More attention needs to be paid to the Syrian Grand Mufti’s charges that the Middle East is being destabilised by Western forces I met the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, in Damascus a few months after he had lost his son in a terror attack in 2012. Impeccably turned out with his turban and flowing robes, he looked understandably distraught. Those were the early days of the Syrian civil war and there was a struggle to interpret and analyse why violence was sneakily spreading in a secular country where President Bashar al-Assad was visibly popular. The Grand Mufti, who is considered one of the top three people in Syria, was uncertain why assassins targeted his 21-year-old son who was still studying in university, and was to get married the day he was killed. The answers came to him when he finally met his son’s killers. In one of his media interviews, he revealed how the two killers had no clue to either the identity of his son or motive. They were given the registration number of his car and a paltry amount of British pounds—350 each. His son’s life was worth only 700 pounds, the Mufti had said ruefully. After meeting his son’s killers, who were barely out of their teens, the Mufti pleaded with the authorities that they should be freed, but they had to face due process of law. Since then, the Mufti has seen his beloved country bloodied by a war heaped on its people by competing regional and global ambitions. He was recently in Delhi where he grandly announced that the five-year war, which has left more than 4,00,000 people dead and dislocated millions of others, was about to end. With relief and joy written on his face, the Grand Mufti described in detail how the secular Syrian Arab Army with the help of allies had defeated terrorists from over 40 countries. He blamed some of Syria’s neighbours and world powers for the endless war that the Middle East region had been subjected to. He claimed that these terrorists belonging to Daesh and other outfits like Nusra were recruited from different countries. There were many women, too, who were lured into this mythical Islamic State led by a Khalifa through Facebook or other social media platforms. The Mufti said that the fighters had abandoned the women from Chechnya, Tunisia, Jordan and some European countries after they began to lose their hold over towns in the last few months. He also hinted that some fighters had been mysteriously air-lifted by helicopters to safe places. Perhaps the Grand Mufti was lending credence to the allegations by Russian armed forces that before the fall of Dier-al-Zor, Syria’s seventh largest city, unmarked aircraft had pulled out hardcore Islamic State fighters to safer havens. The implications of the Mufti’s charge and that of the Russian armed forces are serious. There are obvious suggestions that the Islamic State was able to attain much success due to the support it received from covert operatives belonging to Western powers and their allies in the region. Another example of this relationship, as pointed out by the Russian Defence Ministry, is the circumstances in which a three-star General was killed while on military duty in Syria. The Russians claimed that the location and coordinates of the General were provided to terrorists working together with US troops. There have been no denials of these charges, but the bizarre manner in which the Arab Spring became a reason for regime changes in the Middle East by reviving old ethnic and sectarian fault lines has lessons for many societies, according to the Grand Mufti. He wanted India, a secular society that was under colonial rule like Syria, to remain vigilant about forces that wanted to disrupt settled societies. He gave the example of the Rohingya crisis that, in his reckoning, was getting inordinate publicity in the Western media. He believed the crisis was being used to destabilise not just Myanmar, but also China and India. Interestingly, the Mufti also visited Lucknow, which is a major centre of Islamic learning. Here he spoke about the need to rise above the sectarian divide between Shias and Sunnis, and look ahead and not backwards for inspiration. In these times, when sectarian issues are reordering the Islamic World, the Mufti’s message gains great importance. The big question is—will he be on the winning side?   

Once at the helm of opposing China, the Manch finds itself using China as an example to keep the WTO at bay, will the government listen?

At an event held in the national capital, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, has urged the Government of India to not let up, and continue to apply pressure on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) till the international organisation accepts their demand to eliminate the subsidies-related Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) from negotiations – a stand that they have long maintained. The organization believes that the implementation of the AMS will be detrimental to the Indian farmers. They want the government to push for a permanent solution on development subsidies and public stockpiling of food (for the Public Distribution System) in the forthcoming 11th ministerial conference in Buenos Aeries on December 10 and 13.

Many developing countries have grave misgivings over AMS or what is commonly called the 'Amber Box'. Earlier this year, India and China jointly submitted a proposal to the WTO that demands the removal of the unequal policy. The countries claim that the 'Amber box' has now become a prerequisite for the consideration of any other reforms in domestic support of agriculture and should not be so. In the joint submitted proposal, they call these types of deals ‘trade-distorting’ deals, “The joint paper reveals that developed countries, including the US, the EU and Canada, have been consistently providing trade-distorting subsidies to their farmers at levels much higher than the ceiling applicable to developing countries. Developed countries have more than 90% of global AMS entitlements amounting to nearly US$ 160 bn. Most of the developing countries, including India and China, do not have AMS entitlements.”

Participants at the event urged SS Ahluwalia, Minister of State, Drinking Water and Sanitation, to ensure that India must counter the efforts of countries in the European Union, US and Canada to divide the 100-odd developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on the issue. According to SJM National Convener, Ashwini Mahajan, instead of pushing of a temporary Peace Clause, India should instead push for a permanent solution and the demand for exemption of these subsidies should be pressed. The day-long deliberation was attended by trade experts and civil society members.

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US, the EU and Canada, have been consistently providing trade-distorting subsidies to their farmers at levels much higher than the ceiling applicable to developing countries.

Asserting that every country has the right to adopt special measures to curb sudden surges in the supply of agriculture produce by increasing import tariffs, the SJM said India should negotiate for the Special Safeguard Mechanism in this regard.

On the proposal to bring rules on Fisheries subsidies, the meeting expressed concern about the attempt to allow developed countries to continue with their subsidies while banning subsidies by developing countries for small-scale, traditional fishing. The organisation also opposed the proposal for investment facilitation which it said might end up in 'commitments from India on investor protection and market access’. It said that India should tread carefully on the issue of freeing e-commerce from regulation as it was a “complex and unknown area’’ which might restrict the government’s ability to regulate giant, multi-national e-commerce companies. “India should not allow the WTO to decide on regulatory rules shaping key policies on health, labour, trade, industry, agriculture, and finance. Losing all tariff revenue on e-commerce, as well as regulatory control over imports is unthinkable for a country like India.’’

The SJM also warned the government against succumbing to pressure on e-Commerce being pushed in trade negotiations in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and said that it will impact retailers and custom duty revenues.

Giving the example of China, it said the neighbouring country was pushing the interests of a wholesale manufacturer and supplier of Chinese goods, which seeks duty-free access using the e-commerce route.

With Inputs from United News of India