The Bangladesh delegation to Cancun
Shabbir A Bashar, PhD, Stanford University, California, USA
I take pride in the fact that Bangladesh will be one of the three vice-chairs of this coming WTO ministerial meeting in Mexico and represent our entire continent (ref. "Dhaka Rejects Cancun Draft"). I also admire the Commerce Minister's courage to speak up for the interests of the LDCs. My faith in these so called "international" organisations has been shaken by their recent failures to protect the weak against the strong; dominated by the latter, they have failed to act against orchestrated lies resulting in the needless death and devastation of thousands not to mention the whistle-blowers who care for the truth -- I refer of course to the recent "death" of Dr. Kelly in Britain. Nevertheless, Cancun is an exciting and happening place full of sunshine, fun and wine and even if nothing comes of these talks, I am sure there will be plenty else to keep the delegates occupied. Finally I take issue with the statement "A person who does not belong to the government or is not a civil servant cannot participate in the negotiations" by Mr. A. K. M. Chowdhury. While I do not know the exact context in which these were said (and I totally support his anti-nepotism stand) this type of blanket closed-door policy seems not only infantile but also self-defeating. I personally happen to think that a delegate should be chosen on the basis of how well he can perform the duties as an articulate advocate and zealously champion the cause of the LDCs rather than their ability to be a dull, grey piece of bureaucratic furniture who knows only to be obedient but is devoid of creativity and passion. Let's keep our hearts and minds open because that is the only way to promote talent and find a way of this mess.
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