Gore’s remarks stir up hornet’s nest
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — A blazing row between the USA and Malaysia over political reform overshadowed a $ 10 billion aid package offered to Asia by Washington and Tokyo.

SAD opens branch in Canada
TORONTO, Nov 17 — The Shiromani Akali Dal has established a Canadian branch. Mr Badal has designated Mr Didar Singh Bains, former head of the World Sikh Organisation, as head of the party here.

UN arms inspectors return
HABBANIYAH AIRPORT (Iraq), Nov 17 — UN weapons inspectors arrived at this airport to the west of Baghdad today after the latest US military showdown with Iraq was defused at the weekend.

AG blocks fresh bid on Pinochet trial
LONDON, Nov 17 — As a panel of judges considers whether to free Gen Augusto Pinochet or let Spanish extradition proceedings continue, Britain’s Attorney-General has blocked a fresh bid to have the former Chilean dictator tried under British law for torture and hostage-taking.

Masood forces capture Nejrab
KABUL, Nov 17 — Forces loyal to ethnic Tajik commander Ahmad Shah Masood have captured Nejrab district, 85 km north-east of Kabul, an Opposition spokesman said today.

Secret of Saddam Hussein’s sorrows

Top drawer diplomacy can learn a thing or two from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, currently rated as the world’s No 1 street-smart regional leader. He has mastered the art of pitting the weakness of his poor regime with the strength of his chief tormentor, the USA. And funnily, he comes out on top every time. Like he did on Sunday.

His people, the Iraqis, are close to collective starvation, thanks to the UN-imposed and US-supervised economic sanctions. Of course there has been a slight relaxation in the form of the food-for-oil programme. But then, only one-third of the oil sale money is spent on importing food, medicine and other essential commodities. And that too under the hawk-eyed supervision of US-nominated inspectors.

Then there is the UNSCOM (UN Special Commission) to monitor the destruction of weapons of mass destruction. This team is dominated by US citizens, and the members behave as though they own the country. That makes for an eight-year-long national humiliation. This makes for a powerful combination: denial of national pride and denial of essential commodities to a people who had once enjoyed a high standard of living, unmolested by greedy middlemen or corrupt bureaucrats. The only other oil-producing country to prevent the emergence of a parasitic class of middlemen in the wake of the oil price boom in the mid-seventies is Libya. (Not surprisingly, it is also a favourite US bogeyman.)

Normally, a people like the Iraqis, reduced to undeserving poverty and a near-slave political status should have risen in revolt against the regime. That was the US dream, but it was frustrated since the Arabs are different from the Anglo-Saxons, whose ideology concentrates almost exclusively on the standard of living.

Living up to their ancient pride, the Iraqis have tended to fully back the Saddam regime even as their economic and sovereign rights come under increased attack. President Saddam Hussein saw in this mass mindset an opening to international hero status. He loudly and persistently defied the USA and dared it to resort to military action. He will not suffer, only his people will, but his leadership will be further consolidated and the people’s hostility towards the USA intensified.

The Iraqi President thinks that he can play this cat-and-mouse game forever and the USA thinks that this link will break one day and President Saddam will lose power. Both are determined to test the validity of their theory, let the innocent Iraqis be damned.

Both President Saddam Hussein and the US administration passionately believe in the theory of isolation. Iraq thinks that every time Washington rattles its Cruise missiles, it loses one more ally. This time around, even the loyal supporter, the UK, distanced itself on a meaningful point. But the USA is certain that the Iraqi leader is friendless. This is wishful thinking, and the heartless game of starving the Iraqis continues.

The US Sixth Fleet is busy loading its warplanes with monster bombs carrying the legend "with love to Saddam".This is the American-style wargame. Of course, the Americans always decorate their mega-tonne bombs with expression of love; ask any Vietnamese!

The USA is doing all this to promote and establish a democratic regime in Baghdad. Bombing the Iraqis to death may not be an ideal way of ushering in democracy, and that is why Washington is charting a dollar route to eliminate the Iraqi President. It is dangling millions of dollars before anyone who will organise an anti-Saddam movement. There is a snag though: for anyone to be an effective opposition leader at a time like this in Iraq, he has to be a fresh and powerful face and not a faded memory. Which means he should have been part of the Saddam clique. To expect him to establish democracy is sheer madness. But then the USA is an eager learner.

What the USA is looking for is an Iraqi quisling, an army General, who will rise to the bait of millions of dollars and also political power backed by US recognition. In the recent past some top brass of the army had done precisely this and had to face the firing squad. Like all dictators, President Saddam has an excellent intelligence network. And every time a double-dealing army officer is liquidated, the President gets a chance to plant a totally blind loyalist. The army may be inefficient, but it is nearly treason-proof.

A closer look at the dynamics of the latest confrontation shows that the USA is losing and the Iraqi President is gaining. This is no justice, but there is little room for justice in West Asia. Three permanent members of the UN Security Council are against continuing with the economic sanctions and hence support President Saddam’s demand to lift them. The UK has suddenly become ambivalent; it demands compliance with UN resolutions but is shy of continuing the punishment of the ordinary people by resorting to US bombing.

The Arab world is extremely wary of the President but is totally opposed to economic sanctions. Even Israel made noises unfriendly to the USA.

Yes, the world is anti-Saddam Hussein but wholly pro-Iraqi people. Maybe a no to President Saddam Hussein but a ringing yes to the people’s demand to let them live like citizens of an ancient land.

American columnists and Rightwing intellectuals should grasp this truth and press the Clinton administration to help the UN Security Council lift the economic sanctions but to go on top gear to demand full accounting of the Iraqi President’s war-making potential. Of course, it is puny but the USA has to have a face-saver.

The truth, however, is that the religious rightwing has the upper hand in the USA and is forcing the administration to mesh the two issues — opposition to Mr Saddam Hussein and the suffering of the people. The trick is to let the people live a normal life and give them a year or two to demonstrate their normal response to the regime. Come to think of it, it is what democracy is all about.

But who will tell this to President Bill Clinton?

Clinton overruled advisers on Iraq

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Agencies) — US President Bill Clinton’s eleventh-hour decision to halt planned air strikes against Iraq was taken against the advice of most of his top national security staff, including Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the Washington Post has said, quoting sources.

Also overruled at a hurried Saturday meeting in the White House were Secretary of Defence William Cohen and Army General Henry Shelton, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"There was a general consensus by then that all the warnings that we needed had been given," a Pentagon official told the newspaper.

"Also, by going at that time, the level of surprise was still sufficient that we felt comfortable that we could achieve the intended results of the strike."

The report said Mr Clinton, amid news reports of Mr Saddam Hussein’s capitulation to UN demands to allow UN weapons inspectors to resume their work, called a temporary halt to air strikes at 8 a.m. local time — one hour before they were scheduled to begin.

In the end, he followed the advice of National Security Adviser Sandy Berger to give and cancelled what was to have been a closely synchronised series of cruise missile strikes, bombing runs and electronic warfare, the report said.

Independent confirmation of the report was not immediately available. The story, however, quoted officials as saying Ms Albright had argued the initial offer from Iraq to UN Chief Kofi Annan was "too little, too late", while others questioned the sincerity of the offer, given Mr Saddam’s record of broken promises.

Meanwhile, the USA has taken specific aim at Iraq’s account of its stocks of biological and chemical arms-making materials, citing vast discrepancies that could mean tonnes of uncounted deadly weapons.

"There is a large discrepancy between the amount of biological growth media — that’s the culture in which you grow biological weapons — procured and the amount of agents that were or could have been produced, "State Department spokesman James Rubin said in a briefing yesterday.

Out of about 31,000 kg of biological growth media Iraq imported. Baghdad has not adequately explained where about 3,500 kg of the material went, Mr Rubin said, calling it "an enormous amount."

However, despite the latest crisis with Iraq, the special United Nations programme that allows Baghdad to export oil for buying humanitarian goods will be renewed at the end of the month, a top UN official has predicted.

"There will be definitely.... a continuation of the programme." said Mr Benon Sevan, the executive director of the Iraq programme, at the United Nations speaking at a conference sponsored by the Middle East Institute yesterday.

Gore’s remarks stir up hornet’s nest

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Reuters) — A blazing row between the USA and Malaysia over political reform overshadowed a $ 10 billion aid package offered to Asia yesterday by Washington and Tokyo.

Shortly before the aid was unveiled at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, the US Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, enraged host Malaysia by saluting as "brave people" supporters of sacked Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim fighting to end Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's 17-year rule.

With Mahathir in the audience at a glittering banquet of APEC business leaders, Mr Gore delivered a blunt lecture on democracy as a cure for the region's twin curses of cronyism and corruption.

Malaysian Trade Minister Faridah Aziz, spitting anger, told reporters on her way out of the dinner that it was "the most disgusting speech I've heard in my life".

Mahathir was overheard saying: "I've never seen anybody so rude".

The appeal for "reformasi" was first heard on the streets of Jakarta and snowballed into a movement that brought down former President Suharto.

Mr Gore's comments were seen by some as inflammatory in a region where anti-government protests have accompanied a plunge towards unemployment, poverty and even hunger.

They kept on the boil a row over Mr Anwar that has distracted from APEC's so far feeble efforts, to liberalise trade, and to give Mr Gore's words added weight, The White House said they reflected Mr Clinton's own views.

The aid package was aimed at shoring up the region's ailing banks and debt-laden corporations. Details were announced in a joint statement issued by Mr Clinton and the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Keizo Obuchi.

Meanwhile, in a wide-ranging, two-hour meeting, Mr Gore and the Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, spoke about Taiwan and Tibet, but have made no progress on those or other sources of the Sino-US conflict.

Both sides described yesterday's meeting as friendly, and officials said comments by both men consisted largely of reiterating their governments' positions. A US official said Mr Gore issued an invitation for the Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, to visit the USA, and Mr Jiang accepted.

"It was a conversation between persons who know each other well", said the official.

Later, reacting to harsh Malaysian criticism of Vice-President Al Gore’s pro-reform comments at the APEC summit, a top US official said it saw nothing unusual about raising sensitive issues at such a gathering.

"If you look at the range of things the administration had been saying in other locations, there is nothing unusual in the Vice-President’s comments here," the official told reporters.

"If you look at President (Bill) Clinton in China, you found a very direct and forthright discussion of democracy and the rule of law in terms not necessarily agreeable to the leaders of China," the official added.

The official said he was not suggesting the Malaysians had been less graceful in their response to Mr Gore’s comments at a business dinner last night ahead of the two-day annual APEC summit.

"When the President raised this subject in China, the response was a willingness to enter into dialogue and to talk about the perspective of the Chinese leadership without any particular rancour," the US official said.

China, however, added a muted voice to the chorus of Asian governments critical of the USA after Mr Gore voiced support for Malaysia’s pre-reform opposition.

"China has always supported the principle of mutual respect for territorial sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang said in Beijing.

SAD opens branch in Canada

TORONTO, Nov 17 (IANS) — The Shiromani Akali Dal has established a Canadian branch.

Mr Badal has designated Mr Didar Singh Bains, former head of the World Sikh Organisation (WSO), as head of the party here.

The announcement was made by Mr Gyan Singh Langheri, designated as the Canadian branch President, at a formal ceremony near a gurdwara here. The Canadian chapter has a 13-member executive committee.

Speakers at the inaugural ceremony included the Indo-Canadian Member of Parliament, Mr Gurbax Malhi, and the WSO Vice-President, Mr Inderjit Singh Bal.

At a meeting earlier this year, Reform Party Indo-Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai had objected to Indian political parties establishing branches in Canada. He had asked a member of the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party as to what such political groups were doing in this country and why their members didn’t work for Canadian parties.

Asked about the Akali Dal’s objectives,Mr Langheri said it would strive to resolve problems between India and Canada and also put on the forefront problems of the Indo-Canadian, especially with regard to visas, passports, problems at airports in India and property disputes in their native land.

UN arms inspectors return

HABBANIYAH AIRPORT (Iraq), Nov 17 (AFP) — UN weapons inspectors arrived at this airport to the west of Baghdad today after the latest US military showdown with Iraq was defused at the weekend.

The inspectors from the UN Special Commission for Iraq disarmament were seen by reporters arriving on board a special UN flight from Bahrain.

In Bahrain, UNSCOM spokeswoman Caroline Cross said earlier they would be returning to work "within a few hours, maybe today or tomorrow," after their arrival but had not yet received detailed instructions.

A total of 86 inspectors were expected to return to Iraq after being pulled out abruptly last week.

AG blocks fresh bid on Pinochet trial

LONDON, Nov 17 (AP) — As a panel of judges considers whether to free Gen Augusto Pinochet or let Spanish extradition proceedings continue, Britain’s Attorney-General has blocked a fresh bid to have the former Chilean dictator tried under British law for torture and hostage-taking.

Mr John Morris said there was "insufficient admissible evidence" to bring criminal proceedings against General Pinochet, arrested in a London clinic on October 16 on a Spanish warrant alleging he murdered Spanish citizens in Chile.

A second Spanish warrant accuses him of murder, torture and hostage-taking.

Masood forces capture Nejrab

KABUL, Nov 17 (PTI) — Forces loyal to ethnic Tajik commander Ahmad Shah Masood have captured Nejrab district, 85 km north-east of Kabul, an Opposition spokesman said today.

Mohammad Aref said fighting between the Taliban Islamic militia and Masood’s forces in northern Afghanistan around Burka and Ishkamish districts had eased overnight.

However, 40 civilians were killed in aerial bombings by the Taliban on residential areas surrounding Nejrab.

"Fighting continued till late in the evening. Nejrab and its five main villages — parts of Taqab — have also been taken," Aref said.

Taqab is a neighbouring regional centre held by the Taliban, who control about 90 per cent of Afghanistan.

The current focus on Nejrab was designed to retake positions lost by Masood after the Taliban launched their autumn offensive on October 10.

Anti-N activists get prize

PARIS: Indian and Pakistani anti-nuclear activists have received the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence. India’s Mr Narayan Dasai (74) won the award on Monday for campaigning against nuclear weapons and for his work in promoting education and youth training camps with his Shanti Sena (peace bridge) corps of volunteers dedicated to non-violence. The Pakistani Group Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights won the prize for its campaigns for women’s rights, religious tolerance and against nuclear weapons — AP

Monica lands deal

WASHINGTON: Monica Lewinsky, the world’s most famous ex-intern, landed a seven-figure book deal to tell her side of the sex-and-lies affair with President Bill Clinton, the New York Post reported on Monday. Lewinsky will tell her story to British royal biographer Andrew Morton, who will write the book for St Martin’s Press, the Post reported. — AFP

Death for partying

BEIJING: A Communist party official in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin has been given a suspended death sentence for spending too much on official wining and dining, a newspaper report has said. The sentence is the most severe ever given for this type of offence, the Human daily said on Monday. Yuan Jinjin, Deputy Director of a district labour office in Tianjin, spent 537,000 yuan ($ 65,000) of public money over a 14-month period on "food and drinks", it said. — AFP

40 inmates escape

JAKARTA: Forty inmates broke out of a state prison in the western Indonesian city of Medan while being escorted to attend Sunday mass, a news report said on Tuesday. The state Antara news agency said four wardens were injured when the group overpowered them in the room where the mass was to be have been held, prised tiles off the roof and bolted. — AFP