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Monday,
September 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Palestine for Indian role in peace efforts Ganesh festival starts amidst tight security Recent violence can’t derail peace process,
says Mufti |
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Rise in use of forest land for
non-forestry purposes Jogi dents BJP, NCP confidence |
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INLD to
contest Assembly poll in Rajasthan Copter
to ferry PM from house to airport SIMI plotting to target oil installations Ayodhya case about title of land: cleric Normalcy returns to Daman
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Palestine for Indian role in peace efforts New Delhi, August 31 This statement comes just a few days before the first ever visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to New Delhi. Israel’s Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, begins his visit to India in just over 10 days time where the relations between the two countries specially in the field of defence and counter-terrorism, are expected to reach a new height. Winding up his three-day visit to India, the Palestinian Foreign Minister said “Indian leaders, including the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, have assured me of unwaivering support for ending Israeli settlements on our territory”. The Indian support for Palestine comes as part of its foreign policy where New Delhi has made it clear that its relationship with one country should not be viewed in context with its relationship with the other and similarly between those two countries. Palestine came out strongly in favour of India getting a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. He pointed out that India was a key player in the world today and should get a permanent place on the UN Security Council. He said India could also play a role in bringing about peace between Palestine and Israel. “India can play a role since it is a global player.” During his three-day visit, Mr Shaath had meetings with Mr Vajpayee, the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Vinod Khanna, (since External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha is out of the country), the National Security Adviser, Mr Brijesh Mishra, and senior officials of the External Affairs Ministry. Mr Shaath was here on the invitation of the Prime Minister. Incidentally, Mr Shaath said his visit to India before the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister was significant as the Indian leadership wanted to hear the Palestinians before their talks with Mr Sharon. He said Mr Vajpayee would get back to the Palestinians after Mr Sharon concludes his visit here. “Either he will speak to President Yassar Arafat or me,” he said. When asked whether the Indian leadership had told him what exactly they would tell Mr Sharon, the Palestinian Foreign Minister said, “I cannot suggest what Mr Vajpayee ought to be doing. We would only like to assure Mr Sharon that we are dedicated to peace”. To a specific question that whether India was right in welcoming Mr Sharon when he was not very popular even among some of the western capitals, the Palestine Foreign Minister said every sovereign country had a right to establish relationship with another sovereign nation. “Many of our friends like Egypt and Jordan also have relationship with Israel. We only tell them to prevail upon Mr Sharon to bring peace to the region as per the roadmap sponsored by the USA, EU, Russia and the UN,” he said. Mr Shaath said it was not the USA or any other country who could ask for the removal of President Arafat, “People of Palestine elected him and he is willing to face elections again,” he said. The Palestinian Foreign Minister, while condemning the recent blasts in Mumbai, said Palestine was against the generalised form of terrorism. Asked how he would make a distinction between terrorists and those fighting for their land, Mr Shaath said: “We condemn the terrorist attacks out of ideology like the ones in New York and Mumbai. However, while defining terrorism, the human rights violation by the state machinery should not be overlooked, he added. While Mr Shaath made no mention of Kashmir, the Palestine Ambassador to India, Mr Osama Musa, said Kashmir and Palestine could not be compared. “There are no settlements in Kashmir. India and Pakistan can solve the issue bilaterally. But there are settlements in our territory”, he said. He pointed out that while the US President, Mr George Bush was serious about establishing peace in the West Asia, he was not able to push through the roadmap which meant independent Palestine with an end to the Israeli occupation. The peace in the region was also related to the overall stability of West Asia, including Iraq. The Palestinians, he said, have no illusion about defeating Israel militarily, but Israel also could not defeat them. |
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Ganesh festival starts amidst tight security Mumbai, August 31 Devotees transported idols of Lord Ganesh to install them at home and pandals in different parts of Mumbai. “There are more than 3,500 pandals of different sizes across Mumbai,” a Maharashtra State Home Department official said. Security is tight with the Mumbai police asking local police stations to stay in contact with Ganpati festival organisers throughout the 10-day festival as a precautionary measure. A few big pandals like the Akshardham temple replica in the textile mill heartland of Lalbaug in central Mumbai and the pandal at Tilak Nagar in Chembur have been given special security. Police officials say, the organisers of the Ganesh festival at Tilak Nagar are being investigated for their links with mobster Chotta Rajan. Nearly 35,000 police and security personnel kept watch from helicopters, streets and the sea. Special squads of the Rapid Action Force and paramilitary forces were requisitioned as a precautionary measure, the police said. The police have asked each pandal to rope in between 15 and 20 volunteers to maintain round-the-clock vigils to prevent possible terrorist attacks. They have been instructed to identify vehicles that did not belong to the area. Suspected vehicles would be towed away immediately, the police said. Also under the scanner are offerings of sweets and garlands which must now be carried on a plate and not in bags. The police says the first day when idols of Ganpati are installed and the third, seventh and 10th days when the idols are immersed are “sensitive” since large crowds congregate on these days. Despite the threat of terror attacks that claimed 52 lives and caused injuries to nearly 200 others on Monday, the celebrations are going on in full swing in India’s financial capital. Most of the craftsmen camp in different parts of the city through the summer to complete orders for idols in the last week of August and early September annually. Their crude workshops are covered with tarpaulin sheets and work goes on despite heavy downpour. “During the few days before the festival we work non-stop,” says Chintaman Bonde, an artisan. However, it is the bigger idols that are attracting all the attention. Installed by community organisers, the marquees offer social and political comment, a throwback to the days when Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak had organised the first Ganpati celebrations to mobilise support against the British. |
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Recent violence can’t derail peace process, Kolkata, August 31 “There have been lot of incidents since April. These incidents do not generate a favourable atmosphere in our bid to take the state along the roadmap of peace. These disturbances must stop,” he said addressing a meet-the-press programme here. “But at the same time I’ll say that inspite of these incidents, the process must go on,” he said. “People in Kashmir want peace with dignity. They realise that the roar of the gun has destroyed the state’s cultural heritage. So, now there has been a sea change in the situation,” Mufti Sayeed said. “For the external dimension of the problem, the Centre has to talk to Pakistan. The Prime Minister has already extended the hand of friendship to our neighbour. To tackle the internal dimension, the Centre has appointed Mr N.N. Vohra as the interlocutor,” he said. Meanwhile, veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu said today that the Kashmir problem could be solved to a large extent if more autonomy be given to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Basu said this after a meeting with Mufti Sayeed who called on him at his Salt Lake residence this evening. During half-an-hour talks both leaders exchanged views on the Kashmir problems and the ongoing extremists activities in the valley. |
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Rise in use of forest land for
non-forestry purposes Dehra Dun, August 31 According to sources in the Forest Ministry, against an average annual clearance of 350 cases of diversion of forest land for general use a few years ago, the number has increased to 920 cases a year now. “There cannot be any development in a state like Uttaranchal where nearly 65 per cent of the total land mass available is under forest cover,” says Mr Nav Prabhat, Minister of Environment, Forests and Urban Development of the state, revealing that the “quicker clearance of cases pertaining to the diversion of forest land for general use is helping in infrastructure development.” Of 1,512 proposals sent by the Uttaranchal Government or the previous Uttar Pradesh Government for diversion of 2768.2610 hectares of forest land between 1980 and 2003, as many as 752 cases were cleared between 1999 and 2003. Under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the states and the union territories are required to get prior sanction of the Union Government before any land under forest or tree cover can be used for general purposes. The sources in the ministry reveal that though 30,000 sq km of land has been brought under forest and tree cover after the 1980 forest policy was announced, a lot needs to be done to come anywhere near the world average of 0.64 hectares of tree coverage per person against the Indian average of 0.06 hectare per capita tree coverage. Interestingly, while all three proposals of the Delhi Government have been cleared during the 1999-2003 period, Chandigarh, too, got a fair deal as 12 of 14 cases sent by it for the diversion of forest land for general use have been cleared. For Punjab, the success rate was not that good. Of 561 cases it sent to the ministry for clearance, only 326 have been cleared thus allowing the state to divert 3678.6910 hectares of forest land for infrastructure development. In the case of Haryana, only 142 of 353 cases have been given clearance by the ministry. Himachal Pradesh, too, got a limited success in persuading the Union Ministry for the diversion of forest land. Of 9760.7169 hectares it wanted to be diverted in 557 cases, the Union Government has approved only 201 cases covering 1691.7140 hectares of land. Between 1999-2003, state the official figures, only 33.05 per cent land sought to be diverted from forestry to non-forestry sector was given clearance. |
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Jogi dents BJP, NCP confidence Raipur, August 31 Though the top leaders of both Congress and the BJP are in an election mode, the people of the state are taking it easy. With nearly three months to go for the poll, there is no perceptible wave and most of the people say that the contest is equally poised between the ruling Congress and the BJP. Recent defections from the Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) into the Congress has affected the morale of the NCP workers. The Chief Minister, Mr Ajit Jogi has managed to dent his rivals’ confidence through defections. First it was the BJP which lost about 12 MLAs to the Congress and now it is the turn of the
NCP. Ten state NCP leaders, including a working president and the general secretary, have joined the Congress in the past two months. The biggest handicap of the BJP, which seems to be benefitting from the anti-incumbency factor, is the absence of a tall state leader who can marshal the party’s resources to take on a well-entrenched Mr Jogi. Traders are unhappy with Mr Jogi and there is a feeling that politics in the state has taken a turn for the worse. "There is a politics of fear," says Mr Sunil
Dakate, a resident of Devpuri village near Raipur. Development is the main poll plank of the Jogi’s government, with the state government having put up hoardings of its achievements of the past two years across the main highways in the state. |
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INLD to contest Assembly poll in Rajasthan Bharatpur, August 31 Addressing a public rally here, the Haryana Chief Minister and INLD chief, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said the party would contest the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state to provide an alternative to the people of the state. He said farmers had been in the forefront of the agitations in the state but had been deprived of the opportunity to lead Rajasthan. Drawing a comparison between Haryana and Rajasthan, he said the INLD had provided ample opportunities for the Haryana farmers to progress and prosper. Mr Chautala said the party was ready to forge an alliance with any party except the Congress. He said the Congress had been pursuing anti-farmer polices. The sitting BJP MP, Raja Vishvendra Singh, announced that he would extend all-possible support to the INLD in the constituency. His wife Divya Singh, a former MP, joined the INLD. Raja Vishvendra Singh is a direct descendent of Raja Surajmal, lone Jat ruler of the region. The INLD had been planning expand its base outside Haryana. It planned to concentrate in those areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where the Jat population had a dominant presence. Of the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, Jat community held sway in about 60 Assembly segments. The INLD, in its earlier attempt, had won few seats in the state in alliance with the BJP. |
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Copter to ferry PM from house to airport New Delhi, August 31 A helipad has been specially laid out close to the Prime Minister’s 7, Race Course Road residence to allow helicopters to land and take off. Sources told UNI that Mr Vajpayee had already taken a test flight. A helicopter will be stationed at the helipad round the clock for his travel requirements. The helicopter service will be managed by the Indian Air Force. The Prime Minister, at present, uses the road route to the airport which, besides causing regular traffic disruptions and stoppages also results in diversion of Delhi Police’s attention from other law-and-order duties. The decision to introduce a helicopter service for the Prime Minister was also taken in view of the repeated incidents of security breach in the capital. The proposal had been pending for long, but the helipad was constructed only after the Prime Minister’s Office, the Special Security Guard (SPG), responsible for his security, and other security and intelligence agencies cleared it. There was also the problem of finding out the right spot for the helipad, without compromising the space requirements for the Prime Minister’s house. Now, the traffic for the Prime Minister will be stopped only during his visits in and around Delhi. Among others for whom traffic restrictions are imposed and special security arrangements made are- the President Mr A P J Abdul Kalam, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L K Advani, and the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi. Security agencies have to ensure that all shops along the route on which the VVIP’s motorcade moves are closed, buildings are manually checked for the presence of unidentified objects and suspicious persons. A similar proposal had also been mooted for the President and the Deputy Prime Minister, but no decision has been taken as yet. However, if Mr Vajpayee’s helicopter service comes in handy for his security, the proposal for Mr Advani may also be considered favourably in the future. President Kalam, during his recent visit to Noida had travelled by a helicopter from the Safdarjung airport to the venue spot. Discussions are now about a helipad inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The proposal for a helicopter for the Prime Minister’s use was first mooted in 1994. —
UNI |
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SIMI plotting to target oil installations New Delhi, August 31 The good news first: SIMI is no longer as potent a force as it used to be some years ago. The bad news: along with Lashkar-e-Toiba, SIMI, at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is plotting to blow up oil installations and telephone exchanges. And the target is Gujarat, which witnessed the worst of the communal violence last year. Top official sources here told The Tribune this evening that SIMI, known as the “fifth column of the ISI”, is not a hidden army of mercenaries with gigantic proportions. “SIMI is not a mercenary force or a battle-trained force which is trying to become a liberation army. It is a militant revivalist outfit that wishes to upset the established order of the country with force, if need be,” sources said. SIMI, set up on August 25, 1977, as an offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami-e-Hind, has been trying to work on the feelings of angst, anger, annoyance and revenge among the minorities. SIMI attempts to utilise its members — who are not more than 4,000 at present, according to sources — in the propagation of Islam and also to mobilise “jehad”. The objective is to establish a Shariat-based Islamic rule through “Islami Inquilab”. SIMI is against Hinduism, Western beliefs and ideals. Besides, the Jamaat-e-Islami chapters of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, SIMI has close connections with the World Assembly of Musilm Youth (WAMY), Riyadh , and the International Islamic Federation of Students Organisation, Kuwait. Sources said SIMI did not have a huge underground network and its cadres were mainly “one time errand boys of ISI.” “It lionises Osama bin Laden as an Islamist hero,” an official said. |
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Ayodhya case about title of land: cleric New Delhi, August 31 The president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)’s statement sought to counter reports that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had found the remains of a tenth century Hindu temple during excavation at the disputed site at Ayodhya. The Maulana said the leaders of both communities would have to work hard to convince their followers to accept the verdict. Pointing out that the AIMPLB had repeatedly said it would abide by the Supreme Court verdict on the issue, the Maulana said at a press conference here that they would also strive to convince other Muslim organisations as well as the entire community to follow suit. “Similarly, Hindu leaders should work to ensure that the verdict is accepted by all of them,” he said, adding that the task would indeed be ‘very difficult.’ Reiterating that the AIMPLB was always ready for discussion, Maulana Nadvi said no purpose would be served in holding further talks to solve the Ayodhya issue since the matter was already before the courts to decide. He said there had been no contact with the Puri Shankracharya or any other Hindu religious leader, in any form, ever since an abortive end to the Hindu seer’s efforts to mediate in the Ayodhya crisis. Calling the final report of the ASI “baseless, vague and misleading,” he said they would contest it in court. “Our observers present on the site saw no trace of any articles, which can prove the existence of a temple,” he said, terming the conclusions of the final ASI report ‘self-contradictory’. “There are many discrepancies between the interim report of the ASI and the final report,” the Maulana said. —
UNI |
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Normalcy returns to Daman Surat, August 31 People were protesting against the Daman Ganga bridge collapse holding the administration responsible for the accident in which many schoolchildren had died. However, no untoward incident was reported from any part of the union territory for the past 36 hours, police said. The police has registered a criminal complaint against officials of the Public Works Department for their alleged failure to maintain the bridge. The case was registered under Sections 337, 338, 304 of the IPC and Section 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, police sources said. —
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