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| Friday, September 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
India for focused UN action on terrorism Pakistan, Bangladesh: blowing hot and cold Trial resumes, Suharto
fails to appear Rebels, soldiers clash, 10
killed |
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Iran developing N-weapons:
CIA Yugoslavia calls
poll run-off on Oct 8 Bail denied to Speight US Bill
to cut aid to Palestinian state |
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India for focused UN action on terrorism UNITED NATIONS, Sept 28 (PTI) — India has urged the UN to focus its attention on international terrorism and mobilise international opinion against military juntas which have overthrown democratically elected governments. The UN should focus more sharply than they presently do on international terrorism and the states that sponsor, finance and assist such activities which are a “growing menace of our age, battening on open, liberal, democratic and law-aiding societies,” Indian Ambassador to the UN Kamalesh Sharma said. Commending UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recognition of terrorism as “a direct threat to our collective security,” Mr Sharma told the UN General Assembly yesterday that it could be countered only through cooperative
endeavor. Speaking on the annual report of the Secretary-General, he said in the millennium declaration of the world body, “our leaders committed themselves to concerted action,” and called for an early adoption of the comprehensive convention against terrorism now under discussion in the General Assembly. Without naming Pakistan, he called on Mr Annan to use his “moral authority to build international opinion against military juntas that have overthrown democratically elected governments” as otherwise it would either give them respectability or a reason to believe the global community had condoned their actions. Condemning the arbitrary imposition of sanctions, Mr Sharma said “sanctions are a blunt instrument which must be sparingly used and only after the most careful consideration by the international community” and backed the Secretary-General’s call to minimise its negative effects on civilian populations. On the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Mr Sharma said India was “disappointed” that the report did not dwell on the “achievable goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons”. “We believe that the UN has the foremost responsibility to promote nuclear
disarmament and this should be both articulated and pursued among its highest priorities”, he said. |
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Pakistan, Bangladesh: blowing hot and cold DHAKA, Sept 28 — Bangladesh and Pakistan are blowing hot and cold on their relations with each other on one issue, the trial of military Generals responsible for genocide in Bangladesh during its liberation war in 1971. It is not clear where it will lead the two SAARC member nations. The governments of both countries are now engaged in making charges, issuing denials on remarks regarding offering an apology by Pakistani Generals, their trial for war crimes and military rule in Pakistan. Apparently, it seems the initiative of Bangladesh to reactivate the SAARC will not meet any success. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Government headed by Sheikh Hasina has gained politically because the demand for trial of Pakistani Generals was getting popular fast. It was evident from the demonstration on September 24 by the Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee (Committee against the killers of 1971), the citizens committee comprising intellectuals, political leaders, students and women — near the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka in support of the demand. The demonstrators even raised the demand to snap ties with Pakistan if an apology for death, destruction, violation of women in 1971 is not offered by Pakistan. The diplomatic row, started though on a different issue, is continuing. Before the millennium summit of the UN General Assembly in New York in the first week of the current month, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary C.M. Shafi Shami shuffled between Dhaka-Delhi and Dhaka-Islamabad as a special envoy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August. The actual mission was not known but openly it was said that it was a move to reactivate SAARC through holding the long-waited summit, which was stalled because of the takeover by Gen Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan. The Pakistani Chief Executive requested a meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister in the sideline of the UN General Assembly Session in New York. Sheikh Hasina, as scheduled, met Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New York and other Heads of Government. Pakistan cancelled the meeting with General Musharraf on September 8. He was angered by Sheikh Hasina’s speech at the UN General Assembly urging the world body not to recognise military rule in any country. Returning Islamabad General Musharraf remarked that it was interference into Pakistan’s internal affairs. The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary had to clarify that Sheikh Hasina spoke on principle, which she believes and made no reference even indirectly to Pakistan. The latest war of words between the two countries is on the demand by Sheikh Hasina for an apology by Pakistan for the genocide carried out in 1971 during the Bangladesh liberation war. Pakistan was denying this. The Pakistan Foreign Secretary on September 24 remarked, according to an agency report, that no question of apology arose. He said the founding father of Bangladesh “to forget the past and to take a fresh look”. The AFP report quoted him as saying that “We are surprised that Mujib’s daughter appears to be ignoring advice given by her father 26 years ago”. At a press briefing two days ago Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad said that Bangladesh could not ever forget the genocide committed by the Pakistani rulers in 1971. He assured the pressmen to officially seek a copy of the text of his remarks from Pakistan. Earlier, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked for an apology from Pakistan for the brutal killings of three million persons, violation of 1.2 million women, destruction of property worth hundreds of million dollars. She urged the Pakistani authority to hand over the war criminals to Bangladesh for trial. Mentionable, the Muktijuddhya Jadughar (Liberation War Museum) was collecting evidences of genocide and received support from the International War Crimes Enquiry Committee to hold trial of the Pakistan war criminals by an international tribunal. The supplementary report of the Justice Hamudoor Rahman Commission constituted by late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto identified some Generals responsible for death, destruction and violation of women in the then East Pakistan. The report (published by India Today) has strengthened the demand for trial of war criminals. In 1994, a citizens committee styled Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee held a public trial of Professor Golam Azam, chief of the Jamat-e-Islami, a political party known for fundamentalist policy. Golam Azam was convicted by the peoples court to death for his role in war crimes and urged the Khaleda Zia Government to formally implement the conviction. But the government instituted a treason case against the sponsors of the public trial. Later, the Supreme Court exempted the accused of the charges. The Jamat-e-Islami supported the Pakistani military in 1971 and collaborated in killings and rape. In a recent interview with a Dhaka Bangla daily given in Manila, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Benazir Bhutto, terming the genocide as heartbreaking, favoured the trial of those military officers who were found responsible for war crimes in Bangladesh in 1971. The cold wave from Pakistan was that its Foreign Minister expressed willingness to visit Bangladesh. No decision of Bangladesh is yet known in this regard. |
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Trial resumes, Suharto fails to appear JAKARTA, Sept 28 (DPA, Reuters) — Former Indonesian President Suharto ignored a third summons to appear in court today as his corruption trial resumed under tight security. The lone defendant’s chair sat empty as the south Jakarta district court reconvened the trial in an auditorium at the Ministry of Agriculture compound. “Suharto’s medical condition is similar as before. He cannot come to court,’’ said a letter submitted by the former leader’s medical team, which was read out by one of the judges. Suharto’s defence team has repeatedly claimed he has permanent brain damage from a series of strokes last year and is unfit to stand trial. Their claims contradict the position of prosecutors, who have cleared the ex-strongman to be tried. Suharto has now ignored three summonses to appear at his trial, which opened on August 31. The Jakarta government can now compel him to appear at the next court date using force. Suharto is accused of skimming $ 570 million in state funds from seven tax-free charities he controlled and used to funnel money into the businesses of his family and friends. Deadly bombings have occurred in Jakarta at every stage of the investigation against the former leader, including the night before the trial first opened and a day before it resumed on September 14. The Jakarta Government has blamed political and military extremists linked to Suharto of planting the bombs as a warning to derail the trial and halt investigations into corruption and human rights abuses during his 32-year regime. Meanwhile, the youngest son of disgraced Suharto will be jailed within two days after being found guilty of corruption earlier this week, Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said. Mahendra said he had coordinated with the Jakarta Justice Department and the city’s Cipinang jail for Hutomo “Tommy’’ Mandala Putra to be jailed in one or two days. “The law must be upheld. We are preparing so that he (Tommy) will go to jail. There is no compromise,’’ Mahendra said. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overturned an earlier verdict and sentenced Tommy to 18 months in prison for graft over a land scam in the mid-1990s that caused losses of $ 11 million to the state.
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Rebels, soldiers clash, 10 killed COTABATO (Philippines, Sept 28 (AP) — At least 10 persons were killed after Muslim separatist rebels attacked a military outpost in a southern Philippine town, a military commander said today. About 50 guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fired at corn farmers in a village in Carmen, North Cotabato province yesterday in what appeared to be a diversionary tactic to draw soldiers from a nearby outpost, said Col Hermogenes Esperon, Commander of army’s 602nd brigade. The rebels then split into two with one group attacking the remaining defenders of the outpost in the village of Tonganon. The fighting left six guerrillas, one soldier and three civilian militiamen dead. One militiaman was wounded. JOLO (DPA): Government troops widened their search on Thursday for Muslim extremists to a second southern Philippine island amid reports Abu Sayyaf members were sighted with their American hostage. Three battalions arrived in Basilan, North of Jolo Island, where the massive military operation to neutralise the terrorist group and rescue the 17 hostages has been underway since September 16. Armed forces spokesmen would not confirm the presence of 24-year-old Jeffrey Schilling, a 24-year-old native of Oakland, California, citing the “news blackout”. Earlier, they had denied any possibility of the Abu Sayyaf manoeuvring through the 4,000-troops and blockades backed by air support to escape from Jolo. Abu Sabaya, spokesmen for the Abu Sayyaf, has demanded $ 10 million (US) for Schilling’s release, claiming he is worth 10 Europeans. The US Embassy in Manila has refused any payment. The other captives split among Abu Sayyaf factions include three Malaysians and 13 Filipinos. Residents of at least one village in Basilan evacuated, bringing the number of civilians fleeing the assault on the extremists to more than 62,000, primarily in Jolo. On the 13th day of the operation, the number of Abu Sayyaf dead stood at 109. The military has maintained only two civilians were killed. MANILA (AFP): A leader of the Abu Sayyaf group holding 17 hostages in the southern Philippines has been killed in a military assault on the Muslim extremist kidnappers, a police report said on Thursday. Radulan Sahiron, the one-armed “chief of staff” of the Abu Sayyaf, who was earlier reported wounded, “died due to loss of blood from the wound on his leg,” the report said without elaborating. Two other Abu Sayyaf leaders, Galib Andang and Mujib Susukan, have also reportedly been wounded, officials said earlier.
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Iran developing N-weapons:
CIA WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (PTI) — Iran is developing nuclear weapons with the help of Russia, China and some other nations, a top CIA official has said. Despite international efforts to curb the flow of critical technologies and equipment, Tehran continued to seek fissile material and technology for weapons development and had established an elaborate system of covert military and civilian organisations to support its acquisition goals, A Norman Schindler, Deputy Director of the CIA’s Non-Proliferation Centre, told a Congressional Sub-Committee. “We are reluctant to provide additional details on the Iranian programme, including when Iran might develop a nuclear weapon”, he said in an open session of the subcommittee. The 1,000-mw nuclear power reactor being built by Russia at Bushehr would be subject to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards but it could afford Iran’s broad access to Russia’s nuclear industry, the official said.
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Yugoslavia calls
poll run-off on Oct 8 BELGRADE, Sept 28 (AFP) — The Yugoslav Federal Electoral Commission today officially announced a presidential election run-off to be held on October 8, based on the “final results” of the weekend poll, the state agency Tanjug reported. An opposition representative on the body told AFP early today that official results showed opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica had won 48.96 per cent of Sunday’s vote, while the incumbent Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic won 38.62 per cent. A candidate would have had to secure over 50 per cent of the votes cast to avoid a second round of voting. Meanwhile, a massive opposition “victory” rally in Belgrade ended without any serious incident late yesterday. At least 200,000 persons filled central Belgrade, AFP reporters at the scene estimated, while local media simply put the crowd estimate in the capital at “hundreds of thousands”. Opposition presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica, who came out ahead in Sunday’s election, addressed the crowd before rock musicians put on a concert. Most of the crowd then dispersed without incident. A local medical team said that it had intervened 20 times for “minor collapses”. The Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a coalition of 18 opposition parties which backed the Kostunica, had called the rally to celebrate their victory in the presidential and legislative polls. Thousands also gathered in the second-largest Serb city of Novi Sad, as well as in Nis, Kraljevo, and Leskovac several of other towns in Serbia.
West ‘distorting’ reality His broadcast comments came as at least 200,000 opposition supporters thronged central Belgrade in a rally celebrating Mr Kostunica’s victory. The Federal Electoral Commission has given preliminary figures confirming Mr Kostunica beat Mr Milosevic in the poll. The opposition says its man has already won the Presidency and it refuses to accept the run-off — a position backed by several western powers, including Britain, France and the USA. |
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Bail denied to Speight SUVA, Sept 28 — (Reuters) Fijian coup leader George Speight has been denied bail while awaiting trial on treason charges but he keeps a mobile phone and is allowed some visits on his island prison, a government prosecutor said today. Prosecutor Joe Naidelevu said the high court yesterday denied bail to the one-time insurance salesman who was being held on Nukulau island off Suva with about 20 co-conspirators. |
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US Bill to cut aid to Palestinian state WASHINGTON,
Sept 28 (AFP) — The us house of representatives has over -
whelmingly passed a Bill withholding diplomatic recognition and all non-humanitarian aid from any unilaterally declared Palestinian state. Lawmakers yesterday approved the measure by a margin of 385-27, even as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held a second day of separate talks with us officials here and Washington pursued breakthroughs in the West Asia peace process. State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker said the Bill complicated Washington’s efforts to forge an agreement, with the two sides meeting again with us special Middle East Envoy Dennis Ross at an undisclosed location. “We have a major opportunity to bring a final and enduring peace to the Middle East and legislation at this point complicates the very process we seek to conclude and makes it more difficult to reach a just and lasting peace,” Reeker said. |
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