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| Wednesday,
August 9, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Lanka shelves vote on statute
Bill Anwar gets 9 yrs’ jail for
sodomy
Family reunions
for 200 Koreans Fiji rebels kill cop,
soldier Swiss firm may seize Putin’s
jet Iran’s last pro-reform
daily forced to close |
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Australia joins ban on Milosevic Ittehad: Go back to barracks Wrong prisoners
freed Should mothers eat veg to have girls? 8 killed, 17 hurt in Moscow blast Pinochet stripped of immunity
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Lanka shelves vote on statute Bill COLOMBO, Aug 8 (PTI, UNI) — Facing stiff resistance from the Opposition and Buddhist clergy, the Sri Lankan Government today decided to suspend indefinitely voting in Parliament on the controversial reform Bill aimed at turning the country into a de facto federal state even as the Supreme Court ruled that the proposed electoral measure need not to be put up for a national referendum. The surprise announcement was made by Speaker of Parliament K.B. Ratnanayake in the House but he did not give any reason for postponing the Bill. Earlier, the Speaker read out the Apex court’s ruling on the Bill when the House reassembled this morning to resume debate on the measure, which proposes to change the present Constitution. The Supreme Court in its order said the proposed changes in the constitution do not infringe upon the sovereignty of the people in relation to franchise. The ruling party benches cheered as the Speaker read out the apex court’s ruling. Outside Parliament protests against the Bill grew louder as scores of angry Buddhist demonstrators opposing the measure broke a police cordon around parliament today. The Parliament was later adjourned following uproarious scenes after a UNP lawmaker crossed over to the ruling party in support of the Bill. In a complete u-turn, a senior minister of the Kumaratunga Government, Mr Ratnasiri Wickremeratne, informed the UNP and other Tamil party leaders this morning that the government was not interested in going ahead with the debate or voting on the Bill. Analysts here credit the postponement to the widespread protests, especially by the Buddhist clergy and Sinhal outfits, in the wake of the Bill’s launch in the House tomorrow. Moreover the support the government was banking on from the Opposition members, specially the UNP and Tamil parties, seems to have petered out with them joining the criticism chorus over the Bill. Hence, Unsure about garnering a two-thirds majority, the government shelved its plan to introduce the Bill ‘for the time being’. Analysts believe the government could ill-afford a defeat of the Bill on the eve of elections and mounting opposition from Sinhala and Buddhist monks. The defeat of the Bill would tantamount to defeat at the general election, analysts opined. The term of the present Parliament expires on August 24 and a new House constituted within 90 days after dissolution. Reuters adds: Thousands of persons protesting against the Sri Lankan government’s planned new constitution aimed at ending the long ethnic war blocked the main road to Parliament today. There were rowdy scenes in Parliament as government and opposition lawmakers heckled and booed each other during the debate that is being televised nationally. The protesters, including Sinhala nationalists clad in white and Catholic priests, began to march towards Parliament early today and booed lawmakers on their way to the House for the second day of debate. The new Constitution includes a proposal for an interim council, to be set up for a limited period to administer the north and east of the country. Sinhala nationalists say that would be like handing over the region to the rebels and could lead to the country’s division. |
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Anwar gets 9 yrs’ jail for sodomy KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Former Malaysian Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim was today sentenced to nine years in jail for sodomy. High Court Judge Arifin Jaka said Anwar would start the prison sentence after he finishes a six-year jail term for corruption which began in April 1999. Anwar had faced up to 20 years in jail in the sodomy case. Anwar, 52, and his adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan, 39, were jointly accused of sodomising Azizan Abu Bakar, the Anwar family’s former driver, one night between January and March 1993. Sukma was sentenced to six years in jail and four strokes of a cane. Sukma’s sentence was suspended pending his appeal against the verdict. Anwar also plans to appeal against the sodomy conviction. Anwar testified that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his associates had framed him in a sex scandal to stave off a possible leadership challenge. Mahathir has denied the accusation, saying Anwar was morally unfit to succeed him. “I’m satisfied the prosecution has proven its case against both accused beyond reasonable doubt and therefore find both the accused guilty as charged,” the Judge told the court. The former Prime Minister-in-Waiting will appeal against the verdict. Defence Lawyer Christopher Fernando said, “We will be filing an appeal shortly.” Mr Fernando said he was “shocked, flabbergasted” by the guilty verdict. “The decision is utterly mind-boggling despite all the evidence which favours the defendant,” the lawyer said. “Given the evidence, he deserves an acquittal.” Anwar and Sukma Darmawan were jointly accused of sodomising Azizan Abu Bakar, the Anwar family’s former driver, one night between January and March 1993. The prosecution twice rewrote the charges to change the year of the alleged sodomy offences. Human rights group Suaram expressed grave concern over the verdict, saying it eroded public confidence in the judiciary. “The court case of these two men has been plagued from the start with inconsistency and controversy,” Suaram said in a statement, calling the verdict shocking but not unexpected. |
| Family reunions
for 200 Koreans
SEOUL, Aug 8 (Reuters) — The North and South Korean Red Cross organisations today exchanged lists of 100 persons from each country who later this month will meet families they have not seen for half a century because of cold war hostility. One hundred North Koreans will fly to Seoul and 100 South Koreans will travel to Pyongyang on August 15 — the day both Koreas celebrate liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II — for four days of family reunions. The two Red Cross organisations exchanged their lists at a meeting at the border village of Panmunjom, South Korean Red Cross officials said. All forms of communication between citizens of the two countries have been banned since the outbreak of the Korean war a half-century ago. The family reunions were among the key agreements reached at a historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea in Pyongyang in June. |
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Fiji rebels kill cop, soldier SUVA, Aug 8 (AFP) — A soldier and a policeman died and three soldiers were wounded when rebels opened fire on a group of soldiers on patrol about 25 km outside Suva early today, the military said. The dead policeman, an Indian, was part of a group of about 10 soldiers sent in to investigate reports of a shooting in the area. Rebels in a white twin cab opened fire on the group as they were looking around the area at about 3 am local time, army spokesman, Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini said. “There was some quite heavy fire. Two of the soldiers lost their lives instantly,” he said. The rest of the contingent was evacuated by a punt from across the river. The soldier in a critical condition suffered gunshot wounds to the chest. The other two suffered limb injuries. The incident took place in Navosa, part of the an area closely identified with supporters of coup leader George Speight, who three months ago took Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and members of his Cabinet hostage in Parliament. Meanwhile, entire Indian settlements — under attack from supporters of Fiji’s coup leader George Speight — have been abandoned as families terrorised for three months flee for their lives. But a few men, in the farming community of Waidalice, who remained behind to guard what little is left, are now vowing to fight back. “I think it’s time to sharpen our knives,” one of the men, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. Waidalice is just one of many settlements in the Tailevu/Korovou area, 80 km north of Suva, which was targeted after failed businessman George Speight and a group of special forces men took Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and members of his government hostage in Parliament on May 19. Although Speight and 12 of his closest supporters are detained on the island prison of Nukulau, attacks against Indian families in isolated rural settlements have continued. Some 250 persons fled to a refugee centre in Lautoka, to the west of the island, others took refuge in Suva and nearby towns. In Waidalice, homes are deserted and shuttered. About five men guard the settlement and tell a tale of horror, of lootings, beatings and burnings. The nearby settlement of Namoli is completely deserted. The men have fled. That was where Phul Singh, (75), and his 63-year-old wife were attacked a week ago. First they were assaulted, then tied up while their house was looted. Successful pineapple farmer Govind Sami’s house was burnt to ashes. “He sits here with us and watches them come everyday with a 3-tonne truck and cart away pineapples from his farm to sell,” a local said. |
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Swiss firm may seize Putin’s jet PARIS, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Lawyers representing a Swiss company said on Monday they would demand the seizure of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plane when he visits France in October as part of their battle to recover alleged debts. The Swiss trading firm Noga, which says Moscow owes it 63 million dollars for unpaid oil-for-food contracts, obtained a legal order in May freezing Russian diplomatic accounts in France. Lawyers for Russia appealed against that move yesterday and the Paris court said it would give a verdict on August 10. Whatever the ruling, Noga lawyers said they were set to widen their legal assault and go after all state Russian property abroad — including Mr Putin’s jet. “Of course we are going to follow this route.” Lawyer Antoine Korkmaz told Reuters following the appeals session. In principle it would be possible (to get the plane impounded) so long as Putin doesn’t use a private, hire plane or else land in a French military airbase, he added. Last month, Noga briefly succeeded in impounding the Russian tall ship Sedov during a French regatta. However, the boat was later released after a court ruled that its owner was a Russian university and not liable for state debts. Noga alleges that Russia was failed to honour 1991 and 1992 contracts, which specifically waived all diplomatic immunity in case of a dispute. Lawyers representing Moscow told the court on Monday they did not know about the debts, but said the initial contracts were signed when Russia still fell under the jurisdiction of old Soviet Union structure and thus had no embassies of its own. It is clear that the Russian Federation never wanted, could or dreamed of renouncing its diplomatic immunity for its ambassadors, lawyer Daniel Guyot said. If we accept the unthinkable reasoning of Noga, we would allow a private company to shut down an embassy. This has never been seen in the international community, he added. The Russian Embassy in Paris has admitted that since its accounts were blocked it has struggled to make ends meet. The Noga legal saga has put further pressure on Franco-Russian relations which were already tense thanks to stiff criticism from Paris to the on-going war in Chechnya. Mr Putin has pointedly left France off his previous visits to Europe, which have taken him to Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Last month he announced that he would finally come to Paris in October, but made clear he was only doing so because the French held the rotating presidency of the European Union. The French Government, embarrassed by the Noga law suits, has acknowledged that it is giving legal advice to the Russians. |
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Iran’s last pro-reform
daily forced to close
TEHRAN, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Iran’s press court today closed down Bahar, the last major pro-reform newspaper still publishing, amid a hardline crackdown on the independent media, journalists said. They said the newspaper, published by a close aide to President Mohammad Khatami, had been suspended pending trial. The order was sent by fax to halt publication immediately. Bahar first came out after the mass closure of pro-reform newspapers in April and quickly became one of Iran’s best-selling dailies. The paper, published by a Khatami press aide, Saeed Pourazizi, has had a number of the brushes with the press court but had managed to survive by restraining its coverage and commentary. The closure follows a sudden move on Sunday by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to block moves in the reformist Parliament to relax Iran’s tough press laws. Meanwhile, thousands of Iranians rallied outside Parliament today to back a move by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to block a Bill to ease restrictions on the press. The demonstrators hailed the pro-reform assembly for bowing to Khamenei’s will and shelving the measure but blasted more militant reformers in the chamber for resisting his decision. The demonstration ended after several hours at the request of parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Kharroubi. |
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Australia joins
ban on Milosevic
CANBERRA, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Australia today said it was joining 35 other countries in banning the entry of identified members of the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The USA, Canada, New Zealand and most European countries have already imposed visa restrictions on Milosevic and his supporters. The US list includes more than 800 names. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the move targeted Milosevic, an indicted war criminal, members of his immediate family, government members, military leaders, police and security forces, the judiciary and other supporters. Mr Downer said the immigration department had a comprehensive list of those people and their details had been included in a database used to check visa applications. “The benefit of this highly targeted measure is that it does not affect ordinary citizens of the former republic of Yugoslavia, but only affects those people, directly associated with, or supporters of the Milosevic regime,” Mr Downer said in a statement. |
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Ittehad: Go back to barracks LAHORE, Aug 8 (ANI) — Pakistan Awami Ittehad chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan has urged the military regime to cut short its agenda and go back to
the barracks as an all-party conference (APC) reflecting the public opinion had demanded the immediate restoration of democracy in the country. Talking to newsmen here yesterday, Mr Nasrullah said the democratic forces would continue to struggle for the restoration of democracy, The APC was the first step towards that direction, he maintained. Nasrullah Khan said concerted efforts could be made in future to follow up the APC joint declaration “which addresses the question of the restoration of democracy besides eight other items on the APC agenda.” The APC declaration was a document which evoked unanimous approval. All parties, including the PML-N, had pledged to work for the restoration of democracy “which is a positive sign keeping in view the prevalent political situation in the country.” He said the APC had come out with a consensus on the immediate restoration of democracy in the country through fresh election. However, it was up to the parties to devise their individual or collective strategy to achieve the target as these matters could not be imposed on the parties by one political party or the other. |
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Wrong prisoners freed KAMPALA, Aug 8 (Reuters) — A gang of jail breakers freed the wrong people when they raided a Ugandan prison to try to spring a group of their captured colleagues, officials said today. Military officials said five armed men cut through a fence at Mbale prison in eastern Uganda before firing into the air and freeing 138 inmates. But the freed prisoners were mainly petty offenders. The gang’s hard-core criminal colleagues were housed in a separate wing of the jail. A regional army commander said guards pursued the jail breakers, who took a number of prisoners hostage but fled after an exchange of gunfire. Most of the prisoners had voluntarily returned to the jail, but some were still at large. Eastern region army commander, Col Geoffrey Taban, said all the prisoners had since escaped from the gunmen. “They were escaping even as they were being taken, because we exchanged fire with them. Eight have reported back to the prison and the rest are in the villages,” Col Taban said. However, local newspaper reports said the attackers were rebels based in the eastern region who abducted the inmates with the intention of forcefully recruiting them into their ranks. |
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Should mothers eat
veg to have girls?
LONDON, Aug 8 (AFP) — Vegetarian mothers are more likely to give birth to girls, Britain’s newspaper, The Times, reported today, citing new research that examines the influence of diet on the gender of offspring. The study, conducted at Nottingham University, found that while the national ratio in Britain is 106 boys to every 100 girls, for vegetarian mothers it is 85 boys to 100 girls. “It appears that vegetarian mothers are more likely to give birth to girls than boys,” said researcher Pauline Hudson. “This may well be a direct influence of their diet, although there appears to be no other research in this area.” The research was based on a survey conducted on 6,000 pregnant women in 1998 and the results were published in the Practising Midwife journal. |
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8 killed, 17 hurt
in Moscow blast
MOSCOW, Aug 8 (Reuters) — A blast ripped through an underpass in Moscow today, killing at least eight persons and injuring dozens just a short distance from the Kremlin at the height of the evening rush-hour,
Interfax news agency said. Reuters reporter Patrick Lannin said dozens of people were standing shocked around one of the entrances of the underpass which straddles Moscow’s Tverskaya Street, the capital’s main thoroughfare. |
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Pinochet stripped
of immunity
SANTIAGO, Aug 8 (Reuters) — Chile’s Supreme Court today stripped Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution, paving the way for the elderly former dictator to be forced to stand trial for alleged human rights abuses. Hundreds of Pinochet foes, who had waited outside the building, housing the country’s highest tribunal for the formal ruling, jumped for joy. Others hugged each other, celebrating what they regarded as a human rights victory against the military’s father figure. |
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