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| Tuesday, July 25, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Arafat seeks Egypt’s support in talks CAIRO, July 24 — Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has asked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for support and accused Israel of intransigence at the Camp David peace talks, a newspaper reported today.
Rabuka may be interim Fiji PM |
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Asean ‘must act
or be ignored’ BANGKOK, July 24 — South-East Asian Foreign Ministers began a two-day meeting today, warning their bloc risked being marginalised unless it acted swiftly on key issues like economic reform and drug trafficking. Sharif’s treatment
‘worries USA’ US website refuses FBI request New UN offensive in S. Leone Bollywood stars fan frenzy |
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Arafat seeks Egypt’s support in talks CAIRO, July 24 (Reuters) — Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has asked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for support and accused Israel of intransigence at the Camp David peace talks, a newspaper reported today. “The summit and our previous efforts have clashed with extremist and tough positions from the Government of Israel and the policy of Israeli stubbornness,’’ Mr Arafat said in a telegram congratulating Mr Mubarak on the 48th anniversary of Egypt’s 1952 revolution, published in the daily Al-Gomhuria. “Therefore, we look to you and sister Egypt to support our negotiating positions.’’ “We came to Camp David with our sights set on realising comprehensive and fair peace that guarantees for our nation and our Palestinian people their rights on their land and holy places,’’ the paper quoted Mr Arafat as saying. He praised Mr Mubarak, a major Arab ally, for defending Palestinians’ right of return, of self-determination, and right to establish a state with Jerusalem as its capital.’’ Talks at Camp David, entering their 14th day, were expected to intensify after a three-day absence by US President Bill Clinton. Palestinian officials said yesterday Arafat’s unwavering determination to end 33 years of Israeli occupation of Arab east Jerusalem was strengthened by a flurry of political activity in West Asia by some Arab leaders. Mr Mubarak made a surprise trip to Saudi Arabia yesterday for talks on the Camp David summit with King Fahd and crown Prince Abdullah. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his Jordanian counterpart Abdulilah al-Khatib said after talks in Egypt on Saturday that East Jerusalem was on occupied Palestinian land that should be returned in accordance with United Nations resolutions. JERUSALEM (AFP): Israel raised hopes on Monday of a compromise over Jerusalem, the main sticking point at the Camp David peace summit, and said the next 48 hours will be crucial in determining the success of failure of the talks. “We are going to find a creative compromise on Jerusalem. The two sides have enough imagination to reach one,” Israel’s Justice Minister Yossi Beilin told the Army Radio. “Israeli-Palestinian positions have reached such a point that
none would forgive a failure at Camp David,” he added. THURMONT (Maryland) (AP): Hurrying back from an abbreviated trip to Asia, US President Bill Clinton rejoined troubled Middle East talks at Camp David saying “I’m keeping my fingers crossed” for a peace deal. Mr Clinton arrived on Sunday by helicopter at the presidential retreat, where aides said his first order of business would be to meet with his own negotiating team and then assess the state of the summit. Boarding the chopper at the White House after his flight home from Japan, he crossed his fingers and told reporters that he was keeping them crossed. Israeli spokesman Gadi Baltiansky suggested the Palestinians would need to make concessions to move matters forward. With Mr Clinton’s return, he said, “We will try to see if there are grounds for continuing this effort.” Speaking later on Israel television, Mr Baltiansky said: “It would be easier to prophesy what will happen in 24 years than what will happen here in the next 24 hours.” Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who sat in for Mr Clinton, took both Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on separate excursions over the weekend, Mr Arafat to lunch at her Virginia farm and Mr Barak to the nearby Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg. It marked the first time the two leaders had left the secluded retreat since the talks began. Asked about the prospects for the summit going forward, he said Mr Clinton’s initial assessment would be extremely important. After US officials prematurely declared Wednesday that the summit had ended without an agreement, “one hesitates to make any kind of prediction,” Mr Boucher said. No deadline has been set for completing the talks, but Mr Boucher said the US mediation effort could not continue indefinitely. “We are not here for an unlimited period of time,” he said. Throughout the summit, American spokesmen have freely acknowledged the atmosphere had been very tense at times. Mr Barak, almost toppled by hardliners before he left for the summit, came under renewed criticism yesterday from Jewish settlers. Settler leader Zeev Hever said most settlers would refuse to budge from homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip no matter what might be decided at Camp David. |
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Rabuka may be interim Fiji PM SUVA, July 24 (AFP) — In a surprise development, former coup leader and former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was being touted as a compromise interim Prime Minister for the next two years. He could not be contacted about the speculation, which came as diplomatic sources told AFP there was an urgency among Fiji’s fractured leadership to name a new government. “They are almost panicking now,” said one senior diplomat after a meeting with a top official involved in trying to cobble together a leadership acceptable to both the world and Speight. Although local media reported that the new government would be named tomorrow, it was not possible to confirm
this. Last week ailing President Josefa Iloilo, 79, named caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to continue in office and Qarase then named a cabinet. The next day, amidst Speight threats of a civil war, the swearing-in of the cabinet was cancelled and Fiji was effectively left without a government. Qarase is still regarded as a prospect to keep his job while Speight is pushing for diplomat Samanunu Cakobau, who is currently Fiji’s High Commissioner to Malaysia. She is also the closest Fiji comes to
royalty, as head of the Cakobau clan. However, she is unlikely to be acceptable outside of Fiji because of her close links to Speight. She spent time in parliament with the coup leaders while Mr Chaudhry and others were still being held captive inside. Meanwhile, rebel leaders met to work on a policy statement on indigenous Fijian rights as they awaited a decision on whether their nominee, Ms Chakobau, would be appointed Prime Minister. “Everybody is waiting for the announcement of the interim government to take place,” Speight told local radio today, declaring the makeup of the administration his final objective. WELLINGTON (DPA): The Fiji military, which is running the country under martial law following overthrow of the elected government began a search today for stolen army weapons still in the hands of the rebels, according to reports from the capital Suva. All the weapons and ammunition stolen from the armed forces’ armoury by troops sympathetic to their cause were supposed to be surrendered as part of an agreement to end the revolt. The nationalist rebels held the Prime Minister and 17 members of his government hostage for 56 days before agreeing to release them in return for an amnesty guaranteeing immunity from prosecution for their coup on may 19. But the army said today that the amnesty was not operational because the rebels had not handed back all their weapons. Claiming that at least a dozen army guns and pistols were still in rebel hands, the military deployed soldiers to search for them, saying they were “extremely concerned’’ at the risk posed by civilians holding the weapons, radio New Zealand reported. |
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Asean ‘must act or be ignored’ BANGKOK, July 24 (Reuters) — South-East Asian Foreign Ministers began a two-day meeting today, warning their bloc risked being marginalised unless it acted swiftly on key issues like economic reform and drug trafficking. Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai opened the 33rd Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting, which intends to discuss a plan to speed the bloc’s response to the array of problems that plague its diverse membership, with a stark message. “Issues such as illicit drugs, trafficking of women and children, transnational crime and environmental degradation all represent obstacles to our development,” Mr Chuan said. Singapore Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar said the international perception of ASEAN remained negative and the group risked being marginalised in the new global economy. “If we continue to be perceived as ineffective, we can be marginalised as our dialogue partners and international investors relegate us to the sidelines,” he told the meeting. Cambodia joined to complete the so-called ASEAN 10 in 1999, to sit alongside Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Host Thailand welcomed the prospect of North Korea’s participation for the first time as a member of the ASEAN regional forum, a wider consultative security grouping representing 37 countries which meets later this week. The ASEAN ministers’ meeting precedes talks running until July 29 also involving China, Japan and South Korea and wider bilateral and regional security discussions bringing in the USA, Russia and the European Union. Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said he hoped Pyongyang’s bilateral talks, including expected meetings with Japan, the USA, Canada, and Australia, would yield some breakthrough. “North Korea’s participation will certainly bode well for peace, for trade, for investment, for tourism, everybody will gain”, he said. BEIJING: China will raise the issue of planned US anti-missile shields at the ASEAN regional security meeting in Bangkok, which begins on July 26, a senior Chinese official has said. The USA plans to set up a national missile defence (NMD) and a theatre missile defence (TMD) in east Asia directly concern the region, the official said, briefing mediapersons on the Chinese stand on regional issues likely to come up during the three-day ASEAN Regional Forum. A consensus among ASEAN nations would send a “political message” to the USA, the Chinese diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. |
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Sharif’s treatment
‘worries USA’
DUBAI, July 24 (UNI) — The Clinton administration has expressed “concern” over the “treatment” Mr Nawaz Sharif has been getting since the military coup in Pakistan in October last year, according to Mr Hasan Nawaz Sharif, the youngest son of the deposed Prime Minister. Mr Hasan said he had recently written to US President Bill Clinton, requesting him to ask the military government in Pakistan to ensure the human rights of the Sharif family. “My father’s basic human rights are being violated. Last month he was brought handcuffed from Attock to Karachi. His handcuffs were tied to the seat of the aircraft in which he was transported”, he said. Talking to Gulf News, Mr
Hasan, who was in Abu Dhabi to meet his sister Maryam, said he had received a reply to his letter to President Clinton from his aide on national security affairs Samuel R.Berger. Mr Berger assured Mr Hasan that the Clinton Administration would keep in mind the “situation” of Mr Nawaz Sharif in future discussions with Islamabad. “The President is in complete agreement that your father should receive due process of law and fair treatment from the government and the judiciary of Pakistan. He and the entire administration will keep your father’s situation in mind as we continue our discussions with General Musharraf and his officials”, Mr Berger’s letter to Mr Hasan said. |
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US website refuses FBI request WASHINGTON, July 24 (AFP, Reuters) — A us website that tracks intelligence documents has refused a request from the
FBI to remove a long list of Japanese agents from the site. “The file shall not be removed except in response to a us court order,” said a July 20 letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the site operator, John Young, a retired New York architect who runs the site
www.cryptome.org. Young published the list last week of 400 names, purported to be members of Japan’s
PSIA, or Public Security Investigation Agency, which was sent to him by an unidentified individual on July 16. The site referred to the
PSIA as “the most incompetent intelligence agency in the world.” According to young, the
FBI made the request at the behest of Japan’s Ministry of Justice. The website has posted the
CIA documents revealing a 1998 briefing for visiting Japanese security officials about the structure and focus of
US Intelligence but experts said that the most exciting thing about it was probably its ‘’secret’’ designation. The documents were posted on the website which claims that is dedicated to fighting government secrecy. The documents included the agenda for a
CIA briefing of officials from the PSIA, a slide presentation marked ‘secret’ apart from a list of
PSIA agents. The Japanese Ministry of Justice describes the PSIA as one its ‘major external organs,’ set up in 1952 to gather domestic and international information on ‘subversive organisations.’ The agency’s most prominent target in recent years has been the Aum Shinri Kyo (supreme truth) doomsday cult, whose gas attack on a Tokyo subway in 1995 killed 12 persons and injured thousands. Much of the
CIA material was basics about the structure and function of US Intelligence operations, and its disclosure was not generally seen as a threat to national security. The site in the past has published the named of British, Iranian and us intelligence agents. |
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New UN offensive in S. Leone FREETOWN, July 24 (AP) — UN peacekeepers launched an offensive that pushed a breakaway Sierra Leone military faction from a strategic road leading into the capital, officials said, as a contingent of British Army trainers flew in to help rebuild the country’s army. The UN mission, code-named ‘Operation Thunderbolt’, was the latest move by the world body to beef up its peacekeeping force that had been embarrassed by kidnappings and military defeats since May. Details of the UN operation were scanty. UN spokeswoman Hirut Befecadu said yesterday the mission on Saturday cleared a small renegade faction of nominally pro-government fighters known as the West Side Boys away from a 120-km road from Freetown to the international airport in Lungi. A UN military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation involved an offensive by heavily armed UN ground troops and helicopter gunships. An unknown number of renegades were killed, the officer said. Befecadu could not confirm the enemy casualties but said one Guinean UN peacekeeper was critically injured by retreating renegade fighters. UN troops from Nigeria and other nations were patrolling the road to maintain security, she said. ‘‘The operation was very intense to clear the road,’’ Befecadu said. ‘‘Nobody is running around (there) anymore with guns.’’ Meanwhile, a contingent of 230 combat-experienced troops from Britain’s Royal Irish Regiment arrived in Sierra Leone over the weekend to train a batch of about 1,000 new Sierra Leonean army recruits, British army spokesman Capt. Fergus Smith said on Sunday. The latest arrivals replace a similar-sized group of Royal Anglian Regiment soldiers who, a day, earlier completed a six-week programme to train an initial batch of 986 Sierra Leonean troops. Sierra Leone military officials said the new recruits would soon be deployed to frontline positions to fight the rebels, who restarted the eight-year old civil war in May. |
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Bollywood stars fan frenzy KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (DPA) — The filming of a movie starring top Indian film stars, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, in Kuala Lumpur has driven Malaysian fans into a frenzy, with huge crowds flocking to the location sites over the weekend, reports said today. Crowds of people gathered for a rare glimpse of their idols when they learnt that the movie was being shot at the Kuala Lumpur Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers, the world’s tallest building. The actors are among the 33-member cast, which also includes actor Jackie Shroff, and crew, which is in the Malaysian capital for a month to film three songs for their latest movie, “One Two ka Four”. Malaysians, especially the country’s majority Malays, are huge fans of India’s Hindi-language movies, where the plots are mostly love stories and invariably include numerous song-and-dance routines. The boyish-looking Khan is extremely popular after his hit movie two years ago, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”. The Star daily said security personnel at the Petronas Twin Towers yesterday blocked the shooting of the movie as producers only had a permit to film today. However, the glitch did not stop producers from filming outside of the twin towers complex, causing large crowds to gather and shove and push in an attempt to see the stars in action. When shooting broke for a lunch break, Khan and Chawla were swamped by the fans, the daily said. The Indian actors yesterday night performed at a charity concert in Kuala Lumpur, organised by the wives of Cabinet ministers. Present at the concert was Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. |
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