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October 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Milosevic rejects Russian mediation offer BELGRADE, Oct 1 — Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic appeared determined to cling to power, dismissing Opposition complaints over election results and reportedly rejecting a Russian offer of mediation. China clamps down on Falun Gong Violence threatens W. Asia peace 50 LTTE fighters killed in clashes Rebel hideouts on Jolo pounded |
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| Suharto can still be tried: Wahid SANTIAGO (Chile) Oct 1 — Indonesia’s President has said former dictator Suharto can still be tried and that he is prepared to pardon his country’s ex-leader only after a sentence has been imposed. 120 Chinese Catholics
declared martyrs ‘Crescent’ becomes ‘golden triangle’
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Milosevic rejects Russian
mediation offer BELGRADE, Oct 1 (AFP) — Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic appeared determined to cling to power, dismissing Opposition complaints over election results and reportedly rejecting a Russian offer of mediation. Meanwhile, demonstrations and strikes were taking hold across Serbia, even in towns where Opposition activities have been little visible until now. Just hours after Russia offered to mediate in the stand-off that threatened to plunge the country into post-election chaos, the UN’s human rights rapporteur for the Balkans, Mr Jiri Dienstbier, said yesterday that Milosevic had “refused mediation” by Moscow to end the impasse over the September 24 vote. The Yugoslav election commission has called a run-off vote for October 8 because it says that neither Milosevic nor Opposition challenger Vojislav Kostunica secured an absolute majority of the vote. But the DOS insists that Kostunica beat Milosevic outright in last weekend’s polls. The election commission, however, rejected a complaint from the DOS yesterday over inconsistencies in the official vote results as “baseless “. DOS legal expert Nebojsa Bakarec told AFP the Opposition would now appeal to Yugoslavia’s highest court. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to send his Foreign Minister to Belgrade “for consultations with all the participants” in the election, warning Western powers against escalating the crisis. Earlier, the UN human rights rapporteur for the Balkans, Mr Jiri Dienstbier, called for an internationally-monitored recount of votes cast in last weekend’s presidential poll, echoing Opposition calls. “The truth must prevail and in this respect, it would be fine if both sides were to accept a proposal from friendly countries to organise a recount of votes to discover the truth about the elections,” Mr Dienstbier
stated. Asked to elaborate on a statement he made earlier yesterday in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, that Milosevic had “refused” a Russian offer to mediate the electoral dispute, Mr Dienstbier said: “We have to wait.” Gill Sandford of the Guardian adds: The most important power base of Slobodan Milosevic is now under serious threat after the far-right Radical Party, which rules Serbia in coalition with the Milosevic regime, offered its support to the opposition. It emerged yesterday that the RP leader, Vojislav Seseji, contacted the Opposition directly and offered his help. The move opens up a real possibility of overthrowing Mr Milosevic’s hold on his legislative power base within the Serbian republic government by the end of this year. The Radical Party is the most strident force in Yugoslav politics and their support for the Democratic Opposition of Serbia marks a major political shift. Mr Sesej is a former paramilitary trooper active during the war in Bosnia. He is famous in Belgrade for waving a gun on the streets on more than one occasion. Most recently, he threatened local j ournalists, saying they should be “liquidated”. The radicals’ support for Mr Kostunica’s coalition is all the more surprising because the blocs were rivals in the election. But soon after the Opposition and the Centre for Freedom and Democracy (CESID) announced their results-both independently declaring Mr Kostunica the winner-the radicals corroborated the claims with their results. BERLIN (Reuters): Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Putin agree that the victory by Opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica in the presidential election reflects the will of the Serbian people for democratic change, the German Government said today. Government spokeswoman Charima Reinhardt said in a brief statement that the two leaders had agreed the common position in a telephone call yesterday, which followed Mr Schroeder’s trip to Moscow last Monday. They agreed that, in Mr Kostunicas election victory, the will of the Serbian people for a democratic change in Yugoslavia had been clearly expressed,’’ the statement said. It added that the two leaders discussed how the international community could ensure that “this will can be realised in a peaceful way.’’ The two leaders would stay in close contact on developments in Yugoslavia. |
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China clamps down on Falun Gong BEIJING, Oct 1 (Reuters) — Hundreds of followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement marked China’s national day today with huge protests in a packed Tiananmen Square, witnesses said. The police detained several hundred Falun Gong members, kicking, punching and pulling them by the hair as they herded them onto buses after protests broke out all around the vast plaza crammed with tourists, they added. Some unfurled banners while others assumed the lotus position, and many waved and signalled to puzzled onlookers as they were whisked off to a police station nearby, they said. October 1, the 51st anniversary of Communist rule, is one of many “sensitive dates” in China, when those with gripes against the government try to stage public protests. But Falun Gong members have staged similar protests almost daily at Tiananmen Square, China’s political heart, since the government banned the group in July last year and branded it an “evil cult”. Next month will bring the first anniversary of China’s parliament rubber-stamping a draconian law against cults, which paved the way for tough sentences on Falun Gong leaders. Beijing says it has jailed about 150 organisers of the spiritual group, which it accuses of causing 1,500 deaths and 600 cases of mental illness. Falun Gong says thousands of adherents are in labour camps without trial, and a Hong Kong-based human rights group says at least 52 adherents have died in government custody since the ban. In the most recent reported case, a Chinese policeman who was also a Falun Gong follower died in a labour camp in northern Hebei province, a Hong Kong-based rights group said last week. China said on Thursday Falun Gong was scheming with political enemies bent on toppling the government and state media have voiced alarm at the notion of democracy activists and ethnic separatists copying Falun Gong’s campaign of peaceful protests. This month, exiled poet Huang Beiling called on China’s intellectuals to follow the example of Falun Gong meditators by fighting government oppression with civil disobedience. Falun Gong, which combines meditation and exercise with a doctrine rooted loosely in Buddhist and Taoist teachings, first rattled the ruling Communist Party with an unexpected 10,000-strong protest in Beijing in April, 1999. |
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Violence threatens W. Asia peace GAZA CITY, Oct 1 (AFP) — A 22-year-old Palestinian succumbed to his injuries after being shot by the Israeli army, making him the 16th Palestinian killed after clashes yesterday, a hospital official here said. Maher Rajab Abeid was shot in the chest during clashes earlier in the Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, the hospital said. The shootout also led to the deaths of three other Palestinians — an ambulance driver, a 12-year-old boy and a policeman. JERUSALEM (Reuters): Palestinians and Israeli security forces battled with guns, sticks and rocks on the third day of clashes in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem in which at least 15 Palestinians died. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke by telephone with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and urged him to help quell the violence that threatens to plunge West Asia peace-making deeper into crisis. Mr Barak’s office said in a statement that the Prime Minister told Mr Arafat his “personal and immediate intervention” was needed to put an end to the bloodshed, and he warned that “Israel would not allow the violence to be a tool in negotiations”. “The two men also agreed that senior security officials from both sides would be in steady contact for the purpose of restoring calm,” Mr Barak’s office said. Mr Arafat’s adviser Nabil Abu Rdainah, said the Palestinian leader had not agreed to restrain his forces. A senior Palestinian official said Mr Barak had apologised for the fact that so many had been killed. The official said if Israel did not stop the bloodshed in the next 24 hours Mr Arafat would take several “measures,” including going to the UN Security Council. Israeli force brought in armoured cars and helicopters as fighting raged in Gaza. The Israeli army banned
Israelis from entering Palestinian-ruled areas for a second day on Sunday. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters that he was not sure negotiations would resume next week as planned. “Israel has to stop this massacre,” he said. The militant Palestinian Hamas Group called for an end to talks with Israel and renewal of violence. Interviewed of Israel’s Channel Two television, Mr Sharon, leader of the main opposition Likud Party, expressed his regret over casualties on both sides. But he blamed the Palestinians for the violence. In New York, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan telephoned Mr Barak as well as Mr Arafat on Friday, urging the leaders to do everything to reduce the tensions. AFP adds: Meanwhile, an Israeli military spokesman has admitted there was no ceasefire agreement with the Palestinians, contrary to
previous Israeli statements, and predicted more “very violent” clashes in the territories. “We did not get a ceasefire”, said the spokesman on Saturday speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity. |
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50 LTTE fighters killed in clashes COLOMBO, Oct 1 (UNI) — At least 50 terrorists and four soldiers were killed in heavy fighting that erupted last evening when the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam attacked security forces at Eluthumadduval in Jaffna even as a Deputy Minister escaped unhurt when terrorists fired at his convoy in eastern Batticaloa. The minister was proceeding to Batticaloa from Valacheri after addressing an election meeting. Three police personnel of the minister’s escort were injured. An official
press note said LTTE commenced attacking security forces defence lines, well supported by artillery and mortars at Eluthumadduval. The security forces repulsed the attack and foiled the attempts by the LTTE to breach defences. During the two-hour fighting, more than 50 terrorists were killed and most of them were teenagers. Four soldiers were killed in action while 41 were wounded. The note said that having failed to cause an exodus from Thenmarachchi in the north and Vadamachari in the South with threats on their clandestine radio, the LTTE had begun indiscriminate shelling of densely-populated areas. So far, 74 families had left the area. In another incident, a naval patrol craft detected a suspicious boat movement off Kudramali Point, some 160 km north of Colombo yesterday. Supported by reinforcements, naval craft confronted the terrorist boat. When the naval craft approached closer, terrorists forced rocket propelled grenades and mortar fire disabling it. An officer and sailor are reported missing and are believed to have been killed. |
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Rebel hideouts on Jolo pounded JOLO (Philippines), Oct 1 (Reuters) — Philippine airplanes and helicopter gunships pounded Muslim rebel hideouts on southern Jolo Island with bombs and rockets today in a campaign to rescue 17 foreign and Filipino hostages. The daybreak aerial bombardment echoed through the Jolo town, but its results were not immediately known. Military commanders told reporters they were sure there were no hostages in the hills targeted by the attack. Yesterday, government forces killed three members of the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla outfit in fighting in the Patikul Hills, 6 km from downtown Jolo, an army spokesman said. One of the troops was injured. A total of 114 rebels and seven government men have died in fighting in the hills since the military launched air and ground assaults on September 16 to try and rescue the hostages. Cracks surfaced for the first time among Manila officials yesterday over how to end the hostage crisis, when national police chief General Panfilo Lacson said he had opposed the army’s strategy of bombing rebel hide-outs. He preferred a stealthy commando attack instead. Two French journalists escaped in the first days of the offensive but the rebels still hold American Jeffrey Schilling, three Malaysians and 13 Filipinos. Meanwhile, ten persons were killed when Communist guerrillas opened fire on a truck carrying soldiers and civilians in the southern Philippines, the police said today. Eight other people, mostly soldiers, were wounded in the attack on the outskirts of Davao city. |
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Suharto can still be tried: Wahid SANTIAGO (Chile) Oct 1 (AP) — Indonesia’s President has said former dictator Suharto can still be tried and that he is prepared to pardon his country’s ex-leader only after a sentence has been imposed. “There are other situations in which we have to investigate the participation that former President Suharto had, and I think there will be a sentencing in one of those cases,” President Abdurrahman Wahid told reporters yesterday at the start of a visit to Chile. “But once that sentence has been issued, then we will grant him pardon,” he added. Wahid, who flew here yesterday from neighbouring Argentina as part of a four-nation South American tour, has stated this dissatisfaction with the ruling of a five-judge panel that Suharto, 79, was medically and mentally unfit to face trial. The South Jakarta Court dismissed all charges against Suharto after an independent team of doctors said three strokes had left the former dictator physically and mentally unfit to face trial on charges of stealing at least $ 583 million from the state during his 32 years in power. While insisting that Suharto must face trial, Wahid made clear that the rulings by the courts must be respected. JAKARTA, (Reuters): Indonesia’s powerful parliamentary Speaker on Sunday joined a mounting chorus of calls for former President Suharto to be brought to trial on graft charges. |
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120 Chinese Catholics
declared martyrs VATICAN CITY, Oct 1 (AP) — pope John Paul ii added the first Chinese Catholics to the growing roll of saints today, declaring 120 Chinese Catholics and foreign missionaries martyrs in the church’s five-century — and ongoing — struggle in China. China’s state-run church bitterly protested the canonisation of the 87 Chinese and 33 foreign missionaries as a “public humiliation.” But, John Paul, looking wan and tired on a rainy morning in St. Peter’s Square, insisted that “the celebration is not the time to make judgements.” “The church only intends to recognise that those martyrs are an example of courage and coherence for all of us, and give honour to the noble Chinese people,” John Paul said. The canonisation falls on China’s National Day celebrating the 51st anniversary of Communist rule in China. |
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‘Crescent’ becomes ‘golden triangle’ BERLIN, Oct 1 (PTI) — ‘Golden crescent’ of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan has replaced the “golden triangle” of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos as a “major source” of illegal drugs for western Europe, even as investigators combat a new channel for heroin trafficking to the industrialised nations in Europe. “Heroin trafficking to western Europe is still going strong and the drug no longer comes from the “golden triangle” Nowadays western Europe is almost entirely supplied by the golden crescent “countries,” according to Germany’s Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA). BKA President Ulrich Kersten said at conference in Wiesbaden that the “silk route” was being targeted by Interpol and Europol following its emergence as an alternative option for opium smuggling. The conference was told that close to 50 per cent of the western European heroin market today was supplied via the “silk route”. Delegates from 24 countries found along the “silk route”, and representatives from the European Union and international crime-fighting organisations including, Interpol and Europol met at the conference to discuss strategies meant to “effectively curb” the drug trade. The “silk route” means the opium crosses the northern border of Afghanistan into the central Asian republics, and is then smuggled along European-Asia trade routes - many of which date back to the middle ages - into Russia. From Russia, amid the steadily growing influx of goods moving from east to west, the heroin makes its way to European Union countries. Mr Kersten said the traditional “Balkan route” became less popular in the 1990s due to the bloody conflicts in the Balkan region. For many years, opium reached western Europe via the Balkan route, which runs through Iran and Turkey before zigzagging across the countries of former Yugoslavia and southern and central Europe. The UN International Drug Control Programme has estimated that the ‘golden crescent’ countries account for between 70 and 80 per cent of world opium production, with crop yields for 2000 expected to top production for 1999. According to this UN organisation, 4,600 tonnes of raw opium was produced in Afghanistan last year alone. Afghan heroin now makes up 90 per cent of the market in western Europe, the Wiesbaden conference was informed. |
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