Wednesday, October 7, 1998
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W O R L D | Wednesday, October 7, 1998 |
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India, Pak told to sign CTBT BEIJING, Oct 6 — China and Britain today asked India and Pakistan to sign the global non-proliferation treaties. According to a joint statement released at the end of talks between Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and his visiting British counterpart Tony Blair here, the two sides stressed their commitment to unconditional adherence to the CTBT. |
 BEIJING: British Prime Minister Tony Blair (right) and Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji review honor guards at the Great Hall of People, in front of Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Tuesday. AP/PTI |
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US
panel for impeachment
India
for UNESCO role in women’s education Peacekeeping
force ‘needed’ in Kosovo No
unilateral concessions, says Israel |
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India, Pak told to sign CTBT BEIJING, Oct 6 (PTI, AFP) — China and Britain today asked India and Pakistan to sign the global non-proliferation treaties. According to a joint statement released at the end of talks between Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and his visiting British counterpart Tony Blair here, the two sides stressed their commitment to the UN resolution 1172 which calls for unconditional adherence to the CTBT. "The two sides stress their commitment to non-proliferation, and full support for the Security Council resolution 1172," the joint statement said. The two premiers also agreed to enter an "enhanced, comprehensive partnership" agreement to promote bilateral relations into the 21st century. Both sides praised quickly improving ties following the acrimonious run-up to the handover of Hong Kong last year and public wrangles over China’s human rights record. Mr Zhu said he was delighted at the ‘mutual trust’ evident between Mr Blair and himself and said that any topic, including sensitive rights issues, could be raised for discussion. "The fact that we are able to have a full exchange of views even on matters on which we disagree is a tribute to the strength of our relations," Mr Blair said. "I hope very much that the visit will open up and consolidate the new chapter in our relations," he added. Meanwhile, Mr Zhu said President Jiang Zemin will make a state visit to London in the second half of 1999, thus becoming the first head of state to visit Britain. "This will be the first visit by a Chinese head of state since the implementation of diplomatic relations between our two countries," Mr Zhu said. Mr Blair urged his Chinese counterpart to hold unconditional talks with exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said. "The Prime Minister expressed the hope that there will be a dialogue without pre-conditions with the Dalai Lama," the spokesman said. The Free Tibet Campaign (FTC) had called on Mr Blair yesterday to raise the future of the troubled region during his visit to China. During their talks, Zhu and Blair decided to boost bilateral trade ties and enhance cooperation in other sectors for mutual benefit. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continue working for China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on terms which will "reinforce the world trade system and on the principle of balancing rights and obligations". The two countries also
agreed to strengthen the China-UK financial dialogue,
conduct regular exchanges on strategic economic and
financial issues and foster wider regional and global
discussion on these issues, the spokesman said. |
Fresh UK mediation bid on Lanka COLOMBO, Oct 6 (PTI) — Britain is likely to launch a fresh initiative to broker an agreement between Sri Lanka’s ruling and Opposition parties to adopt a bipartisan approach towards negotiations with the LTTE to end the decade-old ethnic conflict in the island nation. British Foreign Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Derek Fatchett, who will be arriving in the country to attend a trade fair on November 9, could make use of the occasion to sound both — Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Opposition leader Ranil Wickramasinghe on the fate of the last year’s British brokered agreement between the two to adopt a bipartisan approach towards negotiations with the LTTE. Mr Liam Fox, his predecessor, had brought about an agreement between the arch political rivals — Kumaratunga and Wickramasinghe — last year of not politicising any official initiative to work out an agreement with the LTTE. However, the agreement ran into rough waters as the two leaders failed to arrive at an agreement on the government’s devolution package. Mr Fatchett was expected to pick up the threads once again specially in the light of the recent all-party agreement on the Northern Ireland to settle the long standing dispute there. The new Labour Government, however, maintains that the “Fox initiative” has not ended nor has the “bipartisan” agreement between Ms Kumaratunga and Mr Wickrama-tunga collapsed. IANS adds: Mr Fatchett warned of a “dangerous situation in Punjab” amid what are seen as renewed attempts here to refocus public attention on the state. Mr Fatchett made the remark at a fringe meeting called at the annual Labour Party conference in Blackpool by the Punjab Human Rights Organisation. The meeting was chaired by Labour Member of Parliament John Mc Donald, chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Group in Parliament. The minister spoke of Punjab and Kashmir in the context of what he called the sad situation that had arisen in the wake of the nuclear tests in India and Pakistan. The nuclear tests, he said, had caused the “rising tension in Kashmir” and also a “dangerous situation in Punjab.” Indian officials were surprised why the British minister chose to raise the Punjab issue years after the terrorist violence had died down. The officials said that Mr Fatchett was not required to attend that meeting and his very presence would be taken as a sign of support by extremist Sikh groups. The British minister still continues to hyphenate Punjab and Kashmir. Both Punjab and Kashmir are raised over allegations of human rights violations. But Mr Fatchett went beyond speaking of human rights at the Punjab fringe meeting. Mr McDonald and Mr Martin Slater, also an MP, have actively sought in recent weeks to raise the Punjab issue in Britain. They have placed an early day motion, which is an informal resolution, in the House of Commons to win support for what they have made their cause. The Punjab Human Rights
Organisation is a group of just a few Sikhs that has been
lobbying MPs for several years. The group is led by Mr
Iqbal Singh who calls a meeting and distributes leaflets
on human rights in Punjab outside the party conference
every year. This year Mr Iqbal Singh worked also as a
steward at the party conference. |
Pak red notice against Malik LONDON, Oct 6 (PTI) — The Pakistan Government has issued a “red notice” through Interpol against the suspended Additional Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Mr Rehman Malik, who submitted a corruption charge sheet to President Rafique Tarar against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The red notice, according to Pakistani media reports here, has been sent to Interpol Headquarters in Paris and comes in the wake of a police report filed by Mr Malik accusing Mr Sharif and his family-run group of Ittefaq, of money laundering and property acquisition in Europe. The report, which was published by a leading British paper, has created quite a political furore in Pakistan. Without the red notice, the Pakistan Government fears that Mr Malik who reportedly fled Pakistan after an unsuccessful attempt on his life, might continue what it called the “crusade against Nawaz Sharif from anywhere in the world”. Reports said Mr Malik had been successful in keeping the Pakistani authorities in suspense regarding his whereabouts. He is said to have trekked across Pakistan’s “porous” border into Afghanistan and then boarded a flight from Jalalabad to Dubai and then on to Britain. The Interpol notice is likely to be first served on the British Home Department for the extradition of Mr Malik. However, in the absence of
a bilateral extradition treaty between Britain and
Pakistan, it would be difficult for the Pakistani
authorities to seek his return from here. |
US panel for impeachment WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (AP) — Somber and partisan by turns, the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted last night to launch an open-ended impeachment inquiry of President Bill Clinton. The top Republican lawyers cited "substantial and credible evidence" of 15 possible grounds for impeachment. The vote for a formal inquiry under Watergate-style rules was 21-16, with all the panel's Republicans in favour and all Democrats opposed. The roll call set the stage for a vote in the full house by week's end that would make Mr Clinton only the third President in American history to be subject to formal impeachment proceedings. "Do we have a duty to look further, or to look away?" asked US Representative Henry Hyde, shortly after gaveling the committee to order in the same cavernous room where Richard Nixon's fate was debated a quarter-century ago. "This is not about Watergate," retorted Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the panel's senior Democrat, "It's an extramarital affair". Confident of prevailing, majority Republicans pressed for a committee vote by the day's end on their proposal for an investigation based on Watergate rules and unlimited in time or scope. A vote in the full House would follow by Friday. The Republicans' lead investigator, David Schippers, broadened the counts set out by independent counsel Kenneth Starr to raise the possibility that Mr Clinton took part in a broad conspiracy to cover up his actions. The Democrats countered the Republicans' proposed resolution with an alternative to limit any inquiry to matters arising from the President's affair with Monica Lewinsky, and to render a verdict by November 25. As expected, the Republicans turned that proposal back on a strict party-line vote of 21-16. Mr Clinton himself did not mention the proceedings unfolding 16 blocks away when he appeared briefly before reporters on the White House grounds. Said his spokesman, Joe Lockhart, "we don't believe there's anything here that reaches the level of an impeachable offence". Inside the committee room, Schippers, the lifelong Democrat hired by Hyde to oversee the case for Republicans, methodically reviewed evidence submitted three weeks ago by Starr. Dropping some of Starr's counts, adding others, and recasting still others, he came up with 15 counts, four more than Mr Starr had. He said for example, there was evidence that Mr Clinton might have been part of a conspiracy with Monica Lewinsky and others to obstruct justice and due administration of justice. Mr Starr didn't raise the spectre of a conspiracy with multiple players. Ms Lewinsky received immunity from Mr Starr in exchange for her testimony. Mr Schippers also said the President may have committed another offence by taking steps to conceal Ms Lewinsky's false affidavit in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit and by allowing his attorney to use that affidavit in Mr Clinton's own Jones' deposition to deny a sexual relationship. Many of Mr Schippers' counts cited evidence of impeachable offences in statements Mr Clinton made either in the deposition for the Jones' lawsuit last January, or before Starr's grand jury in August. Still others concerned allegations that the President sought to coach his Secretary, Betty Currie, in her testimony. At the same time, the veteran lawyer and former anti-racketeering prosecutor jettisoned Mr Starr's claim that Mr Clinton had abused the power of his office by invoking executive privilege to shield his aides from testifying and therefore concealing his lies about Ms Lewinsky. Mr Schippers himself sparked controversy when he indulged himself in a few personal remarks at the conclusion of his formal presentation. Speaking as a father and grandfather, he said, he wanted to remind the committee that 15 generations of Americans, many of who repose in military cemeteries were watching their actions. Democrats protested
Schippers' personal comments, and Hyde, declaring he felt
sympathy with the protests, declared that "the
remarks will be stricken from the record". |
Sikh arts exhibition kicks up controversy LONDON, Oct 6 —A controversy has been kicked up by a proposed exhibition of Sikh arts in London after its promoters sought to give it a political twist at a dinner to raise funds for the event. The exhibition, titled “The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms”, is to be held at the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum here from March 25 to July 25 next year. It is timed with the celebrations of 300 years of the birth of the Khalsa which codifies the pure and identifiable character of Sikhs as set out by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. However, the fund-raising dinner here witnessed criticism of the June, 1984, assault on the holiest Sikhs shrine ordered by the then Indian Government. According to a statement issued by the Victoria and Albert Museum, the fund-raising dinner, named “By the Five Rivers”, was organised by “a cosmopolitan, multi-religious committee which reflects the secular spirit of Sikhism.” The wives of Indian businessmen Srichand Hinduja, Laxmi Mittal and G.K. Noon were among those present. But many guests were taken a- back when a promoter of the dinner, Surina Narula, got up to speak and referred to “the desecration of the Golden Temple and the murder of Indira Gandhi (as pronounced by her).” Narula recalled that during the anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister she was in a South Delhi neighbourhood with her two sons aged four and six. “I told the boys, ‘If the mob does get to us, just run away, don’t look at what they’re going to do to me,’ She told the gathering. “A friend later told me that he’d found two small children aged about two and four hung from a fan by their hair.” She added that a Hindu neighbour who “rose above prevailing prejudices” came to reassure them of protection from any mob. Her husband spoke of his worries in 1984 “watching the events unfold on CNN.” He added that his faith in goodness remain unshaken. Narula said the dinner was being held “in the true spirit of Guru Gobind Singh’s ‘One World”. The events of 1984 showed that hope lay at the bottom of Pandora’s box, she said. Several of the 400 or so guests who had paid £ 200 ticket were livid about the statements of Narula. “It was not responsible to speak of children being hanged on what she herself admitted was only hearsay,” an influential Indian businessman told IANS. Another said that “we are all unhappy about the killings and the injustice, but a dinner to support an arts exhibition was not the occasion to bring up these things.” According to the museum, the proposed exhibition “describes the exciting and eventful cultural history of the maharaja and his successors, features paintings, vibrantly-coloured silks and shawls, gold-decorated weapons and some of the most spectacular jewels of the Sikh treasury.” A Mercedes car, a set of diamonds and a painting by M.F. Hussain for the occasion were auctioned by Lord Jeffrey Archer at the dinner. The museum provided the venue and others contributed the food and drinks served. Some members of the
committee said that a sum of between £ 125,000 and £
150,000 had been raised towards the exhibition. |
India for UNESCO role in women’s education PARIS, Oct 6 (PTI) — India today urged UNESCO to plan for increased opportunities for women in education to bring about a true social transformation. “Since education is the main tool for social transformation, education for women at all levels must be one of the issues which mankind has to address with a sense of urgency,” Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi told the world conference on higher education here. Observing that no system of education could claim to form a whole unless women were given an equal station, Mr Joshi said the Indian government had decided to make education for women free up to the undergraduate level, including professional undergraduate courses. “This is our gender
initiative,” Dr Joshi told the conference being
attended by over 100 ministers in charge of higher
education from around the globe. |
Peacekeeping force ‘needed’ in Kosovo JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (AFP) — US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said today an international peacekeeping force would be needed in Kosovo to guarantee any future agreement on the Serbian province’s status. “We think that there has to be some kind of international presence,” Ms Albright told reporters in the aircraft taking her for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. A senior State Department official hastened to add that although people were thinking about it, it was a long way off. “No decision has been made yet on whether the USA needs to participate and how,” the official said. However, “it would be irresponsible not to plan for a peace agreement” between the ruling Serbs and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority. US envoy Richard Holbrooke arrived in Belgrade yesterday in a bid to persuade Yugoslavia’s President Slobodan Milosevic to respect UN resolutions on stopping the conflict in Kosovo and avoid Western air strikes. But US officials said he also aimed to discuss a longer-term plan which would put off the question of Kosovo’s ultimate status for two or three years. During this period the
province would be accorded increasing autonomy in areas
such as education, police, cultural matters and
administration, similar to what it enjoyed until Serbia
imposed direct rule in 1989. The final status of the
region, even including independence, would then be
negotiated. |
No unilateral concessions, says Israel JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (AFP) — The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the success of upcoming negotiations in Washington on an Israeli military pullback in the West Bank hinges on the Palestinians. “Time will tell, I cannot tell you now, if we shall have an agreement in the summit meeting at Washington, because in many ways it is up to the other side to make that decision”, he told 5,000 pro-Israeli Christian fundamentalists in Jerusalem yesterday. “If they honour their commitments there will be an agreement, if they do not we will not make unilateral concessions”, Mr Netanyahu told the enthusiastic crowd, brought together by the “International Christian Embassy”. “There can be no
peace without security, no peace without a meaningful,
consistent and thorough fight against terrorism”, he
said. |
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| Fight against child-sex drive LONDON: Anti-paedophile specialists from across the world this week agree to join forces to fight the ever-increasing trade in child-sex and child-sex tourism, the British Government has said. On the eve of a conference of 15 European and 10 Asian nations in London to discuss the fight against the sexual abuse of children, Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett said on Monday that the Asian financial crisis had worsened the problem. — AFP Bungee record broken 20 die in mishap Synagogue killer Buddha images Duchess of York Cult followers |
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