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| Thursday, February 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Barak rebuffs
Sharon offer on post 10 LTTE rebels die
in sea battle
Robert Mugabe in the dock Bush for Indo-Pak dialogue 8 die in Borneo ethnic clashes |
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United Nations, February 21 Top Iraqi officials will hold talks with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan here to break the stalemate over weapons inspections despite last week’s bombing by the US and British warplanes.
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Barak rebuffs
Sharon offer on post Jerusalem, February 21 “He presented me his resignation in a detailed letter that presents all the problems, why he reached this conclusion, and decision” Labour Party security Raanan Cohen told Israel Radio. The resignation was effective immediately. Outgoing Prime Minister Barak also told Sharon in a letter he would not accept his invitation to be Defence Minister in his government. Barak would quit as member of Parliament, members of his party said. It was not immediately clear how this would affect efforts by Sharon, hawkish leader of the rightist Likud Party, to form a coalition government to deal with a bloody Palestinian uprising and renew West Asian peace talks. On the eve of Sharon’s unprecedented landslide election victory on February 6, Barak had announced he would resign as Labour Party chairman and take a “time-out” from politics. Later he said he would accept Sharon’s invitation to be Defence Minister in a broad government but came underfire from members of his own Labour party who opposed the move. Sharon’s Likud Party had earlier given the centre-left Labour Party one week to join a broad-based government, seen as Israel’s best hope for peacemaking with the Palestinians. Likud members said they would seek other partners to form a government if Barak did not secure the agreement of his party to join a coalition government by the end of next Monday. In the latest violence since Palestinians began their uprising nearly five months ago, the Israeli army said it had opened fire on Palestinian gunmen at Beit Jala it accused of firing at Gilo, a Jewish settlement on the edge of Jerusalem on Monday. At least five Palestinians were hurt in the shooting that echoed throughout Jerusalem on one of the coldest nights of the year. One home was damaged and another erupted in flames after being hit by Israeli shells, witnesses said. Israeli army radio said an Israeli was moderately wounded by Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on his car on a West Bank road. Near
the West Bank town of Jenin, an Israeli helicopter was forced to land and rescue an undercover unit that failed to capture a member of the militant Palestinian Hamas group, Naser Jabbar, Israeli and Palestinian security sources said. Although no new deaths were reported on a relatively quiet day in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a Palestinian woman was arrested for stabbing and wounding a Jewish settler in the West Bank city of Hebron. Mourners in the West Bank city of Nablus chanted “revenge, revenge”
at the funeral of a militant killed on Monday, in what Palestinians said was an Israeli assassination. More than 400 persons have been killed since the uprising began in late September after peace talks became deadlocked. Most of the dead were Palestinians but 61 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have also been killed. Should Sharon fail to lure Labour into a coalition he would be forced to form a narrow right-wing coalition with religious parties which could block peace talks with the Palestinians. “I hope the Labour Party will approve the unity government and we can progress quickly. But if that will be delayed beyond Monday then another government will be formed,” said senior Likud member Ehud Olmert, the mayor of Jerusalem. But in a statement likely to anger Labour, Sharon said he planned to include right-wingers Rahavam Zeevi and Avigdor Lieberman in his cabinet. Labour members have made clear they would not favour their inclusion in the government. Voters deserted Barak in an election on February 6 because of his failure to quell the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Reuters
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10 LTTE rebels die
in sea battle Colombo, February 21 The sea battle erupted off Point Pedro when the navy confronted the LTTE flotilla early in the day, ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said. “We have sunk at least two cargo boats and attacked at least two attack craft of the LTTE,” Mr Karunaratne said. He said naval ships suffered minor damage during the fighting. In a statement issued later, the Defence Ministry said at least 10 rebels were killed in the attack. The navy too suffered minor damage to an attack craft, but there were no casualties among sailors. There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE to the military claims. Defence officials said they suspected that the rebel convoy was heading for the north-eastern coast of the island from neighbouring India or from a South-east Asian destination, but the exact point of origin was not know.
UNI |
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Mole leaves gaping hole in FBI ranks AN FBI SPYCATCHER was accused yesterday (Tuesday) of helping to send American agents to their deaths by trading secrets to Russia for $ 1.4m, in one of the biggest security breaches in US history. Robert
Hanssen, a 56-year-old FBI veteran and father of six, faces charges stretching back more than 15 years, contained in a 110-page affidavit that details payments to Swiss bank accounts and in diamonds. They include identifying former Soviet KGB double-agents who were working for the USA. “I think one of the worst parts is agents killed in the line of duty,’’ said Louis Freeh, FBI Director, who described the arrest as a coup for the bureau.
'' This case is a grave and tragic moment for us.’’ Asked if the case was one of the worst breaches of US security, Mr Freeh replied: “I would characterise it in that fashion.’’ Hanssen, who has worked for the FBI for 27 years, was said to have been caught red-handed three days ago while leaving classified information at a “dead drop’’ in a park in northern Virginia. A payment of $ 50,000 was found nearby. FBI agents said Hanssen helped to cross-check and confirm intelligence sold by Aldrich Ames, thought to be the most damaging mole in CIA history. Ames, who was arrested six years ago, is serving a life sentence for revealing more than 100 operations and betraying about 30 agents, 10 of whom were executed. Hanssen, who is said to have offered his services to the former Soviet Union in 1985, gave details about KGB double-agents who had already been compromised by Ames. “When these two KGB officials returned to Moscow they were tried and executed,’’ said Mr Freeh. ``Two were executed and one was in prison and later released.’’ John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General, said: “The arrest should remind us that our free society is an international target in a dangerous world.’’ Hanssen, known to his Russian handlers by the code-name Ramon, is accused of passing on secrets about US electronic surveillance techniques. The four handlers did not know where he worked because he was able to use his experience to prevent both sides from following him. High security clearance and sensitive assignments gave Ramon, who is thought to have been operating alone, access to details of US security operations. In the end, KGB documents that fell into the hands of FBI-CIA officers investigating a mole in their ranks led them to
Hanssen, due to retire in two months. While he was supposed to have been operating as a counter-espionage officer spying on the spies in New York and Washington he was actually working for the Soviet Union and then Russia. “In short, the insider betrayed his trust,’’ Mr Freeh said. “The FBI entrusted him with some of its most sensitive matters and the US Government relied upon him for his service and integrity. The crimes alleged are an affront not only to his fellow FBI employees but to the American people.’’ The Russian Embassy in Washington declined to comment, but a security services spokesman in Moscow suggested that publicity about the case was politically motivated. Mr Plato Cacheris, a prominent Washington lawyer who is representing Hanssen, said: “He’s quite upset, emotional. It’s a serious matter, an FBI agent charged with espionage.’’ Mr Cacheris, whose previous clients have included Ames and Monica Lewinsky, spoke after Hanssen appeared in court in Alexandria, Virginia. “We’ll have to see what the quality of the case is. As far as I know he is of good character,’’ Mr Cacheris said. He said that
Hanssen, who has been working recently for the state department and is only the third FBI agent to have been accused of espionage, intends to plead not guilty. He could face the death penalty if convicted. Nancy Cullen, a neighbour of the Hanssen family, who lives in a $ 300,000 split-level brick and cedar home in a Washington suburb, said: “We just can’t believe it... a dog and six kids and a regular routine. “Part of the routine that made us feel guilty was that every Sunday they would pack up van and go to church. They’re just a great family.” Hanseen’s wife, Bonnie, teaches religious education part-time at a Catholic school. “They didn’t appear to be unusual in any way,” said another neighbour. “They did nothing to raise a red flag or make me suspicious.”
The Guardian, London |
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Robert Mugabe in the dock ZIMBABWE President Robert Mugabe turns 77 this week and a birthday bash is being organised by his party loyalists this weekend at the resort town of Victoria Falls. The event is being sneered at by his political opponents and a critical media as a “crude ego trip” highlighting the personality cult. In their view, there is nothing much to celebrate since the country is in the economic doldrums and his recent actions against the judiciary and a free Press smack of authoritarianism. An article carried by Harare newspaper Independent was vitriolic in its denunciation of the Mugabe regime “As President Mugabe totters towards his 77th birthday, the country is surely tottering towards dictatorship as the democratic mask once worn in the community of nations slides irretrievably”. It quoted analysts as saying that Mugabe, “having failed to provide enlightened leadership on a range of issues, had resorted to tyranny to maintain his political hegemony”. Political analyst Msiputa Sitho-le was devastating in his comment. “It is the manifestation of the last kicks of a dying horse”. What has President Mugabe done to earn the wrath of those who had once held him in high esteem? What has overtaken Mr Mugabe, who along with the late Joshua Nkomo, affectionately known as Father Zimbabwe, had successfully challenged the white minority rule of Ian Smith in former Rhodesia and brought independence to the country? The answer lies in the observations of Nkomo, a close associate during the freedom struggle (the two later fell out) in his autobiography “The Story of My Life”. The new African rulers who came to power at independence have all too often claimed the same unquestioned authority as their traditional and colonial predecessors. Instead of welcoming debate as the necessary means for improving government, they have confused opposition to particular policies with general disloyalty. Constructive criticisms are brushed aside and suggested improvements are described as attempts to undermine the state. Far too often in Africa, power has become intolerant”. That is what many independent observers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the world believe has happened to President Mugabe. As the London Guardian points out, Mugabe’s critics and accusers are dismissed as traitors, stooges, and of course, racists. “In power for nearly 21 years, he seems to see himself straddling a founding father’s podium, looking down with disdain on the political pygmies at his feet”. Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF government claims it has succeeded in creating an enabling environment where all Zimbabweans fully enjoy their civil and political rights. It boasts that it has sought to identify and eliminate the real and potential sources of instability, chaos and social disintegration and hardships. But such declarations are instantly rejected by his political opponents who site the Mugabe government’s crackdown on the judiciary, the opposition, the civil society and human rights groups. In recent days, the judiciary has become the target of intimidation by the powers that be and as a result, the Chief Justice, Mr Anthony Gubbay, took early retirement, succumbing to ministerial pressure. Justice Minister Chinamasa is reportedly trying to ease out two other judges, but the latter are not willing to oblige. The judiciary has incurred the wrath of the government because the courts have ruled against the authorities on such matters as police raids on the offices of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), arbitrary detention of foreigners, the carrying of identity cards and the validity of sections of the Law and Order Maintenance Act. MDC’s legal strategist laments. “It is hard to say what is most outrageous and despicable the Mugabe government’s efforts to neutralise the courts, its intimidation of the Press or its violation of the right of average citizens.” The UN special
rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers, the International Commission of Jurists and Human Rights Organisations have all condemned the harassment of the judiciary in Zimbabwe. The US State Department last week deplored the “deterioration” of the human right situation in Zimbabwe noting that it was occuring at a time of increasing economic hardship in the country due largely to the policy decisions of the Mugabe government. The neighbouring African countries have been less forthcoming on the situation in Zimbabwe and shy of making criticism of President Mugabe. South African Defence Minister, Mosluoa Lekota, has said his country can not act as “the bully boy of the region.” Overall, the international community’s reaction to the happenings in Zimbabwe has so far been rather muted. The Harare government’s order over the last weekend expelling correspondents, including one from the BBC has had the effect of focusing world attention to the goings on in Zimbabwe. The US Government is consulting international organisations and donor states and other countries concerned to find ways to promote respect for the rule of law and for basic human rights in Zimbabwe. But if the weapon of sanctions is in the mind of the Bush Administration, it is unlikely to find many takers for the simple reason that there is apparent realisation in the international community that sanctions have little effect on autocratic regimes and may only hurt the people of the country concerned. The case of Iraq where President Saddam Hussain is still grinning after years of UN sanction proves the point. That does not however, mean that there is no scope for persuasive international pressure. President Mugabe dismisses the attacks on his government as “malicious propaganda by external forces opposed to the land reform programme.” But he admits “this is affecting our image abroad.” Leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, does not rule out a popular uprising against the Mugabe regime because “a time comes when people feel enough is enough”.
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Bush for Indo-Pak dialogue Islamabad, February 21 A ministry statement said Mr Bush's first official letter to General Musharraf was delivered to him on Wednesday by US Ambassador William Milam. "President Bush underlined the shared interests of the two countries in a peaceful and stable South Asia," the statement said. It said Mr Bush applauded Pakistan's gesture in sending relief supplies for the victims of last month's devastating earthquake in western India and expressed pleasure at a subsequent direct telephone conversation between General Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. "President Bush has emphasised that dialogue is vital for resolving the differences between the two countries," the statement said. The ministry statement said Mr Bush, in his letter, "appreciated the long history of cooperation and goodwill between Pakistan and the United States". He also hoped for better relations with Pakistan and stated that "he looks forward to the opportunities ahead", it said. Mr Bush also hoped that "the issues relating to Afghanistan will be addressed in a positive way", the statement said. Reuters |
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8 die in Borneo ethnic clashes Jakarta, February 21 The latest fighting brings to 28 the number of deaths since fighting between indigenous Dayak people and migrants from elsewhere in Indonesia erupted on Sunday in Sampit town, about, 800 km northeast of Jakarta. Most of the victims were hacked to death, the police said. State news agency Antara reported that open battles between the Dayaks and the settlers, mainly from the island of Madura, started this morning. Enmity between the Dayaks and the migrants has often erupted into fierce brawls in the region. The fighting is often triggered by land disputes. Hundreds of people have died in the past few years in a series of clashes.
AP
Iraq to
hold talks with Anan United Nations, February 21 In a letter to Annan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who will be participating in the meeting on February 26 and 27, has asked him to condemn the air attacks by the US and the UK. Referring to air raids on Iraq, Annan said he had not been consulted . |
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