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Thursday,
January 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Chinese President for peace in S. Asia Lift ban before talks: LTTE US Sikhs hold anti-war protest
Pervez may advance poll Divide Kashmir along LoC:
MQM |
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2 more held for Masood killing Walker knew of Sept 11
attacks 19 die as cops clash with Marines
PFLP chief held for minister’s killing
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Chinese President for peace in S. Asia Beijing, January 16 “China sincerely hopes that South Asia will maintain peace and stability and score a rapid and sound economic development,” Jiang, who is also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China and Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) said. “South Asia is an important part of Asia and there could be no peace and prosperity in the whole Asia without the stability and development in South Asia,” Xinhua quoted Jiang as telling the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan, General Muhammad Aziz Khan here during a meeting. Jiang and Aziz had an hour-long exchange of views on the military stand-off between India and Pakistan and on the anti-terrorism issue, sources said. The Chinese President is understood to have assured Aziz that China fully supported Pakistan’s efforts to resolve its differences with India including the issue of Kashmir through dialogue and peaceful means, sources said. According to Pakistan’s APP news agency, Jiang particularly lauded Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s speech of January 12, and hoped the measures taken by him would help reduce tension in the region and combat extremism.
PTI |
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Lift ban before talks: LTTE Mallavi (Sri Lanka), January 16 The LTTE said they would enter the talks only as a “legitimate” organisation and also demanded the government ensure that minority Tamils in rebel-held areas in the north had equal living conditions with others living on the island. The LTTE’s political wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvan, told reporters here that it was up to the new government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to remove the ban on the Tigers as the Norwegian Government pushes ahead with moves to arrange talks between the two sides. It is the first time the LTTE has explicitly demanded that the ban should be lifted ahead of possible peace negotiations. The LTTE also urged India to review its stand against providing a venue in its south for possible talks with Colombo. “Legitimacy is the most important thing to be a partner in any negotiations, and therefore, lifting of the ban is a must,” Mr Tthamilselvan, told reporters. The Tamil Tigers have urged India to play greater role in the Norway-brokered peace talks. He said India as a “good neighbour” should be concerned about the plight of the 2.5-million-strong minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka. “If after decades of fighting, the government of Sri Lanka and LTTE can from time to time decide to have talks, there is nothing wrong in India reviewing its stand,” he said. India has not responded to earlier LTTE feelers to provide a base for its chief ideologue, Anton Balasingham while talks are held with the Sri Lankan Government. The LTTE said Balasingham, who is currently based in London and is suffering from acute kidney problems, should be closer to Sri Lanka so he can have frequent contacts with Tigers based here. Mr Thamilselvan said the LTTE’s battle against Indian troops between 1987 and 1990 should not be a stumbling block for New Delhi to get involved in the peace process. It was the same demand for pre-talks de-proscription that led to the collapse of the Norway-backed peace process last year, after the then Government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, rejected it. Another demand he raised was that living conditions of Tamils had to be improved and brought on a par with others in the island before any talks. The LTTE was banned by Sri Lanka in 1998 after it blasted the Temple of the Tooth relic at Kandy, considered the holiest buddist shrine. Meanwhile, Norwegian peace brokers have asked Sri Lanka and the LTTE to extend their temporary one-month truce to give time to them to hammer out a permanent ceasefire mechanism ahead of prospective direct talks. The existing ceasefire observed by both sides was due to expire on January 24. The Norwegians continued their efforts to formalise a mutually acceptable and formal truce by meeting LTTE political advisor Anton Balasingham in London yesterday, a pro-rebel website TamilNet.Com said. As the process might take time, they wanted the two sides to extend their ongoing cessation of hostilities. The LTTE was due to give its response shortly after internal deliberations, the report said.
AFP |
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US Sikhs hold anti-war protest New York, January 16 The Sikh Youth in the USA and some gurdwara managements, representing one million Sikhs in North America, organised the anti-war protest in Manhattan
yesterday. About 200 Sikh men, women and children held placards and denounced the war hysteria between India and Pakistan. Local journalist Amarjit Singh, also a spokesperson for the Sikh Youth of America, told IANS that “there was growing concern among Sikhs all over the world that any future war between India and Pakistan was likely to escalate into a nuclear war, which will bring widespread death and destruction to Punjab.” He said of a global population of about 23 million Sikhs, about 17 million reside in Punjab and a future war would create havoc for the community. He added, “Not only this, the war may cause damage to our sacred historical gurdwaras located in Indian and Pakistan, which should be avoided at any cost.”
IANS |
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Maoists attack jail, free 30 inmates Kathmandu, January 16 A group of Maoists attacked the prison and helped free 30 inmates, mostly rebels early morning, a Home Ministry source said, adding that the rebels dug a 30 ft long tunnel at the rear compound of the prison. The group attacked the prison with guns and kept the security personnel guarding it occupied by exchanging fire for an hour-and-a- half as other rebels helped the 30 inmates escape, he said. Additional police forces have been sent and a search has been launched by the Nepalese police for those who escaped from the jail. Meanwhile, in another incident, Maoist rebels killed a Nepali Congress worker in Dangdeukhuri district yesterday. They attacked the regional president of the party, Mr Shrinivas Chaudhari, at his residence, the sources said. Also, four terrorists were killed during encounters in Sarlahi and Gorkha districts, reports in the daily ‘Kathmandu Post’ said. Two rebels were killed in the Piparia Village Development Committee (VDC) area of Sarlahi distrct, while attempting to flee from security detention yesterday. Two more were killed in Gorkha district during a clash with security forces.
PTI |
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Pervez may advance poll Washington, January 16 Unless the current military tension with India turns into a conflict the President might announce an election date as early as July or August, the paper quoted unnamed officials as saying. An early poll would allow him to capitalise on his perceived support at home and the backing he has secured from western governments since he agreed to help America’s war in Afghanistan. Although Musharraf will not stand for election himself he needs either a national referendum or a vote in Parliament to endorse his coup and his position as President.
ANI |
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Divide Kashmir along LoC: MQM London, January 16 “It’s better to swallow the bitter pill now than to further destroy the country (Pakistan),” Altaf Hussain said from his party head office in London. The 742-km-long LoC, the de facto ceasefire line, divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Senior MQM leaders claim there is massive support for such a solution among the Mohajirs, Sindhis and Baluchis, minority ethnic groups in Pakistan. The MQM represents about 22 million Mohajirs. Hussain, who is due to visit India for the first time later this year, has offered his services for resolving the crisis. “Violence and terrorism have failed in resolving the Kashmir issue for the past 54 years, and they will not resolve it in the next 54 years,” he said. He said the LoC “could possibly be considered a permanent solution to the long-standing issue of Kashmir.”
IANS |
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2 more held for Masood killing Paris, January 16 The sources said Abderammane Ameuroude, an Algerian, and Mehrez Azouz, a Franco-Tunisian, were arrested here on Monday and held for questioning at the headquarters of the DST secret service. If sufficient evidence is found against them, they will face anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere for questioning by Friday. The arrests follow the detention of 12 Tunisians and Moroccans in France and Belgium in November on suspicion of organising the attack which killed Masood, the former head of the Northern Alliance.
Reuters |
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Walker knew of Sept 11 attacks Washington, January 16 Walker, the 20-year-old Californian who joined Taliban fighters in Afghanistan last year, met Bin Laden several times while at a training camp for Al-Qaida fighters where he learned to use explosives and a variety of weapons. In a criminal complaint filed yesterday, charging Walker with aiding a terror group and conspiracy to kill Americans, the US Justice Department gave the most detailed version of Walker’s alleged links to Bin Laden and his Al-Qaida network. The complaint, based on interviews with Walker after he was captured in Afghanistan in December, spells out a trajectory that began when the American converted to Islam in 1997. It said that Walker stayed with Al-Qaida despite knowing that Bin Laden had ordered the attacks that killed thousands of people. He even expected additional attacks to follow. Walker’s fighting training began in Pakistan last May, the complaint said, when he joined a paramilitary training camp run by the Harkat-ul-Mujahidin. Following the training course, Walker was offered a choice of further training in Pakistan or fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. He chose the Taliban, according to the US criminal complaint, and in late May reported to a recruiting centre in Kabul where he “told them that he was a Muslim who wanted to go to the frontlines to fight.” Because of his lack of language skills, Walker was assigned to Bin Laden’s Al-Qaida group and ordered to attend the Al-Farooq Al-Qaida training camp, according to the complaint. And at that training camp, Walker apparently learnt of possible attacks on the USA.
Reuters |
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19 die as cops clash with Marines Jolo, Philippines, January 16 “We could not determine what triggered the firefight,” Major-Gen Glicerio Sua told reporters. He said an altercation began after a Marine, in civilian clothing, was mobbed during a rally in front of the town hall of Jolo town demanding the release of Muslim rebel chief Nur Misuari. Other Marines came to their comrade’s rescue and somehow the police on duty at the rally became involved. Both sides opened fire from their automatic weapons and at least nine Marines, three policemen, three civilians and one soldier were killed, he said. Witnesses in Jolo, 950 km south of Manila, said at least 17 people were wounded in the cross-fire and in a stampede. They said hundreds of people were at the rally demanding the release of Misuari, who was deported from Malaysia to the Philippines last week. They stampeded after the Marines opened fire, the witnesses said. Misuari was arrested for illegal entry by Malaysian authorities after an abortive uprising on Jolo and in Zamboanga by his supporters last November. Jolo is Misuari’s hometown and hundreds of his followers are holed up in the interior hills.
Reuters |
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PFLP chief held for minister’s killing Ramallah (West Bank), January 16 The move yesterday came just hours after gunmen shot and killed two Israelis in the West Bank. The detention of Ahmed Saadat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), appeared to be aimed at calming the situation. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the October assassination of Israeli Cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi.
AP |
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