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| Monday, September 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Suu Kyi engaged in terrorist activity: army US stance against terrorism in Kashmir Jews’ ire over beatification Lebanese vote in
final round |
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Advani-Straw talks to
focus on terrorism Sikh sergeant may win
£ 1 m in damages Putin arrives
in Tokyo Lankan army launches poll-eve offensive
UK to relax rules for
hi-tech migrants
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Suu Kyi engaged in terrorist activity: army YANGON, Sept 3 (AFP) — Myanmar’s military government today charged that Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy was “engaging in terrorist activity,” a day after the end of a roadside stand-off with the Opposition leader. It also said some senior NLD members had been “requested” to remain at home during the investigation, although it denied they had been arrested. “Certain quarters of the NLD have been engaging in terrorist activity,” said the official spokesman for the Yangon junta. The NLD had collaborated with the anti-regime insurgent group “God’s Army” in smuggling five remote-controlled bombs into Myanmar, the spokesman said. “God’s Army”, a group led by two teenage twins believed by some to have magical powers, was allegedly involved in a hospital siege in Thailand earlier this year and in the seizure of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok last year. Although the junta said the NLD’s executive committee members had been detained, it denied that any of the party leaders had been officially arrested. “None of the NLD’s central executive committee members have been put under house arrest. There is an investigation going on at the NLD Bahan township office” that will study the alleged terrorist activity and other dealings between the NLD and foreigners, the spokesman said. The senior NLD members “have been requested to stay at their respective residences and to cooperate with the government,” he said. The NLD’s headquarters was raided on Saturday and the junta announced that Suu Kyi had been “escorted” home following a nine-day roadside stand-off. On Sunday, security was beefed up in front of the NLD headquarters and home of Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders, who were thought to be under house arrest. Thailand’s daily The Nation said in an editorial on Sunday that despite an end of the roadside confrontation, the stand-off between the Myanmar junta and the rest of the world would continue. “The most efficient way to deal with Burma is to have the West, ASEAN, China, Japan and Australia working together to bring pressure to bear on the regime in an organised manner,” the daily said. “Without such a concerted approach, political oppression in Burma will never end.” WASHINGTON: The USA has strongly criticised Myanmar’s military regime for forcing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to return to her residence ending a roadside stand-off with the junta and said Washington was “outraged” over denial of human rights to the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and her colleagues. “The USA is outraged and strongly condemns the Myanmar authorities’ treatment of Suu Kyi and her party members and the violations of their fundamental human right,” US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in a statement here yesterday. Albright said the USA wanted an immediate end to violation of internationally recognised human right of Suu Kyi. She said the regime had prevented even the few Myanmarese, who are normally allowed to visit her and diplomats, from going near her residence to enquire about her well-being. “The regime has also surrounded the NLD headquarters and military intelligence agents have reportedly entered the headquarters and taken away files. The regime appears to have placed NLD Central Executive Committee members under house arrest and cut off their telephones,” Albright said. LONDON: Britain has threatened diplomatic retaliation against Myanmar after the country’s military regime ordered riot police to raid a roadside convoy and force opposition leader Suu Kyi to end a nine-day stand-off. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said “I am deeply concerned by reports that Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders were forcibly returned to Rangoon by the Burmese regime and are being held in their homes against their will. “Initial indications are that the Burmese regime has once again grossly infringed upon the rights of a legal political party to operate freely.” The 15-member EU earlier issued a statement expressing concern at Suu Kyi’s forced return to the capital. |
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US stance against terrorism in Kashmir NEW YORK: “Pakistan’s economy is bottoming out, yet its junta continues to concentrate all its resources on funding and fuelling terrorism in Indian Kashmir,” writes a senior American diplomat in an article in a prestigious financial paper, Investor’s Business Daily. And he adds: “Pakistan’s intended destruction of the nascent peace process requires a firmer American response”. Under the caption, South Asia’s Storm: Junta in Pakistan stands against peace in Kashmir, former American Ambassador to Paraguay and Panama, Arthur H.Davis writes: On July 26, the world welcomed the announcement of a three-month ceasefire in this struggle. Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest militant group in Kashmir, sought unconditional talks with the Indian Government. Majid Dar, the Hizbul commander operating in Indian Kashmir, reportedly made this unexpected announcement after secret meeting with Hizbul followers and presumably with the group’s leader, Sayed Salauddin, who resides in Pakistan. The Indian Government exhibited a new and flexible stand by responding positively to the offer. Lt-Gen Mukherjee, commander of the Indian forces in Kashmir, soon announced cessation of all operations against the Hizbul, while senior officials from New Delhi proceeded to Kashmir to discuss the modalities of talks with Hizbul. At long last, there was a glimmer of hope for the people in the Kashmir valley by Pakistan’s military and fundamentalist leaders didn’t respond to this prospect for peace with any grace. Pakistani security agents reportedly picked up Salauddin shortly after the ceasefire agreement, while the Hizbul Mujahiddin was promptly ejected from the united Jehad council, the umbrella alliance of Kashmiri militant outfits. While official Pakistani responses were initially muted, wholesale attempts have since been taken by the military junta to employ its influence over the regional militants to derail the incipient peace talks. On the night of August 1, more than 100 Hindus, many of them pilgrims to their religion’s holy shrine of Amarnath, were massacred by Pakistani-backed terrorists. The Hizbul has demanded a seat for Pakistan at the talks and wants the discussions conducted outside the scope of India’s Constitution — conditions that Indian leaders, who have sought to resolve the issues internally with local Kashmiris, have long resisted. It has been widely stated in Washington and other Western capitals that India must negotiate with the Pakistani military, the real power in that country, for a definitive peace to be achieved. The question, however, is whether the (Pakistan) army really wants peace. All three wars between India and Pakistan have been fought when military governments ruled Pakistan. A fourth war under the present military leadership remains a possibility, this time with a nuclear shadow cast upon it. As events this month have demonstrated, the Pakistani military regime is exhibiting an almost pathological determination to keep South Asia in a constant state of turmoil, doing precious little to curb the Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism breeding in that country, while effectively scuttling the steps of other towards peace. Pakistan’s intended destruction of the nascent Kashmir peace process requires a firmer American response. Declaring Pakistan a terrorist state, thus putting it on par with terrorist groups it harbours and supports, would encourage the people of Pakistan to remove the defunct and draconian military war-mongers who have deprived them of any sustainable development. It is clear who wants peace in the region and who does not. Only by Pakistan’s duplicitous ways will peace have a hope of triumphing.
— IPA |
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Jews’ ire over beatification ROME, Sept 3 — Looking visibly tired, Pope John Paul II beatified two of his predecessors during a ceremony in St Peters’ Square today. Despite being viewed as virtual opposites by historians, Popes Pius IX (1846-1878) and John XXIII (1958-1963) were both honoured in a move that is the penultimate step towards Catholic sainthood. ‘‘Facultatem facimus... ut beatorum nomine in posterum appellentur,’’ (we allow... that from now on they may be called beatified), said the 80-year-old Pope in front of 60,000 believers. Portraits hanging from the Basilica’s facade of the two Popes and three clergymen who were beatified during the same ceremony were then unveiled. The beatification of Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti), a conservative who had the longest tenure, had been fiercely criticised by Jewish communities and liberal wings of the Roman Catholic Church because of his alleged anti-Semitism and authoritarian rule. Yesterday, some 300 Jews and reformist Catholics protested in rome against his beatification. During his rule, Pius IX — the last ‘‘Pope-king’’ — set up a paternalistic regime in the papal states, centralised power, opposed religious tolerance, combated modernism and declared papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals. ‘‘I am the Church. I am the tradition,’’ he often said to silence critics. Seeking to quash criticisms, the Vatican said beatification procedures should be based on the spiritual character of the person and should not be regarded as political trials. ‘‘His very long pontificate was in no way easy,’’ the Pope said on Sunday. “He was loved but also hated and was a victim of slander. “It is such contrasts that make his virtues shine brighter,’’ the Pope said, adding that his beatification only sought to underscore his religious virtues. The honouring of Pope John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli), a liberal whose brief but intense papacy made him one of the most deeply loved Popes of the 20th century, carried no controversy and was repeatedly interrupted by long applause. Pope John opened the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) which revolutionised the Roman Catholic Church. It was once defined by Pope John Paul II as “the greatest event of the 20th century’’. The beatification of such different Popes has been seen as a tricky balancing act aimed at satisfying both the liberal and the conservative wings of the Roman Catholic Church.
— DPA |
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Lebanese vote in final round BEIRUT, Sept 3 (Reuters) — Lebanese voted today in the second and final round of Parliamentary elections that are expected to rack up further gains for foes of President Emile Lahoud. Former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who left office in 1998 after a power tussle with Lahoud, was among the first to
vote. The construction tycoon is seeking a sweeping victory in Beirut after receiving the backing of influential Shi’ite Muslim Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt, a vociferous opponent of the President. “People are voting for change...For the economy,” Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, told reporters thronging a Beirut polling station. Hariri, who became Prime Minister in 1992, led reconstruction efforts after the devastating 1975-90 civil war. He revived the economy but saddled it with a huge foreign debt which has now exceeded 140 per cent of gross domestic product. Some 1.4 million voters in Beirut, the South and the Bekaa valley will choose among 209 candidates contesting the 65 remaining seats up for grabs in the 128-member Parliament. Elections are taking place in the former Israeli occupation zone in the South for the first time since 1972. The pro-Syrian Berri, whose Amal Movement is strong in the South, joined ranks with his Hizbollah rivals for the election. Analysts say Syria, the main arbiter in Lebanese politics, brokered the deal to thwart potential violence and prevent either party from gaining the upper hand in the strategic south. |
Advani-Straw talks to focus on terrorism LONDON, Sept 3 (PTI) — International terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking will be among the major issues that the British Home Secretary Mr Jack Straw, will discuss with the Home Minister L.K. Advani, during his six-day visit to India commencing from tomorrow. Mr Straw told mediapersons here on the eve of the trip that he was greatly looking forward to the visit at the invitation of “my friend L.K. Advani” and “we will discuss important issues such as international terrorism, organised crime, drugs and policing. We already work together well on many issues. But I am convinced we can do much more.” Mr Advani, during his visit to London in June, had proposed the setting up of a joint working group on terrorism and the UK is considering the matter. While talks on combating international terrorism and drug trafficking would remain high on the agenda, Mr Straw will also review the visa facilities being offered to Indians. Mr Straw indicated that Kashmir issue and Pakistan’s overt and covert support to terrorists in Kashmir might figure during the parleys. Asked whether he would seek the release of British national Peter Bleach, undergoing sentence in Calcutta in the Purulia arms-dropping case, Mr Straw said he would request for an early hearing of the convict’s appeal and serving of the rest of his sentence in the UK. He however, made it clear that he would not interfere in the judicial process. “India has a functional judiciary. I will not interfere in it,” he said. During the course of the trip, Mr Straw will visit New Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Calcutta. The British High Commissioner in India Sir Rob Young, told mediapersons in Delhi recently that the UK had tried to deal with Indian criticism of strict visa procedures by introducing several schemes to facilitate entry into the UK.
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Sikh sergeant may win £ 1 m in damages LONDON, Sept 3 — A Sikh police sergeant here, who was cleared of sending race-hate letters to other ethnic minority police officers, is expected to win up to £ 1 million in damages when his case for compensation comes up before the courts. British Home Office sources say the chances of a massive compensation payout for Gurpal Singh Virdi, 41, who was born in Tilak Nagar, New Delhi, have been dramatically boosted following Scotland Yard’s refusal to apologise to him. “I have deep sympathy with the situation he finds himself in, but it is not appropriate to apologise part way through a legal process,” Scotland Yard’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Grieve said yesterday at a press conference in London. Last March, a police tribunal ruled that Virdi had sent racist letters and literature by post to fellow Asian and black officers after being turned down for promotion. But two weeks ago, an employment tribunal found that Virdi was racially discriminated against by the police. Yesterday, Beverely Thompson, the Vice-Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group (IAG), said, “This is the worst case I have ever seen of involving race discrimination and a serving police officer.” “It is unfortunate that Commissioner Grieve cannot say he regrets what has happened. This has been a most disgraceful character assassination of sergeant,” Thompson added. Scotland Yard did not seem to have learned anything from the William Macpherson report that looked into the 1993 death of a black teenager Stephen Lawrence, Thompson said. William’s findings included the observation that the London police force suffered from “institutional racism”. Meanwhile, the police has asked for an independent inquiry into the Virdi case, which will be headed by Metropolitan Police Authority chairman David Muir. Asked for his reactions, Virdi described the experience of the past two years as “sheer hell”. He said, “I want justice from the Metropolitan Police and I intend to fight to clear my name.” — India Abroad News Service
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Putin arrives
in Tokyo TOKYO, Sept 3 (DPA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived here today for talks with Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori expected to focus on their plan to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute and the signing of a bilateral peace treaty. Putin, who arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at 4:45 p.m., will hold three rounds of talks with Mori tomorrow and on Tuesday. The summit talks, to be held at the state guesthouse here, will be the first full-fledged negotiations on the peace treaty issue in more than two years. The two countries agreed in 1997 to conclude the peace pact by the end of 2000, but negotiations have stalled because of differences over ways to resolve the row over a group of Russian-held islands off Japan’s northern most main island of Hokkaido, known as the northern territories in Japan and the southern Kuriles in Russia. Japan has called for the return of the islands, which were seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War II, but Russia has resisted the calls, and analysts and diplomats predict that Putin is unlikely to make new concessions during his visit. |
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Lankan army launches poll-eve offensive COLOMBO, Sept 3 (PTI) — Sri Lankan Army has begun a major offensive to deter the LTTE from launching pre-emptive strikes to recapture northern Jaffna peninsula before the general elections and prevent the rebels from infiltrating into the army-controlled areas. While the residents and poll officials from Jaffna confirmed on telephone sounds of heavy explosions in Thenmarachi sector, in the outskirts of the town, media reported army making effective use of multi-barrel rocket launchers, imported recently from Pakistan. There was no immediate official explanation by the army for the resumption of the operations after it stabilised string of territorial losses during a counter offensive by the LTTE in the peninsula in early this year. Whether it was a prelude to launch an operation or full-fledged offensive before the polls was not clear, the newspaper said. As the high ranking officials, including chief of Defence Staff Lt Gen Rohan Daluwatte took their positions at the security headquarters in
Jaffna, the navy also stepped up patrolling in the north, the Times said. |
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UK to relax rules for hi-tech migrants LONDON, Sept 3 (PTI) — Britain is set to relax immigration controls to allow thousands of skilled hi-tech workers into the country, media reported today. According to The Sunday Observer, Home Office Minister Barbara Roche believes a healthy economy needs to draw its workforce from all over the world to recruit the right talents for jobs in new areas such as information technology, engineering and teaching. The Sunday Telegraph led with a story that immigration controls are to be relaxed for the first time in 30 years to allow up to 100,000 foreign workers a year to settle in Britain but a Home Office spokesperson denied it had set any quotas for attracting foreign workers. Currently, some economic migrants are allowed to work for short periods, but permanent immigration is allowed in only a few cases, unless they involve successful asylum applicants or people with relatives in Britain. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that now ministers have decided that, with unemployment at a 20-year low, permanent settlement should be allowed once again for economic reasons. Ms Roche will outline the new system next week, it reported. |
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