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Thursday,
April 12, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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China agrees to free US spy plane crew
Lanka to free 10 LTTE men A-I bombing suspect’s
bail denial upheld |
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| Benazir bent on
contesting poll London, April 11 Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto today said India will feel “more comfortable” talking to an elected government in Pakistan than an un-elected regime (military regime).
Lift emergency, UN panel urges Syria Ershad desertion
to affect JP Israeli-Palestinian gunbattle in Gaza
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China agrees to free US spy plane crew Beijing, April 11 The words “very sorry” were used twice in a letter handed to Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan by U.S. ambassador Joseph Prueher. The eight paragraph letter fell short of the full apology Beijing had demanded for a collision on April 1 between the U.S. plane and Chinese fighter, whose pilot parachuted into the South China Sea and is still missing. Beijing had insisted the USA take full responsibility for the incident. Washington has said the spy plane was not responsible for the collision. Tang was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying the U.S. crew would be allowed to go after “completing the necessary procedures”. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the release should not take long “if the U.S. is cooperative enough”. “As the U.S. government has already said ‘very sorry’ to the Chinese people, the Chinese government has, out of humanitarian considerations, decided to allow the crew members to leave China after completing the necessary procedures,” Tang was quoted as telling Prueher. The U.S. embassy released a copy of the letter which said both President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell “have expressed their sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft”. “Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss,” the letter said. The letter said the full picture of what happened was still unclear. “We are very sorry for entering of China’s air space and the landing did not have verbal clearance, but very pleased the crew landed safely,” it said. “We appreciate China’s efforts to see to the well-being of our crew,” it added. The letter noted China and the USA would hold a meeting on April 18 to discuss the incident. “The meeting agenda would include discussions of the causes of the incident, possible recommendations whereby such collisions could be avoided in the future, development of a plan for prompt return of the EP-3 aircraft, and other related issues,” it said. It added that Washington acknowledged Beijing intended to raise the issue of U.S. reconnaissance flights near China in the meeting. The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sun Yuxi, said the investigation into the incident was still going on. Asked what would happen to the top-secret EP-3 plane, he said: “The Chinese side reserves the right to make representations to the U.S. government pending the results of the investigation.” Prueher told reporters later, “We’re pretty happy with the state of affairs.” Tang had assured him the crew would be allowed to leave “promptly”, he said. The reactions of ordinary Chinese ranged from mild dissatisfaction to indignation. Many criticised the government, saying Washington had been let off too lightly and Beijing should have insisted on compensation. “Sorry is not enough,” said Liu Yan (33), a delivery man working the late shift in the capital’s diplomatic quarter. “Our government has not been hard enough on the USA,” he said, piling boxes of fruit and vegetables outside a luxury hotel. Some called for financial compensation for the family of the missing pilot and loss of the Chinese jet fighter. “China has lost valuable equipment and an even more valuable life,” said restaurant owner Yang Pin, 44. “In the USA people get awarded millions for choking on their McDonald’s,” he said. “The USA should back its words with concrete actions — that means money.” Tang told Prueher the USA must “take full responsibility for the incident, provide convincing explanations to the Chinese people, stop its reconnaissance activities above the Chinese coast and take measures to stop the recurrence of such incidents”, Xinhua said. Tang told Prueher China understood the American people and families of the crew were “eagerly looking forward to an early return of the crew and a reunion with them”. Diplomatic sources said it was likely a U.S. plane would take the crew to a U.S. military base on the Pacific island of Guam. Another possible destination was the Japanese island of Okinawa, where the spy plane had been based, although that risked straining Sino-Japan ties. However, Tang insisted the matter was not over. He warned Washington to “take seriously the solemn position of the Chinese side and properly handle this incident”. “It must not make an erroneous judgment and further damage the bilateral relations,” he said. “The USA should take a constructive attitude and work with the Chinese side to bring the bilateral relations onto the track of normal development,” Tang was quoted as saying.
Reuters |
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Lanka to free 10 LTTE men Colombo, April 11 The surprise move was announced just before the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year this weekend. In addition to giving the names of the freed rebels, a government statement said the military would observe a limited truce to mark the holiday. “The Ministry of Defence has issued instructions...to halt all offensive operations...from midnight of April 12 to 6 a.m. on April 17,” the statement said, making the truce longer than the four-day ceasefire predicted by a senior government official yesterday. “It has also been decided to release 10 LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) cadres presently under arrest,” it said. An official said the detainees were aged 12 to 17, but no other details were given. Two of the names on the list were Muslim and two Sinhalese. A military official said it was the first time the government had released Tiger prisoners. “It is a positive gesture,” said one Western diplomat. The two sides have been moving toward the negotiating table since October when a Norwegian peace envoy met the LTTE’s reclusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The government has already apparently eliminated another hurdle in the way of the face-to-face talks by saying it had eased economic restrictions on rebel-held areas, a key LTTE demand. But last weekend’s statement by the rebels has been seen as a hardening of their position. The Tigers said the government had to lift the ban on their group and respond positively to a unilateral rebel ceasefire in place since Christmas before any talks could begin.
Reuters |
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A-I bombing suspect’s bail denial upheld Toronto, April 11 The court rejected Ajaib Singh Bagri’s plea that a lower court judge erred when he refused to free him on bail in January as he faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the bombing of the Air India Flight 182. “The BC court has upheld the decision of associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm denying Bagri for judicial interim release,” a spokesman for the provincial Attorney-General’s office said after the judgement yesterday. Bagri (51) and Ripudaman Singh Malik (53) have been in police custody since their arrest in October. Bagri is also charged with the attempted murder of Tara Singh Hayer, a Vancouver-based prominent Indo-Canadian publisher. The court observed that Bagri’s release could pose a potential threat to witnesses in Hayer’s case. In their 12-page judgement, the Judges observed, “There is evidence to support Hayer’s shooting was motivated by his public disagreement with fervent political and religious beliefs held by Bagri and his associates in Babbar Khalsa.”
PTI |
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Benazir bent on contesting poll London, April 11 “In my opinion, there will be a better opportunity for resumption of Indo-Pakistan talks when there is a popular government in Pakistan. India as a democracy would feel more comfortable talking to a democratic government,” Bhutto. “An unelected government has the armed forces as the constituency. The armed forces by the very nature of their duties are motivated to consider the other side as the enemy, Bhutto said, adding that there were certain handicaps that the Musharraf regime suffers from the past, even though it is trying to overcome them. Despite threats of arrests, Bhutto expressed her determination to return to Pakistan to lead her party in the general election scheduled to be held before the end of October next year. Bhutto said “Even if they bring 100 more cases against me and issue 100 more arrest warrants against me and keep me in 100 prisons, I can still contest the next elections. That is the bottom line.” The PPP chief said she has called a meeting of her party’s federal council and Central Executive Committee here on April 17.
PTI |
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Kapurthala ruler’s
ship-wreck found London, April 11 The Royal Mail steamboat was thought to have been carrying gemstones and gold and silver bullion belonging to Maharaja Jagatjit Singh when it was torpedoed by a German ship in 1916, according to The Guardian. Its last resting place is in the Mediterranean Sea, off the Egyptian city of Port Said, the newspaper said. The couple plan to raise the cargo, now lying 3,000 mt below the surface, by the end of this year. |
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Lift
emergency, UN panel urges Syria THE international community may have forgotten that Syria has been in a permanent state of emergency for the past 18 years, but now the UN Committee on Human Rights (UNCHR) has
reminded Damascus about the extraordinary phenomenon and urged the Syrian government to end the emergency as soon as possible. The committee, headed by the former Chief Justice of India, Justice P.N. Bhagwati, which has just ended a three-week session in New York, has noted that there is evidence of developments within Syria that reflected some relaxation of political restraints that had raised questions of gross violations of rights protected by the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. But the committee expressed its concern on the wide application of the death penalty, a judicial system that lacked an appeals process, the situation of minorities, especially the Kurds, and the status of women, especially married ones. The committee’s session was also marked by the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Covenant, with Justice Bhagwati noting that the Committee on Human Rights had “come of age” and had “firmly established its credibility.” But he said while there was room for satisfaction, there was no room for complacency. During the recent session, the committee considered reports submitted by the governments of Syria, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan and Croatia. Justice Bhagwati told newsmen in New York that in almost every country reviewed, there had been improvement as a result of the efforts made by the Human Rights Committee. He commended Croatia, which attained independence in 1991, for developing a democratic balance of power and trying to conform with the Articles of the human rights covenant. But, he said, the committee still had some concerns. Perpetrators of violence laws the Croatian unrest had not been brought to justice, and anti-discrimination laws were lacking in the private sector, affecting Serbs and Romanis, and the return of Serb refugees was not being facilitated. The committee had recommended action in all those areas. The committee had also noted that the parliamentary and Presidential elections in the country were conducted in a manner consistent with the Covenant. |
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Ershad
desertion to affect JP Dhaka, April 11 Mr Ershad coming out of prison on bail on Monday with the tacit support of the ruling Awami League (AL) deserted the four party Opposition alliance headed by Ms. Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The split in the JP has resulted in the desertion of the alliance by Mr Ershad who was the key person in forging the alliance on January 6, 1999, against the Awami League government of Ms Sheikh Hasina. A smaller faction of the party led by the former Secretary General is still with the alliance. Mr Ershad does not recognise this faction. Earlier on Monday evening, the JP Chairperson withdrew support on the hartal programme of the four-party alliance broadly indicating his departure. Mr Ershad made his decision known to the press on Tuesday, saying that he was not going to call on Ms Khaleda Zia anymore. He criticised the BNP for not adopting any agitation programme demanding his release from jail. He asserted that his preference was restoration of ‘Plough’, the poll symbol of the JP for which his party was ready to attend the Bangladesh Parliament. Mr Ershad hinted on Tuesday that he was ready to forge a new alliance if the IOJ and other pro-Islamic parties come forward. Mr Ershad has convened a meeting of his party’s central committee on April 16. |
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Israeli-Palestinian gunbattle in Gaza Gaza, April 11 Palestinian witnesses said mosques in Khan Younis camp broadcast announcements over loud speakers urging everyone with a weapon to rush to the camp’s defence on behalf of “jehad” (holy struggle) against the Israeli soldiers. The clash erupted just after a Palestinian official had said senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials would meet later in the day to try again to put an end to six months of violence in the West Bank and Gaza. In Washington, US President George W. Bush met Jordan’s King Abdullah for talks on Tuesday and said he was “very interested in working with all parties’’ in trying to get the opposing sides to “lay down their arms.’’ The Israeli army said it had entered an area of the Palestinian-ruled Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza to demolish homes and an olive grove which Palestinian gunmen had been using for cover to fire on Jewish settlements and soldiers. The army said the activity was part of a “continuous operation’’ meant to hit “sources responsible for terror’’. The Nasr hospital in Khan Younis said it was treating 20 persons, and four in critical condition would be transferred to Gaza city’s Shifa hospital. Israel radio reported the overnight operation signalled an escalation because it was the largest Israeli force to enter a Palestinian-ruled area since the start of the uprising in September. In a report today, the international group Human Rights Watch said that both Palestinians and Israelis, including the army and Jewish settlers, had committed rights abuses against civilians in the West Bank city of Hebron.
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