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| Monday,
October 9, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Barak’s threat to break off talks UN Council flays Israel for
excessive force Kostunica takes
over, aid trickles in Polls predict hung
Parliament in Lanka 80 Hutu rebels killed Revolution in military affairs |
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Rajan to sue Thai police New equality Act in UK ‘needed’ Pak for pressure on
India to start talks
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Barak’s threat to break off talks JERUSALEM, Oct 8 (AP, AFP) — Prime Minister Ehud Barak has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Yasser Arafat saying that unless the Palestinian leader stops violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel will call off peace talks and let Israeli troops act with full force. The strong statement came last night after Hezbollah guerrillas seized three Israeli soldiers in an ambush yesterday on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israel ferried hundreds of troops, including special forces to the frontier. Within hours of Barak’s announcement, Palestinian gunmen intensified shooting attacks in Israeli positions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Israel deployed tanks at several locations including the edge of Jerusalem, after having withdrawn them two days earlier as part of a US-led attempt to reach a truce. Gunmen fired on an Israeli bus in Gaza, injuring seven passengers, including two in a serious condition. The bus that came under attack was carrying Israeli inspectors who work at the Palestinian airport in Gaza. In response, Barak ordered the airport closed, except for flights carrying Arafat himself. In the meantime, Israel prepared for the worst as the clock ticked towards the expiry of its 48-hour ultimatum to the Palestinians to halt violence or face the end of the peace process. Israeli tanks moved into the Gaza Strip and national security council chief Uzi Dayan warned that Israel’s forces would escalate their attacks against the Palestinians if the violence rages on. “If the shooting on the Palestinian side does not end, it is possible that our attacks will target the headquarters of those responsible for the situation,” the General told Israeli public radio. General Dayan also said Israel would respond to any unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians by imposing a “complete separation to preserve our vital interests.” Israeli army chief of staff, Gen Shaul
Mofaz, said the army had “acted with restraint” against the Palestinians, but warned of an escalation. “The army’s hands are not tied,” he added. Israel also sent extra troops and equipment to its border with Lebanon today, the day after Lebanese guerrillas kidnapped three Israeli soldiers in an ambush. The army closed off the disputed area known as Shebaa farms where the soldiers were seized by guerrillas from the militant Shia group Hezbollah in an ambush that sparked warnings of fierce reprisals from
Israel. An AFP correspondent saw tanks on transporters waiting to enter the area, where troops and mobile communications equipment have been massed since yesterday. Israel has also warned Lebanon and Syria, the controlling power in Beirut, as well as Hezbollah of reprisals if the soldiers are not returned safe and well. “We will spare no effort of any kind in order to bring our boys home quickly,” Prime Minister Ehud Barak said. A pro-Syrian daily in Beirut, As
Safir, said a “western capital” had contacted Hezbollah to negotiate a prisoner swap. “Israel wants first to obtain information about the three soldiers through an international organization and then know about the demands of
Hezbollah,” the daily said. As Safir said calls from US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud were also meant to facilitate a prisoners’ exchange. US President Bill Clinton and his aides stepped up contact with W. Asian and European leaders as the mounting violence threatened to spin out of control. The USA is “very, very concerned” by the situation and hopes “to do everything we can to prevent an escalation” of violence there, White House spokesman
P.J. Crowley said, adding “if the violence doesn’t stop, there is always the danger it can spiral into a much more difficult situation.” On Barak’s ultimatum, he said: “we are doing everything we can to work with both sides to see an end of violence, defuse the situation and help both sides bridge back to a point where we can once again focus on the peace process.” |
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UN Council
flays Israel for
excessive force UNITED NATIONS, Oct 8 (Reuters) — With the USA abstaining, the U.N. Security Council has voted to condemn the “excessive use of force” against Palestinians, who suffered some 80 dead in clashes with Israelis. The other 14 Council members voted in favour of the tortuously negotiated resolution
yesterday after three days of nearly all-night talks between U.S. envoys, Palestinian supporters and intervention by President Bill Clinton. The resolution condemned the “excessive use of force against the Palestinians, resulting in injury and loss of human life,” and it implicitly blamed Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon for provoking the weeklong rioting when he visited a shrine on September 28 in Jerusalem’s Old City. Neither Israel nor Mr Sharon are mentioned by name, a concession to the USA, but its implication is clear and one reason the USA abstained, diplomats said. The document, initiated by the Palestinians, also called for an immediate resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and supported “a speedy and objective inquiry” into the violence, without saying who should conduct the probe. |
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Kostunica takes over, aid trickles in BELGRADE, Oct 8 (Reuters) — Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica started his first full day in office today, taking charge of a nation economically crippled and internationally isolated after 13 tormented years of rule by Slobodan Milosevic. Kostunica, a 56-year-old constitutional lawyer, took power late on Saturday at a joint session of Parliament that marked an historic shift towards democracy for Yugoslavia. “Everything is peaceful and Yugoslavia and Serbia have joined the community of democratic nations,” an exhausted but elated Kostunica said in a brief statement to assembled lawmakers and dignitaries. The west promised to help the new President and the European Union is likely to announce on Monday that it will lift some of the sanctions that have throttled Yugoslavia’s economy. A big question mark hung over Milosevic’s future. The former Yugoslav strongman has said he wants to carry on in politics, while the west wants him extradited to face charges rising out of the Kosovo conflict. He was indicted along with four other officials of his leadership for alleged war crimes against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Kostunica has said he would not hand Milosevic over to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. He stated that his first priority would be improving relations between Yugoslavia’s two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, which have been pushed to breaking point by Milosevic’s hardline, nationalist rule. He also said Yugoslavia needed to strengthen its sovereignty over Kosovo, a message bound to infuriate the province’s majority ethnic Albanians, who are pushing for independence. “There will be many economic difficulties and political hardships ahead,” he warned. In Belgrade, thousands of people still milled through the streets, visiting the sites of last Thursday’s revolt when crowds stormed the federal Parliament building and state television offices. Kostunica, a moderate nationalist who galvanised Serbia’s fragmented opposition parties for the September 24 presidential poll, told Reuters television he was relieved that he had ousted Milosevic without a bloodbath. AFP adds: Yugoslavs saw the first dividends of the demise of the Milosevic era today as aid from the west began to trickle back following the swearing-in of new President Vojislav Kostunica. The German foreign ministry announced overnight yesterday that it was freeing up a million euros ($ 870,000) in aid to Yugoslavia. The money is earmarked for work to clear the Danube of debris from last year’s NATO bombing. But it also heralds the unblockage of funds to rebuild Yugoslavia following promises from the USA and the European Union that the embargo would go when Slobodan Milosevic did. |
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Polls predict hung Parliament in Lanka COLOMBO, Oct 8 (PTI) — As Sri Lanka prepared to vote for the next Parliament on Tuesday, pre-poll surveys have predicted a close race and a hung House. While previous poll surveys gave a slight edge to the ruling People’s Alliance (PA), an election-eve opinion poll by Org-Marg group published today has given a one point lead to the opposition United National Party (UNP). UNP leads with 37.5 per cent while PA trailed with 36.5 per cent with over 18 per cent of undecided voters who could tilt the balance in favour of either of the parties, the survey said. The month-long violent and acrimonious campaigning ended yesterday during which over 60 people were killed and scores injured. President Chandrika Kumara-tunga, who won her second term under similar conditions 10 months ago, signed off her campaigning by taking part in a popular phone-in programme over a private television by asking people to elect a government she could work with without any confrontation. Meanwhile, the Opposition vowed a Yugoslav-style uprising if President Chandrika Kumartunga tried to tear the constitution after Tuesday’s decisive parliamentary elections. Former Prime Minister and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said his party was confident of winning a majority, and warned that the people would take to the streets and oust Ms Kumaratunga if she tried to change the constitution. “We will emerge the largest single party with over 113 seats”, Mr Wickremesinghe said. “If she tries to block us, we will take strong measures against her”. He accused Ms Kumaratunga of plotting unconstitutional steps to adopt a new statute after Tuesday’s election. |
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Revolution in military affairs INTERNATIONAL military strategists are currently engrossed in what they describe as a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). Some writers in Pakistan too have analysed the new phenomenon and there are others who are wondering at the calibre of its strategic think tank that will have to evolve war-fighting doctrines in the 21st century. Apprehending that India’s entering into arrangements with Russia and Israel to acquire an anti-missile defence capability might neutralise Pakistan’s deterrence, Dr Maqbool Ahmad Bhatty, in an article in the Dawn observes: “We happen to be next door to a power that is not only determined to acquire the status of a great power, but also regards Pakistan as the main obstacle to its hegemonic ambitions in the Indian Ocean region....A balance would clearly have to be struck in maintaining conventional capabilities, especially as numbers and local fire power do count along long borders. “While we have one of the finest armed forces in the world we cannot but pay greater attention to what is being called Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). As a learned analysis by the Shanghai Institute of International Affairs pointed out, RMA covers three elements: the advanced technologies that can make fundamental changes in wars, creative military doctrines, and adjustments in the size and structure of armed forces according to the new technologies and doctrines. “We in Pakistan need to develop an awareness of the global trends in technologies and military doctrines that have a direct relevance to our security and survival.” Arguing that “in the context of standing Indian threat to Pakistan’s security and the prospect of an imposed war, nuclear deterrence, first, stays as a defensive shield only.” Brigadier A.R. Siddiqui (retd) in an article in the Nation observes: “Let it not, in any way, induce our people into a false sense of security. The people must have their share of anxiety for as long as the threat lasts.” Ayaz Amir also in a article in the Dawn, observes: “After full eight-and-a-half months the military government, assailed on all sides by cries of failures has finally seen the wisdom of embarking upon a course that elementary political sense might have dictated that it follow right at the beginning. “One or more fundamental points need to be clarified, however. Since we are a nation of monkeys forever looking for redeemers and saviours where nothing but disaster lurks, it is scarcely surprising if on the morrow of October 12 there was no shortage of people who saw heroic overtones in the leading figures of this government. The military need not leave a vacuum behind. The political space it vacates can be filled with the ‘clean’ figures of military mythology, people like Mian Azhar who, among a descending order of scoundrels and charlatans are the least tainted by the shenanigans of the past 15 years.” The reconstitution of the National Security Council (NSC) is to institutionalise the body before incorporating it in the Constitution through amendment, a senior official said in Islamabad, reports the News. — ADNI |
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New equality
Act in UK ‘needed’ LONDON, Oct 8 (PTI) — Racism is still endemic in Britain even though race relations in the country are the best in Europe, a new report on combating discrimination has said. “There is a long way to go until the black and Asian communities trust in and cooperate with police forces,” Prof Bhikhu Parekh, chairman of the commission on the future of multi-ethnic Britain, said in his report. At the same time, he pointed out that the notion that the country has severe racial problems is a “skewed and partisan” view. The 400-page report which recommends a series of reforms to reduce discrimination, will be presented to the Home Secretary Jack Straw on Wednesday. Prof Parekh’s assessment follows a two-year investigation set up by the Runnymede Trust, an independent think-tank. The study carried out by a 23-strong commission, recommends a new equality Act, which would outlaw all forms of discrimination, and the establishment of a human rights commission and an equality commission to ensure that minorities are treated fairly. |
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Rajan to sue Thai police BANGKOK, Oct 8 (DPA) —Lawyers for suspected Mumbai mafia boss Chhota Rajan, now detained in Bangkok, plan to file a court case against the Thai immigration police for abuse of power, a report said today. Citing sources close to Rajan — who was jailed on Friday on charges of travelling on false documents — the Nation newspaper said he was building a case against the Thai police. Indian politicians may be flown in for the trial because "a number of Indian politicians are in debt to him, and many are willing to help," the anonymous source reportedly said. The saga around Rajan started when he was seriously wounded in a gangland-style shootout in an associate’s Bangkok flat on September 15. The Thai police later made Rajan testify against suspects in the shootout — three Pakistanis and one Thai — and to stand trial for giving false information to the immigration police several months ago. Rajan’s lawyers now feel they have a case for charging the immigration police with keeping Rajan under arrest illegally for one day. The Thai authorities have been puzzled by the Indian Government’s reluctance to press for Rajan’s deportation. The Nation attributed the confusion to Indian politics, noting that Rajan is wanted for murder and extortion in Maharashtra, which is controlled by the opposition Congress party. "The motive of the Maharashtra leaders could well be to humiliate the central government by dispatching their police officers to Thailand to make charges against Rajan," the Nation reported. |
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Pak for pressure on India to start talks ISLAMABAD, Oct 8 (PTI) — Pakistan today asked the world community to “exert pressure” on New Delhi to hold talks with Islamabad to resolve the Kashmir issue as it said the prospects of Indo-Pakistan dialogue was “very poor”. “The world community should see how it could exert pressure on India for resumption of talks. The talks should be purposeful to address the root cause of tension,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told leading Japanese daily Nikkei. “Prospects of the Indo-Pakistan talks are very poor,” he said, accusing New Delhi of “not responding to the call for resumption of stalled talks.” Referring to the nuclear issue, Sattar said Pakistan would review its unilateral moratorium on further nuclear tests if “another country” conducted explosions. “We will not be the first to resume tests,” he said. On Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to India during which the two countries embarked upon a strategic partnership in nuclear and defence fields and resolved to cooperate in combating international terrorism and religious extremism, Sattar said Pakistan had no problem about the bilateral ties of other countries as every country had the right to improve ties with other. Asked about reports that Pakistan had tested long-range Shaheen-II missiles, Sattar said his country’s missile development programme had been going on for a decade and that he had no information about any new tests. He denied any support to Pakistan by North Korea and China in missile development, saying Islamabad’s missile programme was indigenous. On the CTBT, he said the military regime was building a domestic consensus on the issue. “Pending signatures on the treaty, Pakistan will observe its key obligation of no further tests,” he added. |
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80 Hutu rebels killed KIGALI, Oct 8 (DPA) — Fierce clashes between the Burundian Army and the armed Hutu rebels continued unabated today near the capital Bujumbura with government forces claiming an
upper hand in the fighting. “Security forces continued to hunt down armed gangs in the hills overhanging the capital,” military sources in Bujumbura said. Fighting between the army and the rebels erupted at Tenga, 10 km northeast of the capital two weeks ago. Clashes also took place in Kamenge suburb, considered a stronghold of Hutu rebels sympathisers. Military officials in Burundi said there had been casualties in the on-going fighting which resumed early this week. A statement from the Ministry of Defence read on the state radio Bujumbura today said government forces lost 10 men, while more than 80 Hutu rebels were killed. However, some independent reports had put the death toll of government soldiers at 30, and 52 others wounded. These reports have been dismissed by the government. |
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