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| Friday,
April 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Spy plane flights off
China to go on: Rice PM assures Sikhs of support US move against China on rights Pak ex-Navy chief held in USA |
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Troops storm
hideout, save hostage Bush, Putin to meet in Italy
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Spy plane flights off China to go on: Rice Washington, April 12 The issue of surveillance flights was not resolved in negotiations to secure the return of 24 crew members from a U.S. surveillance plane who were detained on the Chinese island of Hainan for 11 days until their release by China on Wednesday. The two sides agreed to discuss the issue at a meeting next week. Ms Rice, in a round of morning television interviews, said such “reconnaissance missions” were part of a broad U.S. national security strategy aimed at peace and security in the region and at protecting the USA and its allies. “We’re happy to talk to the Chinese government about how we might avoid such an accident in the future. But we’re going to continue to do what is most effective for our national security strategy, and we’re going to continue to do it in a way that gets the job done,” Rice told ABC’s “Good Morning America” programme. Asked whether she feared a repeat of the Hainan incident as the flights continued, Rice said the USA would use its meeting with China under the auspices of the Maritime Commission to try to avoid a repetition of such an accident. BEIJING: Earlier, the Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, said on Thursday that China reserved the right to blame the USA for a collision between a US spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter. The release of the 24 crew of the US plane this morning after 11 days in captivity on Hainan Island did not mean the case was over, official Xinhua news agency quoted Mr Zhu as saying. “All responsibilities for the incident lie with the US side,’’ Mr Zhu told the President of the UN General Assembly, Mr Harri Holkeri, who is visiting Beijing. It was one of Mr Zhu’s first public comments on the standoff between China and the USA that had threatened to unravel bilateral ties. ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE (Guam): With a “Welcome to America” handshake, the crew of a US spy plane held in China for 12 days stepped on to US soil here today. “Some of them had tears in their eyes as they saw the American flag and realised they were home,” said Guam Governor Carl Gutierrez, who greeted the 24 US servicemen and women as they stepped off the chartered aircraft which flew them to this US Pacific territory from China’s Hainan Island. “They looked good, healthy, happy and pleased to be home,” he said. HAIKOU (CHINA): Earlier in the day, there was genuine fury on the streets of Hainan after the US spy plane crew left China, with many people criticising the government for caving in to the USA. “China is a coward! President Jiang Zemin must step down! All Chinese people will not accept this”, said a middle-aged man as soon as he learned of the Sino-US deal paving the way for the crew’s release.
AFP, Reuters |
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PM assures Sikhs of support Teheran, April 12 In his brief address to the Indian community in the grey- walled gurdwara in Central Tehran, Mr Vajpayee told the congregation he had read somewhere that Guru Nanak had visited this capital. He urged the Sikh community to probe the matter and if Guru Nanak had indeed travelled to far away Iran, then “Tehran becomes a new pilgrim centre for us back home”. Conveying greetings and good wishes on his own and on behalf of all fellow countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi tomorrow, the Prime Minister noted that the community had made Iran their hearth and homes. At the same time he said “some of you have acquired Iranian citizenship while others retained their Indian passports. Though legalese was involved in respect of those holding Indian and Iranian passports, my government treats all people of Indian origin on an equal footing”, he said. He made it clear to all those present that BJP-led NDA government would come to their aid and render assistance in time of crisis and difficulties. Mr Vajpayee recalled that India and Iran were ancient civilisations and enjoyed traditional ties of warmth and friendship going back to thousands of years. There had always been a large number of exchanges of intellectuals and thinkers between the two countries. Earlier, Iranian Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee chief Amarjit Singh Chadha welcomed the Prime Minister. He said the community felt elated that the Prime Minister made it a point to make an impromptu visit to the gurdwara which had contributed in knitting the Indian community and keeping the traditions alive. The PM was presented a siropa and a sword. |
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US move against China on rights Washington, April 12 The resolution which would come up for voting later this month also called upon China to preserve and protect the distinct cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious identity of the Tibetans. It cites in particular the continuing arrests of members of the China Democracy Party and other opposition groups and the severe measures taken to
restrict the peaceful activities of Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and other groups that seek to exercise the right of freedom of religion. The resolutiuon also criticised the measures taken by China against the adherents of movements such as Falun Gong. Washington has been moving similar resolutions against Beijing for the past several years but was unable to muster support for the move. Last year the resolution could not be put to vote because of lack of support from the member nations. A senior representative of China’s official Protestant church applauded the ban on the Falun Gong yesterday as good for religious freedom because it drew a distinction between real religions and “cults.” The Rev. Deng Fucun, the general secretary of the China Christian Council, delivered an open letter from the movement’s national committee at a news conference at the Chinese embassy in Washington. “We, the religious circles in China, strongly oppose the Falun Gong cult,” read the letter, addressed to the “many overseas friends” of the government-sanctioned group and the Three-self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches. “The ban of the Falun Gong cult by the government does not affect the implementation of the religious freedom policy at all. On the contrary, there are more people in the society who support the policy of religious freedom because they have distinguished the difference between religions and cults.” Although China’s constitution provides for freedom of religion, the government restricts practice to sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship. About the resolution, Deng said: “There are some reports on the situation of religious freedom in China which really in my opinion is very contradictory to the facts as I know ... so I really doubt how reliable the reports can be.” The U.S. State Department in its September 2000 annual report on international religious freedom found that instead of increasing freedoms for other religions, the ban on Falun Gong had had a kind of “spillover effect,” as several Qi-Gong groups, practicing movement and meditation, and other unregistered religious groups were swept up in the crackdown. Deng was in the USA to promote links with churches here and visited Houston, Texas, and Orlando, Florida, where he received “a warm welcome”, he said.
UNI, Reuters |
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Pak ex-Navy chief held in USA Islamabad, April 12 Admiral Mansoor was retired forcibly in 1997 on corruption charges and settled in the USA. He was accused of taking kickbacks in defence deals but was not tried by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. His extradition was sought by the NAB after Sharif was overthrown in a coup in October 1999 and the military regime launched an accountability drive. Another announcement by the NAB said a British magistrate has released to the government of Pakistan 22,000 documents containing proof of assets and wealth built up illegally by former Premier Benazir Bhutto, her Husband Asif Ali Zardari “and their cronies” abroad. The couple was tried for corruption by the Sharif government and was sentenced in April 1999 to prison terms, confiscation of property and fined $ 8.5 million. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of Pakistan is investigating about 600 people to prepare references for their trial under corruption laws, according to NAB sources. A NAB official said: “The ongoing investigations may lead to more than 1000 corruption references as there is a possibility of more than one case against one person.” The corruption references will be filed before the accountability courts for trial of the accused under National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is said to be non-committal on accepting General Pervez Musharraf as President. “We will take a stand after consultation with our party colleagues if Musharraf announces that he wants to become President,” its Chairman, Raja Zafarul Haq told, The News. When it was pointed out that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has declared that she can accept Musharraf as President, he said that she takes such decisions without consulting her party colleagues. “So she can make such announcements.”
DPA, ANI |
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Troops storm
hideout, save hostage Zamboanga (Philippines), April 12 The 25-year-old from Oakland, California, was unhurt except for a few bruises, officials said. Villanueva said Schilling was rescued by marines around 2 p.m. (6 a.m. GMT) after a gunbattle with the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who held him on the nearby island of Jolo, about 960 km south of Manila, since August 28. “The operation (against Abu Sayyaf) continues. We will continue the operation until we eliminate them all,” he added. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told local radio that the rebels suffered heavy casualties. The rescue of Schilling occurred 10 days after Arroyo ordered an “all-out war” against the Abu Sayyaf. Asked if the offensive would continue, she said: “This is a fight to the finish. If they value their lives, they should surrender.” Arroyo’s order was prompted by the rebels’ warning that they would behead Schilling on her birthday, April 5, unless Manila agreed to their demands that they be allowed to negotiate with Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to this country. Schilling was one of more than 40 foreign and Filipino hostages seized by the Abu Sayyaf from two neighbouring Malaysian tourist resorts and from Jolo last year. All have now been released, most of them after payment of huge ransoms, except for the Filipino Roland Ullah. Some escaped while others, like Schilling, were rescued.
Reuters |
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Bush, Putin to meet in Italy
Paris, April 12 In a show of unity after the second meeting between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov here, the two countries issued a joint statement of deep concern at the escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence. “Russia and the USA call on both sides to take parallel and reciprocal steps to reduce the violence, calm the situation and create an environment in which both sides can find a way forward,” the statement said. The breakfast talks also touched on US concerns over Russian arms sales to Iran, Moscow’s opposition to US plans to build a national nuclear missile defence shield and the Russian military campaign in Chechnya. “With today’s talks, we again demonstrated that we are ready to and interested in turning the page and building our bilateral relations in the most constructive spirit,” Mr Ivanov told a news conference after the meeting. A decision by Bush to downgrade relations with Russia since he entered the White House in January has left Moscow smarting. Relations have also been strained by the espionage scandal, a Cold War-like row which resulted in each side ordering out 50 diplomats after the arrest of a FBI agent on suspicion of spying for Moscow. “We’ve moved on from that,” Mr Powell said when asked whether the relationship had recovered from the dispute. Mr Bush has so far spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin only by telephone, but Mr Powell said both men intended to meet before the Group of Eight summit due to take place from July 20 to 22 in the Italian port city of Genoa. “Both presidents are anxious to see this meeting take place as soon as possible, but no later than the Genoa summit,” he said. He also said Mr Ivanov would visit Washington soon, possibly in May, to resume their discussions in more detail. Powell had previously met Ivanov for a “get-to-know-you” session in Cairo. Mr Ivanov said he had been informed of the concern in US public opinion about Russia’s military campaign in Chechnya, but he said “Russian openness” would help the USA and other countries understand the steps Moscow was taking to resolve the conflict in the north Caucasus region. Reuters |
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Infected ice poisons 1800 Hanoi, April 12 Since April 5 at least 1,800 people in Dong Nai province next to Ho Chi Minh city have fallen ill with diarrhoea, fever, stomach ache, dizziness and vomiting, Saigon Times daily reported. Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Director of the Province’s disease prevention centre, said the “diarrhoea epidemic” was caused by contaminated water used in ice produced by two local facilities. Health officials said the private icemakers “failed to meet hygiene standards,” Vietnam News said. Salmonella and E. Coli bacteria have been detected in ice samples taken from some of ten local firms where several employees were stricken, Nghia said. The bacteria are more often found in foods such as undercooked meat, and some health officials did not rule out the possibility of infected food eaten by victims, the daily reported.
DPA |
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