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| Wednesday,
October 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Ceasefire accord violated in West Asia Milosevic in no mood to concede defeat Pak visa seekers under scrutiny Plea to revoke Army men’s conviction Suharto's son
seeks pardon |
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Proof of vote rigging emerges Pak to publish ' 71 war report 2000-year-old shrine
found in Croatia
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Ceasefire accord violated in West Asia NABLUS (West Bank), Oct 3 (Reuters, AFP) — Israelis and Palestinians exchanged fire at a Jewish holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus today despite an agreement to try to end days of fierce fighting, witnesses said. Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen also exchanged fire near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip, and that Israeli troops fired missiles. Palestinian police tried to restrain a crowd of protesters. These were the first major outbreaks of violence since the two sides reached a ceasefire agreement during the night. Other usual flashpoints remained quiet, with only sporadic cases of stone-throwing and tyre-burning in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At least 49 people have died in violence that erupted on Thursday after a visit by a Right-wing Israeli politician to a site in Jerusalem that is holy to both Jews and Muslims. GAZA CITY: Israel and the Palestinians reached an agreement in the early hours of today for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territories, a Palestinian security source who requested anonymity told AFP. “An agreement has been reached with the Israeli side for a total ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to their former positions,” he said, adding that Israel would also remove all military equipment it had brought into the territories since severe violence flared up on Friday. “Under the accord, the Palestinian side will take responsibility for dealing with any security cases that might arise after the Israeli withdrawal,” he said. RAMALLAH (West Bank): Israeli security forces withdrew on Tuesday from a major West Bank junction that has been a flashpoint for battles with Palestinians, witnesses said. The soldiers folded up their tents and sleeping bags and began removing sandbags and equipment from the Ayosh junction near the Palestinian-ruled city of Ramallah, a spot that one Israeli army official had called a “battle zone’’. Palestinians and Israeli security officials said earlier that they had agreed to try to end the worst violence in the region for at least four years. The clashes erupted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Thursday following a visit by Israeli right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a site in Jerusalem’s walled old city which is sacred to Jews and Muslims. The toll mounted as battles intensified between Israeli forces and Arab and Palestinian demonstrators on Monday, prompting international moves to halt the unrest. Arab Israelis who have staged demonstrations mainly in northern Israeli in solidarity with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip sustained eight deaths, including two who succumbed to injuries suffered the previous day. PARIS: Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has said she would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat here on Wednesday to discuss the escalating violence in West Asia. “In view of the serious escalation of violence in Isreal, West Bank and Gaza, President Clinton asked me to invite Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat to meet with me tomorrow”, Albright said in a statement released here. The European Union is ready to help an international commission inquire into the violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, France, the current EU president, has said in a statement. The declaration came hours after Palestinian Minister for International Cooperation Nabil Shaath late on Monday said after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine that his authority wanted the responsibility for the unrest to be determined. CAIRO (Reuters): Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak has invited Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Barak and Palestinian Yasser Arafat to a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the official Middle East News Agency (Mena) said today. “The aim of the meeting will be to pave the way for building, a strong and comprehensive foundation for all unresolved issues,” Mr Mubarak said, as quoted by Mena. |
Pak visa seekers
under scrutiny ISLAMABAD, Oct 3 (PTI) — The diplomatic missions of 15 major developed countries in islamabad have joined forces to screen out unwanted Pakistanis, including the top government officials, from travelling to any of their countries. The countries include most European Union nations represented in Pakistan as well as Australia, Canada and South Africa, media reported yesterday. Investigations reveal that the Embassies and High Commissions of Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have set up a joint group called the Islamabad Anti Fraud Visa Group. An immigration officer at a European Union country said on the condition of anonymity that the Islamabad Anti-Fraud Visa Group was set up to screen out “suspicious characters” from obtaining a visa. |
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Milosevic in no mood to concede defeat BELGRADE, Oct 3 (AFP, Reuters) — Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Serbia yesterday on the first day of an Opposition civil disobedience campaign called to force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to quit. The protests came as Milosevic made his first direct address to Serbia since the vote, lashing out at the Opposition who he said were seeking to put the Balkans under the control of western powers. Traffic in parts of the Capital Belgrade was brought to a standstill by human barricades and buses. Although a strike call was not fully followed in Belgrade, where most shops stayed open, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) has said it intends to step up its campaign with protests of a few hours today and extended actions from tomorrow. In other cities, trams and garbage trucks stopped in the roads, while in the south, taxis blocked the highway. In Novi Sad, the country’s second biggest city, 40,000 protesters marched. Speaking on state television, Mr Milosevic said West’s recognition of Opposition presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica was part of a plot to bring the Balkans under US-led domination. The DOS a coalition of 18 Opposition parties, called for the street campaign to start yesterday after the authorities denied the DOS claims that Kostunica had won an outright victory in the September 24 elections. Most western countries, loal observers — and even some of Mr Milosevic’s minor coalition allies — have backed the DOS’ claim. Meanwhile, Russia’s offer to mediate in Yugoslavia’s stand-off has drawn an implicit rebuff from both sides, and the Belgrade Opposition vowed to step up a general strike today to force President Slobodan Milosevic to quit. Mr Milosevic voiced defiance in a rare address to the nation on Monday, making clear he would not concede defeat and wanted a second round of voting after last month’s presidential poll. He also pointedly failed to mention Moscow’s offer to host mediation talks. The Opposition’s Vojislav Kostunica, who claimed outright victory in the September 24 presidential poll, likewise would not be drawn on whether he would take up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation and accused Moscow of sitting on the fence. “The Russian policy has so far been indecisive and reluctant, I would say unnecessarily so. It could be described as taking one step forward and one step back,’’ Mr Kostunica said. Mr Putin’s statement implied the need for a runoff vote, which the Belgrade’s Federal Election Commission has set for this Sunday. But Kostunica insists, along with western countries, that there is no need for it as he won well over 50 per cent of the vote. |
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Zia-ur Rahman’s
murder dhaka, oct 3
(pti) — A Bangladeshi parliamentary committee has asked for revocation of the court martial convictions of 37 Army officers for the assassination of Zia-ur Rahman. The Parliamentary standing committee on the Defence Ministry’s move comes after a sub-committee headed by a lawmaker of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League, Mr Showkat Ali, submitted its report maintaining that the punishment under martial law was “preplanned and judgement delivered without adequate witness and proof.” The committee found the entire court martial proceeding as “illegal and unjust” and were aimed at eliminating the freedom fighter officers from the Army. Zia-ur Rahman, who ruled the country from 1975 until 1981 when he was assassinated during the tenure of former President General M.H. Ershad in an aborted coup, is the husband of country’s opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia. The subcommittee was also of the opinion that the accused were not allowed to defend themselves and there were only three defending officers for the 37 accused officers. Thirteen of those convicted were hanged following the court martial in late 1981 for the assassination of Rahman. The committee was probing the allegations by two widows of those hanged to death that the action against their husbands was mala fide and illegal. The committee Chairman, K.M. Shafiuallh, the first Chief of the Bangladesh Army, told reporters that injustice was meted out to most of the Army officers hanged and convicted on charges of murdering Zia-ur Rahman. |
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Suharto's son
seeks pardon jakarta, oct 3
(Reuters)— former indonesian president Suhar to's youngest son today sought a presidential pardon over an 18-month jail sentence for graft, a request that will keep him free for the moment. But following anger over the controversial dismissal of the elder suharto’s graft case last week, most analysts believe it unlikely president abdur rahman wahid will pardon hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra. "Our client has decided to ask for a pardon from the president through a south jakarta court as well as a request to postpone the implementation of the sentence," lawyer Bob r.E.Nasution told newsmen. Nasution was speaking after "Tommy" had met officials from the attorney-general’s office, responding to a second summons over the corruption conviction for an $11 million land scam. Jakarta is on alert for violence from supporters of the suharto family should "Tommy" end up in the capital’s cipinang jail. A series of bomb blasts coincided with attempts to try the elder suharto on separate corruption charges. That case was dropped on Thursday last because of suharto’s ill health, triggering a wave of running street battles between angry students and the police that injured more than 50. Last month,wahid had separately ordered "Tommy" arrested in relation to the spate of bomb blasts in the capital.The police have so far ignored the order. Officials had said the racing car driver and former playboy would have been sent to jail immediately if he did not seek a presidential pardon. |
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Proof of vote rigging emerges FURTHER claims of illegal practices in Yugoslavia’s elections emerged yesterday after a lorry driver alleged that he found ballots for Opposition politicians among a load of paper he was transporting for recycling. The driver, who asked not to be named, took a sample of the voting papers to Velimir Ilic, the Mayor of Cacak — the town where the pulping factory is based. Last night several of those completed polling slips were shown to the Guardian: These were all genuine. The papers included a white presidential ballot with a vote marked for Vojislav Kostunica, the Opposition challenger for the presidency which Slobodan Milosevic is clinging to, despite faring badly in last week’s vote. There were also two ballot papers, blue for the House of Citizens and yellow for the House of Republics in the federal Parliament; both of these were marked for Mr Kostunica’s coalition — the Democratic Opposition of Serbia. None of the ballots was marked with a vote for Milosevic or his federal coalition. There was also a formal document authorising the bearer to carry ballot papers from a prison to the president of the election committee. This bore two blue original stamps. The material for destruction contained several empty envelopes that would have contained votes from the Yugoslav army. There were large pink envelopes and smaller blue ones. The pink bore the address of the federal or local election committee, depending on what kind of vote was inside. The blue one had three stamps on the back to prove that the envelope had been sealed securely. The date on one envelope was September 23; members of the military often vote before polling day, as the ballots go to the constituencies where the soldier’s family is based. Mr Ilic handed the ballot papers to the television station in Cacak. Its editor-in-chief, Svetlana Kojanovic, then contacted the managers at the Diva recycling plant. Mr Ilic, who received the ballot papers from the haulier said yesterday: “It’s stealing votes. It is proven that there has been a lot of stealing.” Cacak has a reputation as a strongly anti-Milosevic town. The discovery of ballots supporting Opposition candidates on their way for recycling quickly added fuel to the anger of people there. — The Guardian, London |
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Pak to publish ' 71 war report karachi, oct 3
(Reuters) — Pakistan’s military ruler yesterday said he would publish a vetted version of a judicial report on the 1971 war with arch-rival
India that led to the secession of then east Pakistan — now
Bangladesh. Gen Pervez Musharraf said in a speech that the report, kept under wraps until now and partly responsible for a recent straining of relations with bangladesh, was being vetted by a committee under the Interior Minister. "I will publish the whole report except the parts that deal with international relations," he told an award ceremony of the all-Pakistan newspapers society, grouping the country’s newspaper owners. He said portions that could affect relations with important countries would not be published. Pakistani authorities have in the past refused to publish the report, purported sections of which have appeared in the indian and pakistani media recently. General Musharraf said the report, compiled in the mid-1970s by former chief justice hamoodur rehman when zulfiqar ali bhutto was prime minister, had five parts and only the part dealing with the military had been leaked to the media. More than 90,000 pakistani military and paramilitary personnel who surrended to india after their defeat in bangladesh were released under a 1972 peace pact. Bangladeshi prime minister sheikh hasina demanded last month that pakistan make a public apology for alleged massacres by its troops and the rape of women in bangladesh. She also called for the pakistani generals of the time to be held responsible by being tried for war crimes. Pakistan asked bangladesh last week not to revive such memories, saying they could damage the prospects of better relations. In his speech, General Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless army coup in october last, said he would hold national elections in 2002, but gave no date. General Musharraf denied that a war with india is likely. "As long as our nuclear deterrent is in place there is no danger of war with india,"he said ."I assure you that nothing will happen. There is no danger of war," he added. |
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2000-year-old shrine
found in Croatia zagreb, Oct 3 (Reuters) — An international team of archaeologists has uncovered what may be a pre-Roman Pagan shrine that has lain undisturbed beneath the hills of southern Croatia for more than two thousand years. The Croatian-Canadian team says the site, dating from the third century BC, is the only shrine of the ancient Illyrian people ever found. They believe they are the first people to have set foot in it since it was sealed up as Rome’s legions marched across Europe. |
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