northern Pacific coast of Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake was centered 112 miles west of Port Orford, Oregon, at a depth of 6.2 miles, according to Angel Gutierrez, a geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, Colorado.

The USGS initially put the quake at 6.0 magnitude.

The quake was relatively shallow, about 6 miles down, and no tsunami alert was issued as a result, Gutierrez said.

Minor earthquakes are common in that region of the Pacific Ocean, along the Cascadia subduction zone.


© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23647105/


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Immanuel Wallerstein


Parece ahora bastante probable, aunque no sea seguro aún, que Barack Obama será el candidato demócrata a la presidencia. Y parece muy probable que podría ganarle la competencia a John McCain. También parece casi seguro que crecerán las mayorías demócratas en el Senado y la Cámara de Representantes. Entonces, parece que Obama podría asumir el cargo con un mandato relativamente fuerte de parte de los votantes. Si uno se pregunta cómo es que Obama fue capaz de lograr esto, cuando entró a la carrera apenas hace seis meses como joven y poco probable vencedor, la respuesta parece clara. Obama enfatiza el asunto del “cambio” y este punto parece haberle resonado a los votantes, incluidos muchos que no habían votado antes.

Por supuesto, cambio es un término ambiguo y su significado varía según quienes lo pregonen. Pero parece ser que el asunto del “cambio” responde a un alto grado de incomodidad en Estados Unidos en el contexto de la actual situación general del país en el mundo. Las dos zonas de máxima incomodidad son la guerra de Irak y el estado de la economía. Lo que la mayoría de los votantes parece estar diciendo es que piensa que la guerra en Irak es un pantano, y que fue un error haber invadido ese país. En cuanto a la economía, los votantes parecen decir que su nivel actual de vida ha ido bajando y que tienen mucho miedo de que continúe cayendo todavía más. Así que, básicamente, rechazan las principales líneas de argumentación del régimen de Bush, y en gran medida lo culpan por sus incomodidades. Es menos claro cuáles son los cambios específicos que los votantes quieren, pero algo desean.



Obama tiene un segundo atractivo más allá de acometer el asunto del cambio. Es una cuestión de estilo. Él afirma que está deseoso de hablar con todo mundo. A nivel internacional con las supuestas fuerzas no amistosas y con los supuestos aliados, y a nivel interno con personas de todas las facciones políticas. Esto contrasta con la repetida insistencia de Bush de que hay todo tipo de grupos con los que Estados Unidos no debería “negociar” jamás.

Hay una segunda clase de atractivo estilístico de Obama. Él dice, una y otra vez, “¡Sí, nosotros podemos!” Éste es un punto que retomó de César Chávez, el legendario líder hispano de los trabajadores agrícolas, cuyo lema era “¡Sí, se puede!” Este punto atrae particularmente a todos aquellos que se han sentido marginados en el sistema político estadunidense, y que encuentran que este punto los empodera.

Así, ahora que Obama parece cerca de convertirse en presidente, ha comenzado una considerable discusión en la prensa, en el Internet, y en el debate público, en torno al tipo de cambios que intenta emprender, de hecho, Obama. Ésa, me parece, es la pregunta equivocada. La real cuestión es qué tipo de cambios puede hacer, cuestión totalmente diferente.

El historial de Obama es el de un demócrata liberal que se opone a la guerra de Irak y cuyo modo de actuar ha sido siempre de centro-izquierda, algunas veces con fuerza y otras con mucha prudencia. Es seguro que intenta conferirle un estilo diferente a la Casa Blanca. Lo que es bastante menos claro es qué tan radicalmente diferentes serán las políticas que intenta implantar. Pero aun suponiendo que fuera más radical políticamente de lo que parece a simple vista, la cuestión continúa siendo ¿qué puede hacer?

Sin duda, los presidentes de Estados Unidos pueden afectar las políticas de modos importantes –George W. Bush lo ha demostrado– pero también quedan prisioneros de su propio cargo. Es por eso importante revisar cuáles son las opciones en política exterior, en política económica, y en aquel ámbito más suelto que podríamos llamar política cultural.

En política exterior, el asunto más inmediato y avasallador es Medio Oriente –no sólo vis-à-vis Irak, sino también vis-à-vis Afganistán, Irán, Paquistán e Israel/Palestina. Bush ha trabajado muy duro para atarle las manos a su sucesor. Pero cometió el error de pensar que la política estadunidense en Medio Oriente está primordialmente en manos del gobierno estadunidense. Yo ya no pienso que ése sea el caso. Hay un torbellino de fuerzas en esta región que están más allá del limitado poder del gobierno de Estados Unidos, como para poder canalizar su dirección. En Irak, lenta, pero seguramente, acumula vapor el nacionalismo antiestadunidense. En Afganistán, los talibanes regresan subrepticiamente al poder de facto y como subproducto amenazan perturbar el funcionamiento de la OTAN como fuerza internacional. En Pakistán, parece que Estados Unidos quedará reducido a rezar en silencio para que su amigo Pervez Musharraf, cada día menos popular, pueda capear el temporal. Los iraníes han decidido que simplemente pueden desafiar a Estados Unidos sin incurrir en ningún peligro real. Y tanto Israel como la Autoridad Nacional Palestina se hallan en terrenos mucho más inestables que nunca, interna e internacionalmente. En gran medida, Condoleezza Rice es ignorada por todos. ¿Tratarán diferente al secretario de Estado de Obama?

Si el torbellino deshace las políticas estadunidenses en la región y si incluso las fuerzas estadunidenses se retiran de Irak, ¿será la consecuencia que Europa occidental, Rusia, China y América Latina se acerquen, de hecho a Estados Unidos, aun cuando aprecien el estilo más amigable e inteligente de Obama? Las tendencias geopolíticas subyacentes están en contra de Estados Unidos. Obama puede hacerlo mejor que Bush, pero ¿qué tanto mejor?

La historia no es muy diferente si miramos el estado de la economía estadunidense. Sin duda, una administración demócrata tendrá políticas diferentes en cuanto a impuestos, atención a la salud y medioambiente. Y probablemente 80 por ciento de la población más pobre la pasará mejor. Pero los empleos en el ámbito de la manufactura no regresarán, aun cuando Estados Unidos hundiera sus propios pactos neoliberales de comercio. En este ámbito, hay también un torbellino, uno tal vez aún más poderoso que el torbellino político de Medio Oriente, y Estados Unidos no controla su despliegue.

Esto deja un ámbito donde Obama puede contar con cierto margen, ése que llamo sueltamente el ámbito cultural. Su campaña ha movilizado una fuerza popular que cobra fuerza y autonomía. Es ésa donde la gente dice: “sí, nosotros podemos”. Obama pudo haber sido de ayuda para encender esa fuerza, pero es una fuerza que cobra impulso propio y que tendrá mucho impacto en lo que haga como presidente. En un sentido amplio, es una fuerza que lo empuja, como presidente, hacia la izquierda, directamente y a través de los miembros del Congreso. Es muy difícil decir con exactitud adónde empujará esta fuerza a Obama. Pero su impacto puede resultar comparable a aquel que tuvo la llamada derecha religiosa en las políticas del Partido Republicano en los últimos 30 años.

Martin Luther King Jr. dijo: “Tengo un sueño”. El sueño de un Estados Unidos diferente con prioridades diferentes y convenciones más igualitarias. Si este próximo periodo conduce aunque sea a la realización parcial de un sueño así, tendrá, por supuesto, un impacto de largo plazo en el papel que juega Estados Unidos, y en el que desea jugar, en el sistema-mundo. Tendrá un impacto de largo plazo sobre el tipo de estructuras económicas que Estados Unidos mantiene para sí mismo y que el mundo mantiene para sí mismo. El cambio es de hecho posible, y es potencialmente un cambio positivo. Todo depende mucho menos de Obama que del resto de nosotros. Pero Obama, podría, únicamente podría, darnos el espacio para que el “nosotros” de “sí, nosotros podemos”, lo empujara a él y a Estados Unidos.

Traducción: Ramón Vera Herrera

© Immanuel Wallerstein


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■ Mouriño: los acuerdos secretos con Bush

■ Medina Mora: con las manos en la masa

■ Calderón: el verdadero fondo del asunto



Ayer fui a la Procuraduría General de la República. “Quiero dejarles estos papeles que demuestran mi inocencia”, expliqué mostrando un abultado fólder. “¿De qué se le acusa?”, me preguntaron. “¿A mí? De nada”, les dije. “Lo sentimos, no le podemos recibir su documentación. Primero lo tienen que acusar de algo”, me aclaró una jurista. “¿Y por qué a Mouriño sí le admitieron sus contratos, si tampoco hay denuncia penal contra él?”, reviré. “Órdenes de arriba”, contestó la mujer, apuntando con el dedo hacia el techo, o más bien, hacia el norte, esto es, hacia Estados Unidos, el país que aguarda con mayor impaciencia (después de España) la privatización de Pemex.

Han transcurrido 20 días desde que estalló el escándalo y la banda de Los Pinos no cesa de enlodarse. “El mejor escenario para el gobierno federal sería que el Frente Amplio Progresista optara por la vía penal porque entonces el secretario de Gobernación tendría todos los elementos a su favor para defenderse”, opinaban la semana pasada dos genios: Santiago Creel y Germán Martínez, los respectivos líderes del Senado y del partido en el poder, nada menos, al analizar la desesperada situación de Mouriño (La Jornada, 7/03/08). Y Felipe Calderón, con su agudeza característica, vio en esas palabras una rendija de luz en medio de la noche, y dio una orden que… podría acabar con la carrera política del procurador general de la República, Eduardo Medina Mora.



Desde el martes pasado, cuando Mouriño envió a la PGR todos los contratos que firmó ilegalmente con Pemex de 2000 a 2004 –como empresario petrolero y presidente de la Comisión de Energía de la Cámara de Diputados, como empresario petrolero y coordinador de asesores del secretario de Energía, y como empresario petrolero y subsecretario de Electricidad–, Medina Mora debió declararse incompetente para conocer del asunto, por la sencilla razón, arriba ya expuesta, de que a Mouriño nadie lo está acusando de nada en términos legales. Sin embargo, al admitir el expediente, el procurador se convirtió en un miembro más del grupo de funcionarios del más alto nivel que se han coludido alrededor de Calderón para cometer delitos graves de manera organizada.

Más allá de los 100 millones de pesos que Ivancar, la empresa de Mouriño, ganó transportando productos de Pemex; más allá de los contratos por 501 millones de pesos que las empresas constructoras del suegro de Mouriño firmaron en los dos primeros meses de 2008 con el gobierno de facto; más allá de las pequeñas fortunas que los mejores amigos de Mouriño estén amasando como funcionarios públicos federales, lo que de verdad descalifica no sólo al niño bonito de Galicia sino a toda la banda que se robó las elecciones en 2006, es lo que están haciendo, y lo que pretenden hacer, con las riquezas del subsuelo de México y con la industria de los energéticos en general.

En septiembre de 2007, apenas seis meses atrás, la Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Pemex, la Secretaría de Energía y la Comisión Reguladora de Energía suscribieron un contrato con la petrolera española Repsol por un valor de 16 mil millones de dólares. Repsol se comprometió a comprarle gas natural a Perú para revendérselo, por supuesto más caro, a la CFE. En la historia de México no se había realizado un negocio más abusivo y absurdo. Fijaos… Repsol recibirá el gas en una planta, que aún no existe, en la zona peruana de Camisea, y lo mandará por barco a otra planta, que tampoco existe, en la costa mexicana de Colima, a unos 7 mil kilómetros de distancia.

En Camisea, el gas será enfriado hasta que sus moléculas se reduzcan mil 600 veces de tamaño, con lo que se hará líquido, para que entonces Repsol pueda almacenarlo y embarcarlo. Al llegar a Colima, Repsol lo descongelará para que recobre su condición original y pueda enviárselo por tubería a la CFE, que a su vez se lo entregará, ¡obviamente!, a empresas españolas como Iberdrola, Unión Fenosa y Mapfre, que junto con otras firmas privadas ya generan, ilegal e innecesariamente, la tercera parte de la energía eléctrica del país, aunque la Constitución se los prohíba. De esta suerte llegarán a Colima 500 millones de pies cúbicos de gas natural diarios, mientras en la sonda de Campeche seguirán quemándose 700 millones de pies cúbicos, igualmente diarios, debido a que desde el sexenio de Zedillo el gobierno se niega a construir una planta para aprovechar ese recurso que se desperdicia a lo tonto.

Por si lo anterior fuera poco, México se comprometió a edificar la planta regasificadora de Colima sin costo alguno para Repsol, mientras diversas empresas extranjeras exploran en Altamira, Tamaulipas, cerca de Tijuana, Baja California, y de Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, en busca de enormes yacimientos de gas natural que, de acuerdo con el artículo 27 de la Constitución, son de todos los mexicanos. ¿En cuánto saldrá el negocio del gas peruano? Hay que repetirlo: en 16 mil millones de dólares. Si México invirtiera 10 mil millones de dólares tendría dos nuevas refinerías, con las que podría fabricar toda la gasolina que actualmente importamos. Y aun sobrarían 6 mil millones de dólares, para dedicarlos, por ejemplo, a la investigación científica, en lugar de los míseros 37 millones de pesos que el año pasado destinó a ese rubro el visionario Calderón.

Éste sacó a Mouriño de las discotecas para usarlo como títere en los negocios petroleros, desde antes de ser secretario de Energía. Hoy busca la forma de conservarlo a como dé lugar, aunque esté políticamente muerto, confiado en que Bush, pase lo que pase, respaldará a toda la banda de Los Pinos mientras ésta le cumpla lo que le prometió en la campaña de 2006, esto es, devolver a las empresas petroleras amigas de Washington las riquezas del subsuelo de México: este es el verdadero fondo del asunto. (Para comunicarse con los que hacemos esta columna sigan escribiendo a jamastu@gmail.com...)


They are promised a better life. But every year, countless boys and girls in Bangladesh are spirited away to brothels where they have to prostitute themselves with no hope of freedom

Special investigation by Johann Hari
Saturday, 15 March 2008

This is the story of the 21st century’s trade in slave-children. My journey into their underworld took place where its alleys and brothels are most dense - Asia, where the United Nations calculates 1 million children are being traded every day. It took me to places I did not think existed, today, now. To a dungeon in the lawless Bangladeshi borderlands where children are padlocked and prison-barred in transit to Indian brothels; to an iron whore-house where grown women have spent their entire lives being raped; to a clinic that treat syphilitic 11-year-olds.

But this story begins like all these stories begin: with a girl, and a lie. Sufia comes to talk to me in a centre for children who have been rescued, funded by Comic Relief – which is having its major Sport Relief funding run this weekend. She has only ever talked about it to her counsellors here. But she wants the world to know what happened to her.

She comes into the room swaddled in a red sari, carrying big premature black bags under her eyes. She tells her story in a slow, halting mumble. Sufia grew up in a village near Khulna in the south-west of Bangladesh. Her parents were farmers; she was one of eight children. “My parents couldn’t afford to look after me,” she says. “We didn’t have enough money for food.”



And so came the lie. When Sufia was 14, a female neighbour came to her parents and said she could find her a good job in Calcutta as a housemaid. She would live well; she would learn English; she would have a well-fed future. “I was so excited,” Sufia says.

“But as soon as we arrived in Calcutta I knew something was wrong,” she says. “I didn’t know what a brothel was, but I could see the house she took me to was a bad house, where the women wore small clothes and lots of bad men were coming in and out.” The neighbour was handed 50,000 takka – around £500 – for Sufia, and then she told her to do what she was told and disappeared.

Here, Sufia’s halting monologue stops all together. She looks away; she rocks slightly. And then: “I wasn’t allowed to ever leave. I had to see 10 men a day.” Another long pause. “I didn’t know anything about men before. It was the most terrible thing.”

She saw what happened to the older women there. They are forced to “breed”. Their daughters are raised to be prostitute-slaves. After three months, two other girls imprisoned in the brothel approached her with an escape plan. They would save up the sleeping pills they were given at night - to stop them sobbing and howling and putting off the “clients” - and slip them into the drink of the “Mashi” who was imprisoning them. Then they would run as far and as a fast as they could.

It worked. “I had no idea how to get around the city but they were very clever girls,” Sufia says. When she finally saw her parents’ house once more, she made a resolution to herself: “I could never, never tell my family what happened. I told them I had been working as a maid and I missed them too much. I can never, never tell anyone apart from the people here. Never. If I do, nobody will marry me. I would bring disgrace on my family and my life would be destroyed.”

She knows she should have an HIV test. She has booked to have one twice. But she can’t go through with it. She can’t bear to know.

Sufia was sold into an organised trade that crosses continents and deals daily in pounds of human flesh. It continues every day – and unlike Sufia, most women do not escape.

I Into the brothels

On the side of a dirt-track in Jamalpur, a small Bangladeshi city, there is an iron gate. It leads to a dense warren of flimsy huts with iron roofs, and in each one, there is a woman, waiting.

I speak first to Liza, a 19-year-old girl wearing elaborate geisha make-up and a broken smile. She is standing outside her hut, talking to a group of girls her own age, smoking a spliff. For a moment, and from a distance, they look like a group of stoned, giggling teenage girls anywhere on earth. But then you see the clump of fat, sweating men waiting for them. They pay 50 to 500 takka - from 5 pence to £5 - depending on what sexual acts they want, and the beauty of the girl.

When I ask Liza how she ended up here, she offers a strange, rambling, incoherent story - she loved a boy, but her parents forebade her from marrying him; she wanted to earn her own dowry; so she came here, but now she has lost touch with the boy. She keeps breaking off, awkwardly giggling at her friends. It isn’t amusement; it isn’t even being stoned; it is the lid on a scream. I ask: are you allowed to leave if you want to? She looks nervously around before answering; then says quickly – “Yes.” She shakes her head as she says it.

We are interrupted by the sound of a baby crying. This brothel is full of babies: the women have nowhere else to put them, they tell me. This makes me wonder again how free they are to leave.

Sitting in another hut, I find Beauty, a 34-year-old woman. When I tell her I want her to talk about her life, she offers a big, perplexed smile. “My brother-in-law sold me to the Mashi here when I was 13,” she explains. “He took me away one day and brought me here. When I arrived the Mashi whipped me and told me I could never leave this brothel. I was devastated. I hated it. I kept thinking about my family, my mother, and crying all the time. But the Mashi just whipped me all the time and told me I had to work.”

She found a fragment of happiness when she was 19. One of the men who came regularly to the brothel said he had fallen in love with her – and proposed marriage. He paid to take her away, back to her village to see her mother and sister. It had been Beauty’s dream: “I thought I was going back to the good life.”

But her family rejected her. They had heard she had become a prostitute – her brother-in-law said she chose it – so her sister “tortured me”, she says, calling her names and jeering and making the village shun her. Then, after a while, her husband tired of her too – and sold her back to the brothel once more. She says, “I stopped eating, I wanted to die.”

So here she is. She knows “I can never have a husband or a house.” She will always be shunned, by everyone.

There is one route out of the brothel for these women: to become a Mashi themselves, to set up their own brothel and “earn” their freedom. But Beauty says she can’t do it: “No, no, I would hate to be a madam. I’m a bad girl but I’m not that bad.” She runs her fingers though her hair and says: “I know it’s sad. That’s my life story. It’s not much, is it?”

II Into the borderlands

The border between India and Bangladesh is a long and rippling river. As I stand there, in front of me, there is the world’s largest democratic republic. Behind me, there is a dungeon with iron bars, where Bangladeshi women are held before being sold to India.

All the people here refer to it as “the trafficker’s place”; it is not disguised.

As they gather around in the quiet, muddy village, the locals – a hardened band of farmers – explain that there is low-level warfare going on out here. Over sweet tea on his veranda, with a crowd watching on, their local elected representative Adul Khaleq – a rugged man in his fifties – says he is paying bitterly for taking on the traffickers.

“My brother, Abdu Saleq, was our elected council member here until three years ago,” he explains. His career ended abruptly when he caught red-handed a trafficker who was trying to take a 25-year-old woman over to India: “He thought it was his duty to stop them. He thought selling women was wrong.” The freed woman called her father, who came tearfully to collect her.

Two nights later, the traffickers turned up at Abdu’s house. They dragged him from his bed by his hair, took him out into the street, and hacked his body to pieces with an axe as he howled.

“The traffickers told his wife they would kill us too,” Adul says. But the villagers refused to be cowed. They set up a neighbourhood watch scheme, to track the traffickers: “We work as a watchdog at night. Who is trafficking? How many girls are being taken? As soon as something is spotted, we are alerted.”

But the story does not end with this black-and-white morality tale: it gets grey. Adul says they cannot go to the police, because they are thoroughly bribed and bought off by the traffickers and simply let them go. Instead, they have to “beat the traffickers mercilessly”. And as a result, the police have framed them, they say – on murder charges. Adul is awaiting trial for a murder in Khulna everybody in the town claims he could not have committed, because they all saw him that day in the village.

I couldn’t slice through the dense thickets of this story – but I could find a total consensus here that the police are in the pay of the traffickers, and merrily arrest anyone who crosses them. So I decided to go to local police station – a lovely white-marble building, surrounded with lush, well-tended flower-beds – to question the police. The Sub-Inspector is a handsome 30-something officer with a brown uniform and a broad smile.

When I ask him if he or his officers take bribes, he waves his hand through the air. “I will not comment on this,” he says. What do you mean, you won’t comment? It’s surely not a difficult question. “I’m not going to talk about it,” he says, firmer now. OK then: why do you think everyone in this community thinks your people take bribes? He sucks his teeth. “They’ve got an attitude problem. They’re poor. They blame anyone for their problems.” And he laughs. It is only a small laugh.

III Into the street-world

Dhaka – the capital of Bangladesh – is a city of immediate, brain-melting sensory overload. In this megalopolis of 14 million sardine-people, every crammed street-scene glimpsed for a second is filled with more detail than you could absorb in a week. Swanky Western cars are log-jammed next to mobile heaps of rust. Ethereal waif-women are wandering between them with babies, begging. Builders are carrying huge loads balanced impossibly on their heads. Children are operating sewing machines on roofs. Painted women ask if you will pay 10 takka to see the dancing snake hidden in their wooden box. Men clinging to the tops of buses are yelling at rickshaw drivers, who are yelling at pedestrians, who are yelling into their mobiles.

All this happens against an endless soundtrack I think of as the Dhaka tinnitus: the waaaah-waaaaah of car horns and the bring-bring of rickshaws and the eeeek-eeeek of alarms constantly chorusing and the shouting, shouting, shouting.

Amid this ceaseless roll, there are 300,000 street-children, living (and dying) on their own. They sleep in clusters, around the boat terminal and the bus station and in the crannies of half-built buildings across the city. They are the traffickers’ dream, a pool of prey with no defences.

Sitting on the bridge in the Dhaka boat terminal, I find Mohammed and his small gang of friends. He is a 14-year-old with a grubby denim shirt and a ragged mop-head of hair. He looks about 10, with a bony, under-developed frame. He has a Pokemon transfer on his ankle: it is Pikachu, waving. They let me hang out with them for a day.

They spend the daylight hours wandering the streets of Dhaka, collecting pieces of waste-paper and ramming them into a sack. At the end of a good day, they can sell the scraps for 10 takka – about five pence, enough to buy a few good meals and a few spliffs. As we wander searching for paper, he tells me he ran away from home four years ago. “I ran away because my stepmother was cruel to me,” he says. His mother left their home when he was a baby to go and work as a maid in Dhaka and send money back for the hungry family. He was left in the care of his father’s other wife – who, he says, hated him.

“She made me do all the washing and cleaning for her sons,” he says, “and she made me collect water for the whole family every day.” Later, he adds, “She tried to poison me. She made me some rice, and I tasted a bit but it was really horrible, it didn’t taste right at all. She told me I had to eat it, so I slipped it to the dog. That afternoon the dog died.” Is this a child’s fantasy? All the street children seem to have similar tales of extreme horror, created to cover their pain; they can’t all be true.

He has been with his posse ever since he arrived in Dhaka, hoping he would somehow spot his mother. I ask - do you miss your family? He offers a little shrug of bravado. “I miss my brothers and sisters. I wish I could still play with them. Sometimes I think about them when I’m trying to sleep. But no. I don’t miss anyone.”

They wash in the black, stinking river, which might explain the infected lumps of scabies he is scratching on his arm incessantly. Sometimes they save up to watch movies together – Hollywood action films and Bollywood musicals are his favourites, he says.

At night, they wait outside restaurants for scraps – and then try to steal some more from the all-night fruit market. They lead me there at midnight, to a vast burst of light in the dark of the city. It is a huge crammed vegetable-town, where thousands of sellers perform an elaborate super-speed dance around each other, transporting mountains of potatoes and oceans of cabbages in baskets on their heads, and haggle with grocers and restaurant-owners. As I follow my little gang, seeing them subtly swipe a few fruits as they go, my nose is burned by the chilli that fills the air, and then soothed by the lake of limes.

Then finally, at 3am, they crash in their little corner of the boat terminal, sleeping on and around a large orange bin that says “Use Me”. The sacks they use to collect rubbish paper become rudimentary sleeping bags; they bunch together for warmth. The terminal is filled with thousands of children and families doing the same, cramming themselves into every concrete crevice they can find. They sleep on the bridge, under the bridge, on top of the roof, in the awnings of the roof – everywhere. Some are burning sacks on a candle, hoping the smoke will keep the mosquitoes and cockroaches away.

The gang smoke a spliff and swallow some sleeping pills they have bought. “If we get stoned, then it doesn’t hurt if the policemen come and beat you in the night,” they explain. The police strut around with large white sticks, waving them menacingly at the kids, who they call “haralput” (pikey). It is only when they see my white face that they back off from this gang, for tonight.

I ask Mohammed what the worst thing about this life is. “I know I’ve ruined my life,” he says matter-of-factly. “I know I’m a bad person, and I’ll never get out of here. There’s no hope, no future, for me. What do you think I should do?” I suddenly realise this isn’t a rhetorical question. He is sincerely asking for advice. I have no idea what to say. But it wasn’t a request for cash: in all my time with them, they didn’t ask me for a single takka.

There are two fears that hang over this gang’s life like a cloud of black smoke. They are terrified of being captured and sent to one of the government vagrancy centres. Mohammed was sent there last year, for a month. He says, “It’s the worst place. You have to work all the time. There is a massive bowl and you are forced to carry it on your back and water the trees, and then you have to sweep the room and scrub the floors and do hard labour and if you ever stop, they beat you really hard. I don’t want to ever go there again. They just beat you so much. They beat us in the shins with sticks. They hate us.” (My request to the government to visit one of these homes was refused.)

But there is an ever greater fear: the traffickers. The only moment when Mohammed betrays emotion is when he remembers a little girl called Muni, who was his friend. One day in June last year, when she was nine-and-a-half, an old man approached and told her she could have a brilliant job if she came with him. She refused, remembering the rumours that spread among the children about what really happened if you went with these men. He snatched her anyway. The other kids tried to tell the police, but they were just chased away.

Her body was found, raped and strangled, three days later. Mohammed is convinced it was because she refused to be fooled by the traffickers’ tales, and refused to just be taken to a brothel: she fought back. “Yes, we are very frightened of the traffickers,” Mohammed says, yawning. He has to sleep: he needs to get up in four hours, to start collecting waste-paper. One of this little gang of urban Mowglis is supposed to stay awake, to keep watch – “but it’s difficult,” he says. I ask him what he would like to own when he’s older, thinking I will get a child’s reverie about having a big house and a car. “Own?” he says. “I’d like to own my mother.” And with that, he grins and closes his eyes.

IV The fight-back

There is a small, determined group of Bangladeshis who saw the theft of their children for commercialised rape happening all around them, and decided – like Muni, with her tiny, futile fists – to fight back. They are funded by Comic Relief, and are dependent on the contributions that will flood in from British people this weekend.

Ishtiaque Ahmed is an intellectual who – in long, statistic-packed monologues – tells me how he created Aparajeyo (Undefeated). It is one of the most compelling anti-trafficking forces in Bangladesh. They run schools on the streets and shelters for the abused children, and they pay for an army of kids who have been rescued from prostitution to fan out across the city teaching other kids about how to thwart the traffickers. They are the William Wilberforces of our time, ending slavery one child at a time.

I first glimpse their work in the roomy top floor of a tower block that has been made into a shelter, housing raped children who have escaped. It looks like any children’s playgroup, anywhere on earth, filled with scampering and skipping and squealing. For a moment, they are not scavengers or prey; they are children.

One tall girl with high cheek bones is singing. She shakes my hand and introduces herself as Shelaka, and says she is 16. Then, confidently, carefully, she explains how she ended up here. She grew up in a village three hours from Dhaka, and for as long as she could remember, she loved to sing. “It is the best feeling in the world, to sing,” she says. But when she went through puberty, her fiercely religious parents said it was no longer “appropriate” for a Muslim girl to sing, and she had to leave these “stupid dreams” behind.

“If I tried to sing, they would hit me,” she says. “I didn’t think it was fair, because if I was a boy I would be allowed to sing. It doesn’t make sense. Why should only boys be allowed to choose their own job? Men make women dependent on them, and that’s why they are treated badly.” (Next time somebody tells me feminism is a “Western” concept, I will tell them about Shelaka. She thought of feminism all by herself, in a village in rural Bangladesh.)

So she decided to run away to the Big City, to become a singer. She sold her only nose-ring, and took the bus to Dhaka with the proceeds. When she arrived at the bus station, frightened but determined, she asked where the singing school was. She wandered the streets; as it got dark, she became frightened, and a female cake-seller told her she could sleep at her house in the slums. Shelaka went with her, and the cake-seller was kind. She stayed there for a week – until the cake-seller’s landlord arrived, and said she could only keep Shelaka if he could pimp her out. The cake-seller was afraid and tearfully let the landlord do what he wanted. Shelaka was kept captive by him for three months and raped-for-cash every day, until finally the cake-seller helped her escape. On the streets, she stumbled across one of Aparajeyo’s street schools – and they took her in.

She has lived here for three years now, receiving daily counselling. She says she “loves” it: “They are like the kindest family.” She is enrolled in the Bangladesh Children’s Academy - where she is studying singing. She asks if she can sing for me, and her voice - even with the car horns and rickshaw bells and the babble of children to compete with - has a pure and beautiful calm.

In the bus station, every day at nine in the morning, the street-children are approached – for once – by adults who do not want to beat or rape them. Instead, Aparajeyo brings toys and learning materials, to teach them how to read and write – and protect themselves from traffickers.

The children gather on bright blue mats in the corner of the terminal, excited and gleeful and able to ignore the stench of stagnant water because it has filled their nostrils for so long. They chant the alphabet and practice drawing and vie for the attention of their teacher, waving their hands and laughing. Iman, an eight-year-old, is sitting cross-legged, drawing a frog. He was, he explains, born here in the bus terminal: its walls are the walls of his reality. He lives with his mother by the toilets. “I love the reading games,” he says, concentrating hard on his drawing. “Are frogs green or blue?”

Sitting next to him there is Ammo, another tiny 8 year old, who arrived in the bus station alone a week ago. He thought he would find his runaway brother here, but so far he hasn’t. Are you frightened? “No,” he says, looking anxiously into the distance.

One of the worst problems for street children is that they live from day-to-day in a permanent pressurised present-tense: they can never keep more than a day’s money on them because it would be stolen – so at the start of every day they are back at a desperate square one. Planning for the future – any future – is impossible.

Until Aparajeyo had a stark idea: why not open a bank for street children? Now, every afternoon, at 4pm, the Children’s Development Bank opens in the Aparajeyo shelter, staffed and run by street-children, where any street-child can deposit money. It costs five takka – two pence – to open an account. When I turn up, Moyna, who is 11, is the first customer. She sells chocolate on the street and often sleeps in the shelter here. She tells me proudly she has come to deposit 20 takka, and has 700 saved up. “I am saving up to start a small business,” she says, with a very serious face. “I want to buy a tea stall. I am also saving so eventually I can have a deposit to rent a room of my own? No trafficker will get me there.” Reams of children come in with ambitions like this, a bubbling-up of dreams. Suddenly, the bank has given them a future tense - and a future.

In the brothels, Aparajeyo has decided to face down all the nuclear-strength cultural taboos of ultra-conservative Bangladesh, and turn around the lives of the brothel-babies. Until the organisation arrived in 2002, the children of the Jamalpur brothel were forbidden from setting foot in a school. They were spat at in the street if they stepped out of their mothers’ iron-prisons. Illiterate, uneducated and prey to traffickers, most ended up becoming prostitutes themselves, with rape cascading down the generations.

Standing outside the brothel, scrubbed and smiling, the children tell me how Aparajeyo fought – using the full force of the law – to get them enrolled into the city’s schools. They provided extra support and tuition – ensuring the top three academic places in the city went to brothel kids, busting the notion among the schools that these kids were “backward”. The children now live in safe shelters near the brothel, and visit their delighted mothers as often as they like.

Parveen, a rosy little 10-year-old wearing a shiny dress and her hair scrunched into a little bun, tells me: “The brothel was a bad and frightening place,” she says. “Men would be nasty to me, and people smoked drugs and I was scared all the time? People would call me names, and say my mother was a bitch.” But now? “Now I live in the shelter. I can play games and run around and everything!” As she unties her little bun and lets her hair flop down, she says with a serious look, “now I am going to become a lawyer, so I can help people like my mother.”

V Into his mother’s arms

In the vast Khalijpur slums, there lies one of Aparajeyo’s proudest achievements. In a tiny, damp barn-room made of mud and metal sheeting, I find Rehana, a 33-year-old woman with worry-lines running like rivulets down her forehead. She tells me about how her brother sold her son for 3,000 takka – £21.

Rehana knew for years her brother was a trafficker in children. “I was ashamed,” she says. “He trafficked children because he was so poor, but it’s no excuse.” There was no point going to the police, she says: they were bribed. But then, over Eid in 2005, her husband had a huge row with him. Two days later, her brother picked up her six-year old son, Shamsul, from mosque – and sold him. He taunted his brother-in-law, saying his son was now in a brothel in India.

“I went mad, I just went mad,” she says. “I went looking for him everywhere, I spent all day on the streets calling his name. I couldn’t believe it was happening.”

After two years of despair, she spotted an advert in a newspaper. It had been placed by Aparajeyo, and it asked: do you know this child? “It was Shamsul,” she says. The police found him wandering the streets and handed him over to the charity. He didn’t know his name, or address. “When we got him back, he was lean and thin, and he cried all the time,” his mother says. “If he couldn’t see me he would scream. He did some very strange things: he would stare at the sun until he passed out. But to have him back was amazing.”

Shamsul wanders into the house, as the sun sets on the slum behind him. The uncle who sold him has disappeared; Rehana believes he is running a trafficking ring somewhere else. “The traffickers won’t just give up,” she says. “I just thank God every day that there are people like Aparajeyo working to stop them.” Her son clambers into her lap. Here, at least, is one child, saved from a life of rape. He runs one hand through his mother’s hair, and with the other, he hands me a small purple ball, and smiles.

Some names have been changed for child protection reasons.

To save children like Sufia, Mohammed, Shelaka and Shamsul, donate to Sport Relief at www.sportrelief.com or call 08457 910910 (calls cost no more than 4p per minute from BT landlines. Other operator and mobile rates may vary). Watch the Sport Relief Mile Show, Sunday 16 March on BBC1 3pm-5.30pm

US Federal Reserve bails out Bear Stearns

By Stephen Foley in New York
Saturday, 15 March 2008

The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, is leading a desperate struggle to prop up one of Wall Street's largest and most historic investment banks, as the credit crisis threatened to spiral into a full-blown banking crisis.

In a day of developments that rocked the world's financial markets, the Fed said it and rival Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase had begun funnelling emergency loans to Bear Stearns, whose exposure to the battered credit markets had led to a crisis of confidence in its ability to keep trading.

Clients and trading partners have been pulling their business from Bear Stearns in accelerating numbers since rumours about its solvency began circulating earlier this week, it became clear. And in a rushed conference call with investors yesterday afternoon, the company's management warned that its emergency lending facility with the Fed had so far failed to staunch the bleeding.

"We have been subject to a significant amount of rumour and innuendo in the past week," said Alan Schwartz, its chief exec-utive. "We attempted to provide some facts, but in the market environment the rumours intensified and a lot of people wanted to act to protect themselves first from the possibility that the rumours were true, and wait till later for the facts."

Bear Stearns has appeared the most fragile of Wall Street's major investment banks since the collapse of two internal hedge funds last July provided the first clues about the scale of the credit crisis that was beginning to unfold. But shares across the banking sector plunged on yesterday's developments as analysts feared that the Fed's willingness to intervene suggested that Bear's future was pivotal to the banking system, and that its failure could cause losses to cascade through its trading partners. Bear Stearns shares went into freefall, closing down 47 per cent.

A problem that began with rising defaults on low-quality mortgages has spread like a virus through the credit markets, and financial institutions have become increasingly reluctant to risk trading with each other while the value of the complex derivatives on their books remains so opaque.

Mr Schwartz said Bear Stearns had appointed Lazard to explore options for its future, in effect putting itself up for sale, and it was looking increasingly likely last night that a history stretching back 85 years could end with the company being broken up or swallowed piecemeal by JP Morgan. The crisis had already cost Mr Schwartz's predecessor, Jimmy Cayne, his job as chief executive.

The company said it was bringing forward its financial results to Monday so it could provide early details of its financial situation, and to answer analysts' questions about the scale of its exposure to risky mortgage derivatives, one of the largest on Wall Street.

Mr Schwartz described the emergency loan facility from the Fed and JPMorgan as "a bridge to a more permanent solution", but conceded that the withdrawal of financing by Bear Stearns' trading partners was continuing yesterday lunchtime and was "not materially different to what we have been dealing with during the week", despite the Fed's move.

Bob McDowall, the senior analyst at the financial sector research firm Tower Group, said: "This situation demonstrates what a loss of confidence in an investment bank can do to its ability to operate. These firms need capital and financing capabilities to run their business, and without the confidence of their trading partners, they come to a screeching halt."

Bear Stearns is unable to go directly to the Fed, the US economy's "lender of last resort", because it is an investment bank, not a commerical bank. Instead, funds from the central bank's "discount window" – which carry a punitive interest rate half a percentage point above the Fed's main rate – will be secured on Bear's collateral but channelled through JPMorgan. In a statement an hour before the New York Stock Exchange opened yesterday morning, JPMorgan said that "in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, it has agreed to provide secured funding to Bear Stearns, as necessary, for an initial period of up to 28 days [and] is working closely with Bear Stearns".

The Fed said it would provide liquidity to the financial markets "as necessary", leaving open the question of how much it might ultimately lend to try to prop up Bear Stearns, the fifth largest investment bank in the US.

Analysts said that Bear Stearns' position in the credit markets was too big for the Fed to allow it to fail. Pierre Ellis at Decision Economics, in New York, said: "Clearly the Fed is addressing what they feel is a systemic risk very aggressively."

The year was 1968 and, worldwide, there was revolution in the air. But when John Hoyland attacked John Lennon's politics in a radical paper, he didn't expect the fiery Beatle to rise to the bait

John Hoyland
Saturday March 15, 2008

Guardian

Towards the end of 1968 I discovered that John Lennon, who I had never met, really didn't like me very much. Back in the beginning of that year, on March 17, I took part in the demonstration against the Vietnam war in Grosvenor Square, London. The scale and the violence of that demonstration took the country by surprise. Yet near the beginning of Leo Burley's South Bank Show documentary Revolution 68, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the riot and the extraordinary year that followed it, there are some iconic images that make the passion in Grosvenor Square understandable. They show a naked Vietnamese girl, aged about six, running along a dirt road, the skin of her back burned off by napalm dropped on her village by American planes. Seeing those images again made me shudder with horror, just as I did when I first saw them 40 years ago. This was the world's first televised war. The people in Grosvenor Square were very angry.

That anger fuelled a political radicalism that grew wider and deeper in its scope as the year went on, leading to a series of dramatic confrontations with the authorities around the world. There were major riots in Germany, Paris, Mexico City, Brazil, Tokyo and Chicago. And in Czechoslovakia, Russian tanks rolled into the country to silence the Prague Spring led by Alexander Dubcek.

What had started as protests against the Vietnam war expanded to something far wider. The talk was of revolution. Everything about modern capitalist society was suddenly called into question.

"Be realistic - demand the impossible," said the Paris students during May's showdown. For a few days, as they fought nightly pitched battles with the police while the communist trade unions called a national strike, there really was the feeling that a revolution might happen there.

My personal contribution to this upsurge was to set up a cultural organisation called Agitprop with a group of friends. Working from my home, we built up a list of people with skills such as graphic design that might be useful to the left, leading to the Daily Mail describing us as a "rentamob" agency. We also formed a street theatre group (later known as Red Ladder), set up a poster workshop, started a bookshop and - in the summer of 1968 - staged an arts festival in Trafalgar Square called Thang Loi, Vietnamese for "victory". This featured a giant polystyrene hamburger with the effigy of a GI as the filling, plus music from Mick Farren & the Deviants. We also took part as individuals in guerrilla publicity strikes, including unfurling a banner in front of TV cameras at the boat race that read: "Oxbridge paddles while Vietnam burns."

In June, I was invited to join the board of a revolutionary newspaper, the Black Dwarf. Named after a radical 19th-century publication, the Black Dwarf asserted continuity with its predecessor by numbering its first issue "Vol 13 Number 1".

It quickly established itself as the house journal of the anti-Vietnam war movement and the wider New Left politics that was developing around it. Edited by Tariq Ali, then a prominent member of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign and a fiery orator, the broadsheet paper pulled no punches. The in-your-face front page of the first issue showed a photo of triumphant students in the Paris May events with the slogan: "WE SHALL FIGHT WE SHALL WIN PARIS LONDON ROME BERLIN". The next issue's cover announced: "STUDENTS - THE NEW REVOLUTIONARY VANGUARD", a sentiment that caused apoplexy among old-guard Marxists. Then came: "DON'T DEMAND - OCCUPY". Earlier in the year, Hornsey College of Art had been occupied by its students - led, incidentally, by current Labour minister Kim Howells - demanding participation and a more relevant curriculum. With the Black Dwarf's enthusiastic encouragement, occupations followed at Colchester, Hull, Brighton, Coventry and the London School of Economics.

The paper was supposed to appear weekly, but seldom achieved this, partly because printers kept refusing to print it. Banned by many retailers like WHSmith, it depended on voluntary street vendors for sales, and frequently ran out of money. Even so, for a while, it was a brilliant and effective mouthpiece for the rebellious youth of the day.

Shortly after the Black Dwarf hit the streets, John Lennon wrote Revolution and recorded it with the Beatles. I admired Lennon hugely, and had adored the Beatles ever since their first exuberant shouts of joy in 1963. Their development over the following five years had been extraordinary and each new record they produced seemed somehow to capture the spirit of the times. Mick Jagger had been on the Grosvenor Square demo and had gone on to write Street Fighting Man, a song that reflected the 1968 mood of rebellion. How would Lennon respond?

Musically, Revolution was superb - Lennon at his best - but the lyrics were a bitter disappointment. Instead of identifying with the rebellious ferment among the young, he was hostile to it. He complained about "minds that hate". He said "When you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out." Above all, he said: "You tell me it's the institution/You better free your mind instead." Those sentiments might have fitted the previous year and the dreamy mind expansions of the "summer of love", but things had moved on and they now seemed entirely off the mark.

When Lennon was arrested for a dope offence in October 1968 I felt the inadequacy of this philosophy was even more evident. So I wrote "An Open Letter to John Lennon" which was published in the October 27 issue of the Black Dwarf. The same issue featured the handwritten lyrics of Street Fighting Man, donated by Mick Jagger. In my letter I pompously pronounced: "Perhaps now you'll see what it is you're (we're) up against. Not nasty people. Not even neurosis, or spiritual under-nourishment. What we're confronted with is a repressive, vicious, authoritarian system."

I went on to say that this system had to be "ruthlessly destroyed" and added: "Now do you see what was wrong with Revolution? That record was no more revolutionary than Mrs Dale's Diary." Finally, in a passage that seems to have galled him more than anything else, I hinted that his music was losing its bite, unlike that of the Stones. I concluded: "Look at the society we live in and ask yourself: why? And then - come and join us."

To our utter amazement at the Black Dwarf, Lennon wrote back. We printed his letter in the January 10 1969 issue of the mag.

He was absolutely furious. "Dear John," he began. "Your letter didn't sound patronising - it was. Who do you think you are? What do you think you know?... I know what I'm up against - narrow minds - rich/poor... I don't remember saying that Revolution was revolutionary - fuck Mrs Dale... You say: 'In order to change the world we've got to understand what's wrong with the world. And then - destroy it. Ruthlessly.' You're obviously on a destruction kick I'll tell you what's wrong with the world - people - so do you want to destroy them?"

He also asked, pertinently: "What kind of system do you propose and who would run it?" and finished: "Look man, I was/am not against you. Instead of splitting hairs about the Beatles and the Stones - think a little bigger - look at the world we're living in, John, and ask yourself: why? And then - come and join us. Love, John Lennon. PS - You smash it - and I'll build round it."

I had the last word in a reply that we printed below his letter. "What makes you so sure that a lot of us haven't changed our heads in something like the way you recommend - and then found

it wasn't enough, because we simply cannot be turned on and happy when you know that kids are being roasted to death in Vietnam, when all around you, you see people's individuality being stunted by the system."

These letters were syndicated round the world and were described by Richard Neville, the editor of the hippy magazine Oz, as "a classic New Left/psychedelic left dialogue". They summed up a tension between two tendencies in the counterculture - the hippy strand that had come to the fore in the mid-60s and embraced self-expression, spirituality and "love", and the leftwing radicalism that was sweeping the world in 1968 and was concerned with changing structures. These weren't necessarily exclusive positions; they were more a question of emphasis and a lot of people had a foot in both camps. But there was still a tension between them, and the "Dear John" letters epitomised that tension.

In the years that followed, Lennon shifted his position. He invited Tariq Ali to his house to talk things over with him and subsequently gave his support to a number of leftwing causes.

He returned his OBE, partly in protest against the Vietnam war, and wrote Power To The People, seemingly in order to correct the impression of non alignment he had given in Revolution.

Meanwhile, I like to think I shifted my position as well to one that was a little less naively and narrowly political. At the very least, I valued the emotional honesty of Lennon's post-Beatles music much more than I might have done earlier.

A few years later I wrote to him to ask if we could discuss a new socialist paper I was involved with. I was delighted to find he held no grudges. He sent back a letter from a plane on the way to New York ("Altitude: light hearted. Location: here") agreeing to talk to us as soon as he came back to England. But, of course, he never did come back. Despite our tiff, I loved and admired him and I'm very glad we closed our earlier disagreement so amicably.

· Revolution 68, Sun, 11.15pm, ITV1. The 1968 History Is Now! season runs from May 6 at the Barbican

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008




Skeleton reveals ancient Greek brain surgery

By Rachel Shields
Friday, 14 March 2008

Greek archaeologists have uncovered a rare find, the skeletal remains of a young woman who appears to have undergone brain surgery – nearly 1,800 years ago. The bones, which date from the third century, were found in one of more than 1,000 graves excavated in an ancient cemetery near the city of Veria in Greece.

"We interpret the find as a case of complicated surgery which only a trained and specialised doctor could have attempted," Ioannis Graikos, the archaeologist who led the dig, told the Associated Press. "She probably did not survive, as the wound was very large and there are no signs of healing around the edges."

A photograph of the skeleton, released by the Greek Ministry of Culture this week, shows a large hole in the skull. Experts believe the operation would have been attempted to repair damage from a blow to the head. "It is likely the patient would have been conscious, and it would certainly have hurt a bit," said Simon Mays, a human skeletal biologist for English Heritage. "Early surgical manuals show patients having brain surgery before anaesthetic would most probably have been pinned down to stop them writhing around."

The skeleton was among other bones discovered in the two cemeteries at the Veria site, which dated from the third century BC to the third century AD. While many were surrounded by gold and bronze jewellery, pottery, coins and other trinkets such as glass bottles, the woman's body was in an empty grave. The modern-day city of Veria, where the third-century bones were discovered, was built on the ruins of the ancient city of Beroea, which was ruled by the Roman Empire from 168BC.

Roman physicians regularly attempted a form of brain surgery called "trepanation" – which involved drilling a hole through a patient's skull – as a way of relieving pressure to the brain and curing headaches. But the methods that were used on the young woman seem to be evidence of a different technique.

"The sloping sides of the hole suggest that the surgeon used a sharp implement to scrape away at the bone – scratching a deep gully in the skull until he could prise that section of bone away," Mr Mays explained. This was less likely to cause brain injury than other techniques... such as drilling or hammering."

Although such methods may seem primitive, experts point out that some techniques are very similar to those used in modern neurosurgery – just minus the anaesthetic and antiseptic.

"I examined remains... where a person with a cranial fracture had been operated on. It looked like the doctor had removed fragments of bone and relieved pressure on the brain in the same way as they would if you fractured your skull now," said Mr Mays.

A 6,000-year old skeleton discovered in Cappadocia, Turkey, is thought to be the earliest example of brain surgery. Archaeologists have uncovered Neolithic skeletons – dating from the late Stone Age period, roughly 1,000 years later – in Ukraine and Germany, which bear the marks of similar procedures.


MoD accused of sending propaganda to schools

By Richard Garner, Education Editor
Friday, 14 March 2008

Britain's biggest teachers' union has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war. The National Union of Teachers claims it breaches the 1996 Education Act, which aims to ensure all political issues are treated in a balanced way.

Teachers will threaten to boycott military involvement in schools at the union's annual conference next weekend, claiming the lesson plan is a "propaganda" exercise and makes no mention of any civilian casualties as a result of the war.

They believe the instructions, designed for use during classroom discussions in general studies or personal, social and health education (PSE) lessons, are arguably an attempt to rewrite the history of the Iraq invasion just as the world prepares to mark its fifth anniversary.

Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the NUT, said: "This isn't an attack on the military – nothing of the sort. I know they've done valuable work in establishing peace in some countries. It is an attack on practices that we cannot condone in schools. It is a question of whether you present fair and balanced views or put forward prejudice and propaganda to youngsters."

At the heart of the union's concern is a lesson plan commissioned by an organisation called Kids Connections for the Ministry of Defence aimed at stimulating classroom debate about the Iraq war.

In a "Students' Worksheet" which accompanies the lesson plan, it stresses the "reconstruction" of Iraq, noting that 5,000 schools and 20 hospitals have been rebuilt. But there is no mention of civilian casualties.

In the "Teacher Notes" section, it talks about how the "invasion was necessary to allow the opportunity to remove Saddam Hussein" but it fails to mention the lack of United Nations backing for the war. The notes also use the American spelling of "program".

Addressing whether the MoD should be providing materials for schools, Mr Sinnott said that he did not object, as long as the material was accurate, presented responsibly and contained a balanced view of opinions.

The union has protested to the Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, who has referred the complaint to the MoD. In a letter to Mr Balls, Mr Sinnott said: "I have to say that were the MoD pack to be distributed and followed without the legally required 'balanced presentation of opposing views' there would, in my view, be very serious risk of a finding of non-compliance with section 406 (of the 1996 Education Act) at least.

"I do not doubt that there would be many members of this union who would not accept as 'fact' the assertions made particularly in the Teacher Notes, nor, I think, could some of the assertions made in the Student Worksheet be regarded as non-controversial."

Mr Sinnott reminded Mr Balls that a High Court judge had ruled that the film An Inconvenient Truth, by the Oscar-winning former American vice-president Al Gore, could not be used in schools without teachers counteracting some of the assertions made in it.

Mr Balls sought to distance himself from supporting the material.

He said: "I am sure you are aware my department does not promote or endorse specific resources or methods of teaching for use in schools but I appreciate you drawing this to my attention." Mr Balls added that he had instructed his officials "to take this matter up" with the MoD.

A spokesman for the MoD said the ministry had consulted with interested parties over the proposed lesson plan in order to ensure it had the support of the education community. "We did ask the Stop The War coalition to take part although it refused."

The spokesman added that the programme was "a set of web-based resources" whose use was "completely voluntary".

"We have consulted widely with teachers and students during the development of these products and feedback from schools has been extremely encouraging," he added.

"Teachers and students found them to be valuable and fun resources for applied learning.

"They are designed to support teachers in delivering a whole range of subjects across the national curriculum and its equivalents in Scotland and Wales.

"We are happy to engage with the NUT and we will be writing to them."

Union members say they are also worried that armed forces recruitment fairs in schools glamorise the job by citing exotic countries that recruits will visit but fail to mention that they may be required to kill people.

According to an independent assessment of the MoD's recruitment material by the Joseph Rowntree Trust, however, the material concerned was "very dubious". The trust said it had used misleading marketing with advertising campaigns that "glamorise warfare, omit vital information and fail to point out the risks and responsibilities associated with a forces career".

Mr Sinnott said: "On their recruitment material, it tells what an exotic lifestyle this can be, but it doesn't mention that being in the military involves killing people. These things don't feature as they should in a proper, balanced view of what it is like being in the armed forces."

What the MoD's guide says... and what it omits

* "Iraq was invaded early 2003 by a United States coalition. Twenty-nine other countries, including the UK, also provided troops... Iraq had not abandoned its nuclear and chemical weapons development program". After the first Gulf War, "Iraq did not honour the cease-fire agreement by surrendering weapons of mass destruction..."

The reality: The WMD allegation, central to the case for war, proved to be bogus. David Kay, appointed by the Bush administration to search for such weapons after the invasion, found no evidence of a serious programme or stockpiling of WMDs. The "coalition of the willing" was the rather grand title of a rag-tag group of countries which included Eritrea, El Salvador and Macedonia.

* "The invasion was also necessary to allow the opportunity to remove Saddam, an oppressive dictator, from power, and bring democracy to Iraq".

The reality: Regime change was not the reason given in the run-up to the invasion – the US and UK governments had been advised it would be against international law. Saddam was regarded as an ally of the West while he was carrying out some of the worst of his atrocities. As for democracy, elections were held in Iraq during the occupation and have led to a sectarian Shia government. Attempts by the US to persuade the government to be more inclusive towards minorities have failed.

* "Over 7,000 British troops remain in Iraq... to contribute to reconstruction, training Iraqi security forces... They continue to fight against a strong militant Iraqi insurgency."

The reality: The number of British troops in Iraq is now under 5,000. They withdrew from their last base inside Basra city in September and are now confined to the airport where they do not take part in direct combat operations.

* "The cost of UK military operations in Iraq for 2005/06 was £958m."

The reality: The cost of military operations in Iraq has risen by 72 per cent in the past 12 months and the estimated cost for this year is £1.648bn. The House of Commons defence committee said it was "surprised" by the amount of money needed considering the slowing down of the tempo of operations.

* "Over 312,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped (Police, Army and Navy)."

The reality: The Iraqi security forces have been accused, among others by the American military, of running death squads targeting Sunnis. In Basra, the police became heavily infiltrated by Shia militias and British troops had to carry out several operations against them. On one occasion British troops had to smash their way into a police station to rescue two UK special forces soldiers who had been seized by the police.

* "A total of 132 UK military personnel have been killed in Iraq."

The reality: The figure is 175 since the invasion of 2003. A British airman died in a rocket attack at the airport two weeks ago despite British troops not going into Basra city on operations. Conservative estimates of the number of Iraqi civilians killed since the beginning of the invasion stand at around 85,000.

* "From hospitals to schools to wastewater treatment plants, the presence of coalition troops is aiding the reconstruction of post-Saddam Iraq."

The reality: Five years after "liberation", Baghdad still only has a few hours of intermittent power a day. Children are kidnapped from schools for ransom and families of patients undergoing surgery at hospitals are advised to buy and bring in blood from sellers who congregate outside.