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| Wednesday, September 27, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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France for end to sanctions
against Yugoslavia US presidential race turns holy? Awami League
loses crucial election
Taliban
overrun Masood positions |
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UN panel
deadlocked on Iraq flights Pak may
be declared terrorist state: Clinton Putin
envoy meets Pak leaders Wireless
phone can turn into computers 70 pc
abstention in French poll 5-yr
Plan favours women: First Lady China
opposes move to canonise martyrs
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France for end to sanctions
against Yugoslavia PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) — France, speaking as current President of the European Union, called today for sanctions against Belgrade to be lifted since it seemed certain that the Opposition had won Yugoslavia’s presidential election. Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said he would ask the European Commission to make a proposal for a rapid end to the various sanctions imposed on Belgrade in recent years. “In the name of the (EU) Presidency, I am taking the necessary initiative and asking the commission to submit proposals needed for a quick end to the sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,” he said. “Today, no matter what the Belgrade authorities say, it now seems undisputable that (Yugoslav President) Slobodan Milosevic has lost and that (his challenger) Vojislav Kostunica has won,” he added. Meanwhile, the Yugoslav Federal Electoral Commission today said it would announce the results of Sunday’s elections by Thursday evening, four days after the close of polls in which both sides are claiming victory. The Opposition said it would announce its own tally a day earlier, accusing the commission of arrogance in its attitude to voters awaiting the outcome of a poll that will decide on the future of President Milosevic’s 13-year-rule. A schedule faxed to Reuters by the commission said the electoral law obliged it to establish the results of the presidential elections by tomorrow evening. It would then announce the results of the elections for President and the two Houses of the Yugoslav Parliament the following day. The schedule made no mention of a deadline for the results of municipal elections in Serbia which were also held on Sunday. |
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US presidential race turns holy? CAN religion and politics mix? Can religious faith be brought into political life? Has God a role in the polls? These questions had recently come to the fore in the campaign for the American presidential election due from November 7. It all started when the democratic vice-presidential candidate, Senator Joseph Leberman, began his campaign a few weeks ago with a call for a greater role for religion in American politics. Remember, he told a congregation in a black church in Detroit, “the constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not from religion.” He called the United States “the most religious country in the world” and said not only were Americans citizens of the same country, but that “we are also children of the same awesome God.” Not to be outdone, the Republican presidential candidate, Mr George W. Bush, has also spoken about a public role for religious faith. In a recent speech in Washington, Mr Bush said; “Our nation is chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world of justice and inclusion and diversity without division. Jews and Christians and Muslims speak as one in their commitment to a kind, just, tolerant society.” During a debate among the Republican presidential candidates in December last year, Mr Bush, who is the governor of Texas, identified Jesus as his favourite philosopher. He declared a “Jesus Day” in his state. Around the same time, vice-president Al Gore said in an interview in the TV programme “Sixty Minutes” that he considered himself a Born-Again Christian. The overt appeals of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for religious support have drawn both support and flak from the American public and activists. The Anti-Defamation League told Senator Lieberman to stop making “overt expressions” of religious belief in the campaign trail. Such appeals in a political context risk alienating people and also run “contrary to the American ideal,” the League said. “An emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling in a religious diverse society such as ours.” Writing in the New York Post recently, Sydney Zion said: “Well Joe Lieberman, shut your mouth up!” “Joe wants us to believe that the Founders (of the Constitution) understood and approved “God’s purpose” and demands that we bring religious faith into our life,” Zion said. “It is a funny line at a funny time. For never in modern memory have our politicians attempted to take God to the polls.” Many letters to the editor in American newspapers recorded disapproval of the introduction of religion into politics. “The presidential race is turning into a religious convention,” Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg wrote in the New York Times. “While we would like to believe that we live in an age of new-found tolerance, the truth is that intolerance, anti-semitism, bias and bigotry still exist in the United States.” But not all Americans are bothered about the controversy. Potential voters don’t seem to care about the religious convictions of the candidates. “As long as he is not into Satanic rituals, I really don’t care about a politician’s religious beliefs,” Kim Cart, a 29-year old store keeper, was quoted in the media as saying. “I care more if they are smart,” said another voter. “God’s hand needs to be in politics,” said yet another. There is no evidence yet that the use of religion in the presidential election will have any impact on the voter’s choice. Political scientist John Green, who has written a book on religion and politics, “The Diminishing Divide”, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the two are increasingly mixed. But he had a piece of advice for the candidates:”It is one of those things that should be stamped: Handle with care.” |
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Taliban overrun Masood positions MOSCOW, Sept 26 (UNI) — The Taliban troops have overrun the last few remaining strongholds of General Ahmed Shah Masood’s forces to reach the Panz river valley on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, Moscow Radio has reported. Consequently, Afghan refugees are fleeing to Tajikistan to seek asylum so as not to fall into the hands of the Taliban troops, it said adding the latest victory of Taliban has taken it to the doorsteps of the Central Asian republics, which were a part of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Earlier, the Taliban troops had succeeded in capturing Hojaghar and Hazerbeg towns while moving towards the Badakhshan province in Afghnistan which stretches to sensitive zones, touching China in the east and regions close to Tajikistan and Kyrghistan in the north. The presence of Taliban forces near the borders of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a cause of worry for states like Tajikistan, Kryrghistan and Uzbekistan as these nations are facing a civil war-like situation with local fundamentalist groups having already succeeded in creating their own pockets of influence. A panicky Uzbekistan has even mined its borders with Tajikistan to prevent possible forays of the Talibs, informed sources here said. Meanwhile, the growing threat of the Taliban has impelled the CIS states to call a summit meeting of their presidents on October 11 in Kyrghiz capital Bishkek. |
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UN panel deadlocked on Iraq flights united nations, Sept 26 (afp) — The un Committee overseeing sanctions against Iraq was unable to agree about an appropriate response to flights to Baghdad, the committee President, Dutch Ambassador Peter van Walsum, said. “There was no agreement,” Mr Walsum said yesterday, noting the 15 committee members discussed for more than two hours the recent French and Russian landings in Baghdad and those expected in the near future. Mr Walsum said, “My view was that there was no consensus for a change of practice, so I felt that I should continue the existing practice of requiring committee authorisation for all flights to Iraq.” The committee members, who represent the permanent seats of the un Security Council, are profoundly divided over the legality of the flights to Baghdad. Britain and the USA maintain that committee authorisation is necessary, while France believes that since the UN resolutions do not impose an aerial embargo, a simple notification is sufficient. France yesterday submitted a proposal to change the committee’s practice, in place since the 1990 Gulf War, when the UN imposed a severe course of sanctions against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. The proposal stipulated that the sanctions committee must be notified in advance of prospective flights to Baghdad, but made no mention of authorisation, a diplomat said. France proposed that notification to the committee must include the reasons for the flight, its flight pattern, the plane’s registration information and the carrier’s nationality. |
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Pak may be declared
terrorist state: Clinton WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (PTI) — US President Bill Clinton has been quoted as saying that Pakistan, which is aiding and abetting terrorism in India, may have to be declared a terrorist state. A press release issued by the Indo-American Political Foundation quoted Mr Clinton as saying at a fund-raiser meeting in West Coast recently that “We need to contain terrorism around the world”. In reply to a question by the Foundation President Sunil Aghi that Pakistan needed to be declared a terrorist state in view of its continued support to terrorism. Mr Clinton said “We don’t know if that is effective but at some point we may have to do that” according to the release. According to a release of the foundation, the President agreed to the foundation chief Sunil Aghi’s remark that Mr Gore’s choice of Jo Lieberman, a Jew, as his Vice-Presidential mate, could lead to the induction of Indo-Americans to the Cabinet if Al Gore is elected to power. Mr Clinton has appointed Indian Americans are senior officials but not as Cabinet Ministers. |
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Awami League
loses crucial election DHAKA, Sept 26 (DPA) — The main opposition party in Bangladesh has won a crucial mayoral election, causing a setback for the ruling Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, polling officials said today. Mr Shafiqur Rahman, who was backed by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, polled 14,584 votes against 9,737 obtained by his nearest rival pro-Awami league candidate Yusuf Gazi according to official results announced today. The local election was held yesterday in the strategic river port of Chandpur, 90 km south of the Dhaka, with the Army and paramilitary police guarding all 21 polling stations. Voting in 12 other municipal towns was taking place today. These include the eastern business town of Comilla and the industrial town of Tongi, where government candidates faced a serious challenge from the opposition. Political observers see in the local poll a reflection of popular support less than a year ahead of a general election. The Election Commission arranged for the deployment of the Army in all 176 polling stations. Official results of the municipal poll will not be available before tomorrow. This is the first time women were contesting the local poll directly for the reserved seats under an electoral law recently passed by Parliament. |
Putin envoy meets
Pak leaders islamabad, sept 26
(afp) — A special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived here today for talks with Pakistani leaders on bilateral relations and the situation in Afghanistan, officials said. Mr Sergei Yastrzhembsky met Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and held wide-ranging talks focussing on “bilateral relations and regional and global issues of common concern,” officials said. The envoy is also expected to meet with Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider before calling on the military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, to deliver a message from Mr Putin, they said. The contents of the message were not revealed but reports said it related to the situation in war-torn Afghanistan. The visit of Mr Yastrzhembsky follows Mr Putin’s meeting with General Musharraf on the sidelines of the UN Millennium Summit in New York earlier this month. |
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Wireless phone can turn into computers WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (AFP) — The wireless phone will become a hand-held computer, and the hand-held computer will turn into a wireless phone. That promise was made yesterday in a joint announcement by Palm and Motorola, and in a separate one by Handspring, a maker of personal digital assistants (PDAs), in the latest sign of convergence of the two devices. Palm, which makes the operating software for 70 per cent of the world’s PDAs, and Motorola, the number two maker of wireless phones, said they would collaborate on a new “smart phone” that incorporates elements of handheld computers and wireless phones. The new devices, to become available in 2002, will use the Palm operating system that is used on many handheld computers and PDAs. Handspring meanwhile said it would begin selling a new module to attach to its PDAs to turn them into wireless phones. The $ 299 VisorPhone module will be sold later this year in the USA and in 2001 in Europe, with US users connected through the VoiceStream network. The new product is an effort “to meet the growing demand for full-service mobile wireless devices by creating a new smart phone that blends the functionality of a Palm handheld computer with the simplicity and compact form factor of today’s mobile phone,” the two firms said in a statement. |
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70 pc abstention in French poll PARIS, Sept 26 (AFP) — A total 73.21 per cent of the French voters supported reducing the French presidential term from seven to five years in a weekend referendum, official results said yesterday. But a total 70.81 per cent of the registered voters stayed home, the highest level of abstention in post-war history. President Jacques Chirac called the referendum on the five-year term in July, saying that it was necessary in order to modernise France’s political institutions. His own current seven-year term, which ends in 2002, will not be affected. The high abstention rate was seen as a rebuff to the political classes, and especially to Mr
Chirac. |
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5-yr Plan favours
women: First Lady KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (PTI) — First Lady Usha Narayanan today said special steps had been taken to protect Indian women facing disadvantages arising out of our economic reforms. “Women facing disadvantages arising out of our economic reforms and structural adjustments had been protected through special measures as found in our safety net schemes for them”, she said at a meeting of the regional steering committee on the advancement of rural and island women for Asia and Pacific. |
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China opposes move
to canonise martyrs beijing, sept 26
(dpa) — The Chinese Government today increased pressure on the Vatican to drop plans to canonise 120 martyrs who died in China, mostly during the anti-foreigner boxer rebellion at the turn of the 20th century. “This act by the Vatican side has seriously harmed the feelings of the Chinese people and the dignity of the Chinese nation,’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Su Yuxi said. |
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A member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), wearing a fake bear fur, sits inside a wire cage during a protest in Rome on Tuesday. PETA protested against the maltreatment of bears in China for alternative medicine, shampoo and aphrodisiacs. — Reuters
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