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According to Shipan Kumer Basu, the President of the World Hindu Struggle Committee, in recent times, the Bangladeshi government has been utilizing the Vested Property Law in order to seize Hindu property and to claim it as their own, thus turning Bangladeshi Hindus into homeless underprivileged paupers. He noted that while on paper under the Vested Properties Law, some Hindu properties that were lost supposedly can be reclaimed, in reality, the law works in order to push Hindus off of their ancestral lands.

For example, in Khalkula village of Islampur, a Hindu family’s land has been forcefully seized by the local Awami League and a building has been constructed in the area. According to local reports, the victim Khalakula Mouza, a Hindu, was able to reclaim his land under the Vested Property law. However, after he reclaimed his land, the Awami League turned around and had a building constructed on his land. A police complaint was issued but it remains to be seen if justice will be done.

Ed Abu Hanif, a learned lawyer on the Vested Properties Law in Bangladesh, was asked if Hindus are getting any of their property back and he answered that those who left Bangladesh (then Pakistan) in 1965 and now want their properties back have to present a proper certificate showing that they are the heir or else the Bangladeshi government will remain the owner of the land. According to Basu, the issue is that most of those Hindus lack proper certificates.

Abu Hanif noted that there are some properties that the Hindus sold at nominal price before leaving for India as refugees and in those cases, the buyers become the owners of those properties by showing the purchase deeds to the courts: “Recently, the government published in national dailies that the cases will be resolved quickly and the properties would be allotted to government officials. The Hindus are abused and are not getting the required certificate as heir. Is this not a ploy by the government to make the country Hindu free? Only if the Vested Properties Act is repealed will the Hindus reclaim their property.”

For Basu, allowing the Awami League to hold onto these properties merely because the Hindu refugees were compelled to sell their land in haste would be like denying compensation to a Jewish person who sold their home in haste at a nominal price because they had to flee Europe due to the rise of Nazism. In both cases, political circumstances forced both the Hindu in Bangladesh and the Jewish person to sell their home at a nominal price because the place where they were living no longer guaranteed their right to live in safety, dignity and freedom.

According to Abu Hanif, “Where once the number of Hindus in Bengal was 30% of the total population, it is less than 7% today and in the future, it will be less as the government is giving that property to its gangsters and announcing the allotment of the remaining properties. The Vested Property Law is illegal under international law and the property should be returned to its rightful owners.”

Khalifat Movement leader Kazi Azizul Huq added: “We expressed our disapproval of the Vested Property Act and openly declared that we are seeking advice to formulate a strategy to solve the problem avoiding as much as possible new conflict and chaos in the country. Most of these properties are in the possession of rich and powerful people who were or are public representatives belonging to Awami League or BNP or JP. We want to create an environment in Bangladesh which will effectively: End silent migration of Hindus from Bangladesh to India; Ensure opportunity and scope for those who return to Bangladesh who were obliged to illegally migrate to India. We are against any direct or indirect oppression of minorities in Bangladesh and are determined to stand beside affected persons or families. We are trying to motivate others in this regard.”

“We are all Bengali brothers, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians,” he noted. “The majority of the population of Bangladesh irrespective of religious identity is poor, oppressed and discriminated against by the mainstream rulers and the elite irrespective of their political affiliation. Since Bangladeshi Independence, national secularists have been ruling this territory. Many of these secularists, who are generally irreligious, did not miss any opportunity to misuse religion for political or other gains. Irreligious secular rulers are largely responsible for whatever deprivation, discrimination and oppression religious minorities have suffered in Bangladesh from the beginning till today.”

The post Hindu human rights activist: “Give us back our property” appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

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On October 27, 2017, new auction rounds for the eight pre-salt blocks in Brazil were launched. As the Brazilian government approved a new regulatory framework for the bidding process to allow more investors, 14 foreign companies and two Brazilian entities were qualified to participate in the auction.

As a result of the auction, The National Agency for Petroleum, Biofuels and Natural Gas (ANP) awarded six offshore blocks to Shell, Brazilian state-run Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras), and Statoil. This generated BRL 6.15 billion (about USD 1.9 billion) in signature bonus and BRL 760 million (about USD 234.8 million) in investments. The ANP also announced that two more auction rounds for pre-salt layer fields are planned in 2018 and in 2019. ExxonMobil (USA) took eight blocks of pre-salt reserves in the recent auction in April 2018, whereas Petrobras took six blocks.

Moreover, the new regulatory and economic changes in the Brazilian oil and gas sector have brought more transparency on future investments in the pre-salt reserves, incentivizing foreign investors such as ExxonMobil (USA) and Statoil (Norway) to invest again in Brazilian energy projects. The improved regulatory framework ended the mandatory participation of Petrobras as “the sole operator in pre-salt”, creating new opportunities for other investors.

A bright future, but risks abound

The future of the Brazilian oil and gas sector, and subsequently the Brazilian economy, is positive. In 2017, the oil and natural gas sector accounted for 11 percent of Brazil’s GDP, and keeps on growing. With a recovered economy, the Brazilian government claimed that Brazil has become the largest oil producer in Latin America, and that the pre-salt reserves has been regarded as “one of the most promising oil reserves in the world.” The Brazilian government thus expects the auction to yield investments of about USD 36 billion for the next 10 years, and would create about 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. This development in the oil and gas sector provides an optimistic outlook for many Brazilian states’ economy that depend on oil production, as “the exploration of [the pre-salt] areas should generate BRL 400 billion in royalties and taxes over the next 30 years.” This development could invite more economic and social development in Brazilian states that have suffered from the recent dire economy.

As corruption, fraud, and bribing remain pervasive and ongoing problems in Brazil, the investors will look to Brazilian President Michel Temer’s administration to reinforce new regulatory and economic laws to mitigate these risks in the oil and gas industry and in Brazil as a whole. Indeed, Reuters indicated on April 17, 2018 that President Temer launched a series of policy changes to “tempt investors to return to Latin America’s No.1 economy.” The President aimed to cut restrictions on oil and gas production by eliminating the exclusive rights of Petrobras in operating pre-salt oil fields.

However, despite the positive developments in the oil and gas sector, there are persistent political risks that investors must be wary about. These risks include judicial insecurity, high-level corruption, reputational damage, expropriation and nationalization with the involvement of Petrobras, and contract uncertainty. For instance, an October 27, 2017Financial Times article reported that a federal judge issued an injunction to block the October 2017 auction, a political move sought by the leftist Workers’ Party. While the auction was briefly suspended, the injunction was overturned. However, this recent play provides a cautionary tale for investors, as judicial and political insecurity can undermine the progress of the auctions and pre-salt reserves investments. Along with these issues, the upcoming presidential elections could reverse Temer’s policies and new regulatory framework.

Petrobras and ongoing security crises in Brazil

In addition, according to the Brazilian government, Petrobras “now has the freedom to choose which [pre-salt auction] blocks it will participate in.” The new regulatory framework of the pre-salt reserves has thus allowed Petrobras to gain more autonomy for its strategic management and investment in the oil and gas industry. Increasing the state-owned oil and gas company’s influence and power over one of Brazil’s essential sectors for economic growth may be too early for Petrobras. As the company remains entangled in the biggest corruption probe in Brazil’s history, investors remain cautious of political and judicial development around the company.

This scandal has had a disastrous impact on Brazil’s economy, as investors strayed away from the country for a few months and stock prices dipped quickly in 2014. Overall, this issue was a staggering setback for Brazil’s political, social, and economic growth and worsened the already-existing grievances in country. It took several years for Petrobras to recover from the scandal, as it became the world’s most indebted oil company and reported revenue growth only by 2017. The ongoing investigation and its impact on the public and private sector in Brazil remain a rampant issue that investors, policy makers, and international organizations should continue to monitor.

In addition to the aforementioned political and operational risks, investors must also take into account worsening security risks. In the past five years, Brazil’s security status quo has deteriorated, as over 55,000 people were killed in 2015 due to a surge in police strikes, street crime, violent protests, and armed conflicts between the Brazilian security forces and organized criminal organizations. A vacuum of instability and violence in various cities across the country has persisted since 2015, and along with civilian unrest and excessive responses from Brazilian security forces, drug trade, arms trafficking, robbery, extortion, and kidnapping activities have soared. The rampant corruptions in the government and security forces, and endemic economic and social instability have undermined the Brazilian government’s ability to effectively tackle security crises.

 

This article first appeared on Global Risk Insights, and was written by Alicia Chavy.

The post Pre-salt reserves make Brazil ripe for investment, but risk remains appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

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