Jiang, Dalai Lama may meet
BEIJING, Oct 25 2 — China and the Dalai Lama are close to announcing plans to enter dialogue to resolve the Tibet issue with a first-ever meeting proposed between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and the exiled Tibetan religious leader, a leading Hong Kong newspaper has said.

241 held after Anwar men turn violent
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 —Demonstrators chanting anti-Mahathir Mohammad slogans clashed with riot police for several hours with iron rods in the Malaysian capital last night.

Hindus threaten strike
JAKARTA, Oct 25 — Hindus in the tourist island of Bali have threatened to stage a strike unless President B.J. Habibie fires a Cabinet minister accused of insulting the minority religion.

Palestinians’ entry into West Bank, Gaza eased

TEL AVIV, Oct 25 (AFP) —Israeli military authorities eased the closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip today allowing another 20,000 Palestinian labourers to enter Israel for work, a spokesman said.

“Another 20,000 Palestinian workers were authorised today to enter Israel to join their employers,” Mr Shlomo Dror, a spokesman for the Israeli military administration said.

“This new measure brings to 47,000 the number of Palestinian labourers authorised to work in Israel,” he said.

He added that some 8,000 lawyers, merchants and businessmen were also now being allowed to enter.

Israel had sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip since mid-September amid fears of revenge attacks by the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, for the September 10 killing of two senior Hamas militants by Israeli commandos.

Today’s move follows the signing of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians yesterday which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from an additional 13 per cent of the West Bank in exchange for Palestinian security guarantees.

Palestinians are only allowed to enter Israel and East Jerusalem with permits from the Israeli military. The permits, which can be revoked at will, are only given to married men aged above 23.

JERUSALEM: Jewish settlers blocked more than 20 road intersections in the West Bank today to protest against the Wye River accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians, the police said.

Israeli police intervened to reopen the roads to traffic and made 27 arrests before the settlers were dispersed.

The demonstrators, operating in groups blocked traffic with their vehicles or by heaping stones on the road, then held prayer sessions, the police said.

“Thirty-one crossroads have been blocked today in Judea-Samaria (the West Bank), Jewish settler leader Aharon Domb told reporters.

He said “tyres were set alight on the roads and there were clashes with the police and with the Arabs”. Israeli radio said two policemen suffered slight injuries.

The estimated 160,000 settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza strip say the accords signed yesterday in Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, represent a “surrender”.

NICOSIA (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who signed an interim accord to begin final negotiations with the Palestinians has expressed doubt if the “final status” issues could be completed by May 4, 1999.

Under agreements reached in Oslo in 1993 and 1995, the talks are to be completed by May 4, 1999.

But he brushed aside the deadline as meaningless, even though Mr Arafat has threatened to declare an independent Palestinian state if agreement is not reached by then.

The Prime Minister, who faces angry rebukes from Israeli critics of the interim accord at a nine-day summit in rural Maryland, however, confidently predicted that it would be ratified by a “sizeable majority” in the 120-member Knesset.

A key element of the interim agreement calls for negotiations to begin almost immediately on “final status” issues that include establishing borders and determining control of Jerusalem.

He who walked away with peace bonanza
by T. K. Ramasamy

He is the real gainer from the West Asian peace accord. Why not? He took a big gamble in bringing the adamant and angry opponents together, tirelessly flew to the Wye River conference centre, spent over 60 hours cajoling, arguing, convincing and even armtwisting the crowd of negotiators, brought in the old warhorse King Hussein of Jordan to lend moral weight and at one point even unleashed his pet dog, Buddy, to charm everyone into subjugation. He had the biggest stake in the peace accord and worked real hard to clinch it.

In the next few days leading to November 3, he stands to gain the most. The reference is to President Clinton, the most interested and involved third party in the bilateral dispute. As one White House aide gushed, Clinton has never concentrated his thinking, time and energy so much as he did in pushing things in the desired direction at the Wye centre in Maryland.

Brokering peace comes instinctively to Clinton. He pulled off a similar feat in Dayton, Ohio, to finally stop the Serbia-Bosnia fighting. The same go-between Richard Holbrooke is back on the scene, this time to defuse the Kosovo crisis. He sent George Mitchel to Belfast to bring the warring Catholics and Protestants together and, finally hammer out the Good Friday pact in Northern Ireland. That won the Nobel Peace Prize for John Hume and David Trimble. Clinton should have been the third sharer of the prize but Monica Lewinsky willed otherwise.

Unlike in the past, Clinton was not a selfless do-gooder this time. He was very much a selfish good-seeker. He was desperate to cover himself with a thin coat of the peace-maker’s varnish to rub out some of the garish stains the Lewinsky affair had caused. He wanted one good deed before the November 3 midterm elections to push up his popularity rating. He wanted TV cameras to project him doing something other than personal (defending his Lewinsky act), and political (drumming up support for his Democratic colleagues). He wanted to do something presidential. Like bringing peace to trouble spots.

In Clinton’s scheme, the White House is a (super) power house with its prestige extending far beyond the American shores.(This is the contra point to Kenneth Starr’s charge that the White House is a pleasure palace, where the powerful President plays on the immature feelings of ambitious but wayward girls.) That is his self-appointed task and he has the charm and energy to seriously work it.

The Maryland peace accord fully answers his long-term concept and his short-term needs. It may be just the hour to start thinking in terms of a Clinton doctrine and it is certainly the hour when he wants the success of the Maryland accord to blot out the sins of the Lewinsky affair in the popular mind.

There is another thing he hopes to reap from the peace accord. He wants a swing of voter preference in favour of the Democrats on November 3 as a reward for the “feel-good” factor in the latest American diplomatic coup. A few thousand more votes for his party in each congressional precinct! That is what he deserves, or thinks he deserves. Even a marginal shift of voter preference will demoralise the Republicans and the threat of impeachment will fade away.

Clinton wanted Middle East peace and wanted it badly to fight off the ominous impeachment threat. He worked for it and has got it. In the process, he has to lend the services of the CIA. But that is a small price.

What about Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu? They have signed the deal and now they face hostile reaction from fringe groups. For them it is just an interim accord, delayed by more than 19 months. The final accord is due in May next year.

But that is another day, as they say.

NATO Generals end Kosovo talks

BELGRADE, Oct 25 (Reuters) — NATO’s top generals today ended a weekend of marathon talks with Yugoslav leaders demanding major withdrawals of combat troops from Kosovo by Tuesday to avert punitive air strikes.

Alliance commanders pressed Belgrade to stop stalling on extensive demilitarisation that would enable fearful refugees to come home safely and foster dialogue on self-government for Kosovo, a separatist Albanian-majority province of Serbia.

NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark and General Klaus Naumann, chairman of his military committee, held talks with President Slobodan Milosevic and Yugoslav Chief of Army Staff General Momcilo Perisic for almost 12 hours until just before dawn today.

The talks resumed in the late morning and ended in mid-afternoon without word on the outcome.

Diplomatic sources said Clark and Naumann would fly back to Brussels shortly to brief ambassadors of the 16-nation bloc.

“They emphasised to Milosevic and Perisic that these were not negotiations, but rather discussions on compliance with U.N. Security Council directives,” a western diplomat who asked not to be identified told Reuters.

“The NATO delegation came to tell them that compliance was insufficient and to make very clear that the activation order for NATO air strikes is still in place.”

After nearly eight hours of rare consultations yesterday, the security Council adopted a resolution 13-0 to endorse the agreement to allow unarmed monitors to patrol Kosovo and NATO to verify from the air that fighting has stopped.

China and Russia abstained from the vote. China argued the resolution went beyond what was agreed to between Yugoslavia and US envoy Richard Holbrooke. Russia said details of the resolution particularly an expression of deep concern about recent closure of independent media in Yugoslavia had no place in the resolution endorsing the accord.

Russia and China, both permanent Council members, were opposed to any resolution threatening Serbs and ethnic Albanians with force if they don’t comply with the October 12 agreement, which averted NATO strikes on Serb targets.

They could have vetoed the resolution or abstained from it. Much of the negotiation yesterday was intended to prevent a possible veto by easing language about the threat of force, diplomats said.

Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov stated before the vote that the resolution excludes all enforcement elements, “and guarantees against arbitrary or unsanctioned actions”.

The Security Council was under pressure to adopt a resolution enshrining the accord and protecting the verification team. Potential troop-contributing nations are concerned about safety of their forces and wanted the Council to endorse the plan first, with provisions for enforcement.

Jiang, Dalai Lama may meet

BEIJING, Oct 25 (PTI) — China and the Dalai Lama are close to announcing plans to enter dialogue to resolve the Tibet issue with a first-ever meeting proposed between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and the exiled Tibetan religious leader, a leading Hong Kong newspaper has said.

The Dalai Lama is preparing to issue a statement on Tibet’s political status that could pave the way for his first visit to the mainland in 40 years and enter fresh talks with Beijing, the South China Morning Post said, quoting Tibetan sources.

“We are in a pre-negotiation mode. This is a critical initial period,” said Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, the Dalai Lama’s chief representative in the USA.

“There has been progress through various channels for the past year and a half,” he said, adding “His Holiness is preparing a statement and we are trying through informal channels to get feedback... the Dalai Lama could make the announcement in the next two weeks.”

The Tibetans are proposing that the Dalai Lama meet Mr Jiang during a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai, a sacred Buddhist peak in northwest China’s Shanxi province, the daily said.

241 held after Anwar men turn violent

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (ANI) —Demonstrators chanting anti-Mahathir Mohammad slogans clashed with riot police for several hours with iron rods in the Malaysian capital last night.

This was the first violent anti-government demonstration since the sack and arrest of Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim five weeks ago.

Two policemen and 12 protesters were wounded during the clash that erupted in several sections of the capital but was most violent in Kampung Baru, a Malay village in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

The police said they arrested at least 241 people after the authorities repeatedly fired water cannon and tear gas to break up a crowd of 2,000 protesters that gathered near a mosque.

The city police chief, Mr Kamaruddin Ali, said several protesters were carrying home-made petrol bombs.

The demonstrators, many of them university students, shouted “Reformasi” (Reform) and “Mahathir step down” before hurling stones at the police and lighting bonfires in the street.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also Vice-President of Mahathir’s United Malaya National Organisation (UMNO), said the party was unperturbed by Anwar’s “Reformasi” movement.

Meanwhile, a leading Malaysian human rights group demanded Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad’s resignation following violence triggered by a police crackdown on demonstrators calling for reform.

“The Prime Minister, who is also Home Minister, must accept full responsibility for having totally mishandled the situation,” said a statement issued by the Suara Rakyat Malaysia.

Hindus threaten strike

JAKARTA, Oct 25 (AP) — Hindus in the tourist island of Bali have threatened to stage a strike unless President B.J. Habibie fires a Cabinet minister accused of insulting the minority religion.

Indonesian media reports have quoted Food Minister A.M. Saefuddin as saying that Opposition faction leader Megawati Sukarnoputri does not deserve Indonesian presidency because she is a Hindu.

“We give a longest deadline of one-month,” protest coordinator I Nyoman Japa was quoted as saying yesterday.

The group demanded Mr Saefuddin, a Muslim party leader, to withdraw his remarks, apologise to the Hindus and to resign. It also demanded that he be questioned and put on trial.

A group representing hotel employees, staged a protest at the offices of the Bali Governor and the local council in Denpasar, denouncing Mr Saefuddin. Mr Saefuddin was reported to have asked: “Are the Indonesian people willing to have a Hindu President?”

He has apologised, saying he had no intention of insulting any religion.Ms Megawati’s paternal grandmother came from the predominantly Hindu island of Bali. Her father, the late President Sukarno, and her mother were Muslims.

Large parts of ex-Soviet terrain toxic

MOSCOW, Oct 25 (IPS) The process of disarming the world of its thousands of surplus nuclear missiles has thrown up a new and dangerous environmental problem for the Russian communities who live near Soviet-era military rocket sites.

The liquid fuel used by Soviet era missiles and rockets — unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) — is both highly toxic and hard to eradicate from the environment once leaked, warns Dr Lev Fedorov of Russia’s Union for Chemical Safety.

Equally dangerously, as it decomposes, UDMH gives off nitrosodimethylamine, which causes cancer, and the highly toxic chemical tetramethyltetrazene.

“UDMH is most dangerous if inhaled,’’ says Dr Fedorov. “But it can also be absorbed by the digestive system, the skin, and mucous membranes. It causes various symptoms, especially in children. In and around the worst affected sites there “are no completely healthy children,’’ says Dr Fedorov. Infections, allergies and anaemia are widespread.

“There are a lot of children with increased sensitivity to infections, especially viral,’’ he notes. Women report increased miscarriages, premature births and children born with brain damage.

Chronic poisoning can damage the liver, central nervous system, heart, blood formation and urogenital systems. “Anyone working with UDMH for more than six months will suffer liver damage,’’ he says.

Experts have already found 110 polluted sites, totalling 20 million hectares.

Traces of UDMH and its products of decomposition have been found in vegetation, soil and sediment, considerably exceeding maximum permissible levels. They have also been found in fodder, vegetables, and domestic animals.

UDMH and similar propellants were used in rockets launched across the former Soviet Union for decades, from Baikonur in Kazakhstan to Plesetsk in the Arctic and Kapustin Yar in the far east.

From the mid-1960s hundreds of rockets and missiles were launched, powered by UDMH, including the famous three- and four-stage proton space capsule launchers. Between 1967 and 1997 214 were launched from Baikonur, but only 187 successfully.

The first and second stage rockets, discarded after they accelerate the main rocket to the high speeds necessary to put capsules into orbit, crash to the earth, spilling unused UDMH everywhere.

“Ballistic missiles represent a serious danger to ecology and health in many regions of the former Soviet Union,’’ says Dr. Fedorov.

“The use of UDMH as liquid propellant has resulted in extensive ecological damage. Vast areas where the first stages of proton, Kosmos-3m and Tsyklon-3 rockets fall are polluted by toxic propellant and its metabolised products.’’

Between 1995 and 1997 alone just 10 Kosmos-3 launches from Plesetsk dumped ten first stage rockets over a single area, spilling around 667 kilos of UDMH each time.

Helicopter missing
KATHMANDU: A French-built Ecureuil (squirrel) helicopter on a rescue mission is missing near Mount Everest with three persons aboard, the state-run radio Nepal said on Saturday. The pilot of the Asian Airlines helicopter made the last radio contact at 11.26 a.m., just three minutes after takeoff from the Lukla airport situated at 2,000 meters. Five other rescue helicopters are combing the area for the missing aircraft but have not been able to trace it. — AP

LTTE frees 9
COLOMBO: The LTTE has released six Sri Lankan Army soldiers and three Sinhalese crew members of two merchant vessels who were languishing in their custody for several years. The captives, who were not keeping in good health, were released on Saturday through the International Committee of Red Cross and brought to the army-held Vavuniya town, sources said on Sunday. — PTI

Mass wedding
TAIPEI: In western gowns and tuxedos, 137, elderly couple held a mass wedding ceremony to celebrate their marriages of 50 years or more. The mass wedding, presided over by Mayor Wu Dun-Yih of southern Kaohsiung city, was held on Saturday to celebrate the ancestor homage festival. Some of the women were excited about getting dressed up because many had been too poor when they married to afford a wedding gown. — AP

Yeltsin’s operation
MOSCOW: Russian television is to broadcast a quintuple heart bypass operation undergone by President Boris Yeltsin in November 1996, the daily paper Sevodnya said. The 52-minute report would also present interviews with members of the President’s family, his personal doctor and former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. The programme comes at a time when speculation about the 67-year-old President’s health was rife, the daily said on Saturday. — AFP