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Sunday,
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12, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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Iran’s Ebadi thorn in side of hardliners Kashmir figures at OIC meeting British MPs find evidence of Pak involvement in terror India-Thai ties enter new chapter, says Thaksin |
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Iran’s Ebadi thorn in side of hardliners IRAN’S first woman judge before the 1979 Islamic revolution, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi’s work as a human rights activist has landed her in jail and seen her branded a threat to the Islamic system. A vocal campaigner for women’s and children’s rights, Ebadi (56) has acted as defence lawyer for a wide range of political activists, earning a reputation for taking on cases others were too afraid to touch. “It’s not easy to be a woman today in Iran because they have laws that are against the rights of women,” she told a news conference in Paris yesterday. “This prize gives me the energy to continue my fight.” The country’s first woman judge, Ebadi was prevented from continuing in that role after the Islamic revolution when Sharia law was enforced. Women were too emotional and irrational to pass judgement in the courtroom, Iran’s new leaders said. A lawyer, writer and part-time lecturer at Tehran University, Ebadi has spent much of her time since the revolution campaigning for better rights for women and children in her native country. She argued passionately that Sharia law could be adapted to modern times without undermining Islam. “There is no contradiction between Islam and human rights,” she said. “If a country abuses human rights in the name of Islam then it is not the fault of Islam. Ebadi found herself on the wrong side of the law in 2000, when she was accused of disseminating a politically-explosive videotape of a violent Islamic vigilante group member who confessed to links with conservative politicians in Iran. That incident landed Ebadi in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison where scores of political dissidents are held. She was also banned from practicing law for five years. In solitary confinement, she wrote: Angrily I am trying to write on the cement wall with the bottom of my spoon that we are born to suffer because we are born in the Third World. Time and place are imposed upon us. So let’s be patient as there is no other choice. Among her books translated into English are ‘The Rights of the Child’. on children’s rights in Iran and ‘History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran.’ She is also a co-editor of the forthcoming book ‘Democracy, Human Rights and Islam in Modern Iran’. “I’m shocked, because I didn’t imagine that I would win,” Ebadi told Norway’s NRK public television by the telephone from Paris. “It’s very good for me, very good for human rights in Iran, good for democracy in Iran and especially children’s rights in Iran,” she said. Reaction in Iran reflected the split between President Mohammad Khatami’s reformist government and powerful hardliners, and state media made no immediate mention of Ebadi’s prize. “This prize carries the message that Europe intends to put further pressure on human rights issues in Iran as a political move to achieve its particular objectives,” Amir Mohebian, an editor of the hardline Resalat newspaper, told Reuters. But Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a leading reformist figure, told Reuters the announcement was “very good news for every Iranian” and a sign of the active role played by Iranian women in politics. Nobel watchers say that the five-member committee, which includes three women, probably chose Ebadi as a way of promoting change in a nation once branded part of an “axis of evil” by U.S. President George W. Bush with pre-war Iraq and North Korea. By contrast, a prize to the ailing Pope or to Havel could have been seen as too backward-looking when Alfred Nobel, the Swedish founder of the awards, once said he wanted to inspire the future work of “dreamers”. Analysts say the committee has sought to promote moderates in the Muslim world since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the USA to avoid stirring conflicts between Christians and Muslims after US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “She sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights,” the committee said. “Her principal arena is the struggle for basic human rights, and no society deserves to be labelled civilised unless the rights of women and children are respected,” it said. “In an era of violence, she has consistently supported non-violence,” it added. Many researchers say that Pope’s opposition to birth control, pre-marital sex, homosexuality and female priests seemed intolerant to many people, especially women, in Norway despite a 25-year-reign devoted to peace and reconciliation. The last women to win the prize were Jody Williams, the coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997, Guatemalan human rights leader Rigoberta Menchu in 1992 and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991. (Additional reporting by Inger Sethov, John Acher, Terje Solsvik in Oslo; Douglas Busvine in Warsaw; Paul Hughes, Parinoosh Arami, Parisa Hafezi in Tehran). |
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Kashmir figures at OIC meeting Putrajaya (Malaysia), October 11 In his opening speech to the preparatory meeting of the 57-member body’s 10th Summit, its Secretary-General Abdelouahed Belkeziz enumerated the “challenges” facing the Islamic religion worldwide, namely terrorism, globalisation, human rights and the campaigns against Islam and Muslims and said these required OIC’s attention. “Others include the situation in Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir, situation of Muslims in Azerbaijan, Philippines and Somalia as well as the economic situation in the Islamic world in many others,” he added. Meanwhile, Pakistan will press OIC members to renew resolutions on Kashmir calling on India to resume dialogue on the disputed territory. “We will raise the Kashmir issue in the meeting here,” Pakistan foreign office spokesman Masood Khan said. Pakistan will seek to reiterate the demand that the “right of self-determination” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be realised and that “repression and human rights violations” in Jammu and Kashmir should come to an end. And India should be persuaded to resume dialogue with Pakistan, Mr Khan said. The discussion on the Kashmir issue is already on the agenda, said Mr Khan, adding that the OIC contact group on Kashmir would discuss the matter. — PTI |
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British MPs find evidence of Pak involvement in terror London, October 11 “We also saw for ourselves the compelling evidence of Pakistani involvement in cross-border terrorism,” Peter Luff MP, Chairman of the CPFI said in a statement here. Echoing India’s sentiments, Mr Luff said “The international community can not expect India to discuss the future of Kashmir as long as terrorism persists.” He said the population of Jammu and Kashmir is paying a heavy price for the militancy. “Only when the terror ends can proper discussions begin,” he said. Expressing its gratitude to Pakistan for what they are doing on many fronts in the war against international terrorism, Mr Luff said: “They must be encouraged to show the same determination to tackle terror in Kashmir.” He described the group’s first official visit India as “highly successful”. During the 10-day tour the group visited Mumbai, Jammu, Srinagar and Delhi. They were briefed by leading members of the business community on the success of the Indian economy. They met, among others, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. “We were all deeply impressed by the success of the Indian economy. The Confederation of Indian Industry explained to us the growing importance of the country in the world and the need for British businesses to invest in India and to expand their trade with their dynamic economy.” — PTI |
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India-Thai ties enter new chapter, says Thaksin
Bangkok, October 11 Mr Thaksin, in his weekly radio address, said Thailand had for a long time tried to negotiate for more seats (aviation deal) to India, but was not successful. “Thailand has spent 15 years trying to negotiate to increase 3,000 seats per month flying from Thailand and India but they failed. Now India has opened up four cities for daily flights and 18 other cities on top of that with no limits,” Mr Thaksin said. During Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit the two countries signed an “open skies” policy. Thailand has also reciprocated by allowing Indian carriers to fly to the northern city of Chiang Mai and the southern resort island of Phuket. Mr Vajpayee leaves for India tomorrow after a highly successful visit to Thailand and Bali where he attended the ASEAN summit. Meanwhile, India and Thailand trade prospects received a boost with Thai deputy premier Korn Dabaransi declaring that within 14 months the two-way trade between India and Thailand would double to $ 2.1 billion. He, like Mr Thaksin, was confident that the FTA would maximise “our strength and enhance ties between the two countries.” Eightyfour items have been identified under an Early Harvest Package of the FTA programme. Chiang Mai: Mr Vajpayee arrived here on Saturday on a two-day visit from Bangkok and will meet Mr Shinawatara at his residence. Mr Vajpayee was accorded a red-carpet welcome at the airport as Thai dancers gave a performance in his honour. Chiang Mai is the hometown of Shinawatara. The Thai Prime Minister had flown in a separate aircraft in advance to receive Mr Vajpayee.
— PTI |
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10 killed in factory blast Beijing, October 11 |
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