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| Monday,
April 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Blair to delay poll over FMD
issue 11 killed in Lanka
blast All set for first lunar
adventure Bandh cripples
life in Bangladesh Dalai Lama meets Taiwan’s Tibetans Lollywood
turns to India |
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Milosevic held, standoff ends Belgrade, April 1 The move put Mr Milosevic behind bars on suspicion of the abuse of office, although he is also wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal to face the charge of crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Kosovo in 1999. The leader, widely blamed for a decade of nationalist wars as the old Yugoslavia broke apart, was taken into custody from the Belgrade residence where he had been holed up for over 24 hours after resisting two previous arrest attempts. “Mr Milosevic will enjoy all rights granted to him by the law,” said Mihajlovic, a member of the Reformist Bloc which ousted the longtime leader in a mass uprising last October. “There was no resistance and, therefore, no reason for the use of force,” he said of the arrest. Reporters outside the residence heard five shots just after 4:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) near Mr Milosevic’s residence as a small convoy of vehicles came from the direction of the house. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at Belgrade’s central prison, a concrete building with white bars on its windows. Officials confirmed Mr Milosevic had been taken there. The Serbian authorities made two attempts to arrest Mr Milosevic the previous night, the second time using black-clad masked commandos who stormed the compound and fought a gunbattle with the former President’s private guards. Mr Milosevic decided to go into custody to avoid a bloodbath, because he valued the lives of the people ready to protect him, said Branislav Ivkovic, a leader of his Socialist Party. Tension had been high outside the former President’s residence during the standoff. Opponents and supporters of Mr Milosevic gathered and threw bottles, stones and clods of earth until they were separated by a police charge. Serbian officials said they had wanted to resolve the crisis peacefully. “We had intelligence reports saying that there was lots of ammunition, arms and explosives in the residence,” said Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. The commando raid came just before the expiry of a deadline set by U.S. legislation for President George W. Bush to declare whether Yugoslavia was cooperating with the U.N. tribunal and could avoid economic sanctions and withholding of aid. U.S. officials said they expected to announce on Monday whether Belgrade had passed the muster. Washington had accepted that Mr Milosevic would not be handed over to the the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague by the deadline, but had made it clear to reformers that putting him in jail for any offence would help them make the grade. Mr Milosevic, a former Communist functionary, muscled his way to the top of Yugoslav politics in the vacuum left by the death in 1980 of post-World War II dictator Marshal Tito. He earned a reputation as an unscrupulous pragmatist ready to embrace war and nationalism for the sake of power during his terms as Serbian and Yugoslav President.
Reuters |
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Relief at arrest of ‘Balkan butcher’ Sarajevo, April 1 “There is no justice that can satisfy a mother who has lost her child,” said Munira Subasic, who lost 22 family members when Bosnian Serbs murdered several thousand Muslims they captured after the Srebrenica enclave fell to their forces in 1995. “But I am really happy that Milosevic has finally been arrested,” she said. Disbelief and discontent mingled with satisfaction that the man reviled as “The Butcher of the Balkans” might finally face judgement for directing the killing that marked old socialist Yugoslavia’s protracted and bloody break-up. A middle-aged couple in the Croatian capital, Zagreb, said: “Is this an April Fool’s joke,” and walked away laughing. “I don’t believe he was arrested. They’ve just put him somewhere safe so as not to send him to The Hague,” said Jahir Rexhepi, (43), in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina. His views reflected widespread scepticism in the breakaway regions of old Yugoslavia that Serbia’s reformist government will ever send Milosevic to The Hague to stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity at the United Nations tribunal. Political figures in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, whose struggles from 1991 to 1995 for independence from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia left more than 200,000 dead, repeated that Milosevic must face no other fate than international justice. “We hope today’s action is only the first phase in bringing to justice those responsible for the immeasurable suffering and destruction carried out in the name of “Greater Serbia” in the last decade,” said Croatian Foreign Minister Tomina Picula. Slovenian President Milan Kucan said the arrest was an important break with the expansionist nationalism that was the hallmark of Serb policy throughout the 1990s. The arrest of Milosevic was particularly piquant in Kosovo, where divisions between ethnic Albanians and Serbs were the springboard that brought the ex-communist banker to power in 1987 and were to prove the seeds of his downfall. He exploited Serb resentment at alleged mistreatment in Kosovo to rise to power amid nationalist fervour. “Better late than never. It was about time they arrested him after all those crimes he committed,” said Zarife Gashe, (22). Washington: U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday welcomed the arrest of its former President Milosevic and urged that he be tried for “crimes against humanity”. Mr Bush urged Yugoslavia to work with the United Nations war crimes tribunal, but made no statement on whether he would step up pressure for a trial through the tribunal by cutting off aid to Yugoslavia. “Milosevic’s arrest should be a first step toward trying him for the crimes against humanity with which he is charged”, he said in a written statement. Paris: French President Jacques Chirac today welcomed the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic as a sign the Balkan country had embraced democracy and the rule of law. “The President of the republic is overjoyed by the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic that took place early this morning in Belgrade, and is also overjoyed that the Yugoslav authorities have confirmed their faith in the path of democracy and law,” Mr Chirac said in a statement. Stockholm:
The European Union said it welcomed the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, calling the action “an important step towards bringing peace and justice” to the Balkan region. The E.U. also welcomed other concrete steps taken by the Serbian authorities to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia over the past weeks, the Swedish E.U. Presidency said in a statement. Brussels: NATO welcomed the arrest of Milosevic saying it hoped his capture would lead to a trial of the fallen Yugoslav leader before the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, a report from Brussels said. “Justice must be served,” NATO spokesman Robert Pszczel told Reuters. “We expect that the arrest of Mr Milosevic will be the first step on the road leading eventually to The Hague to answer charges of war crimes.” Berlin: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer hailed the arrest of Milosevic but said he should eventually face a UN court on charges of crimes against humanity. “The Yugoslav Government’s intention to start a criminal procedure against Mr Milosevic initially under national law is a first step toward bringing him to account for the gravest offences and human rights abuses he is charged with,” he said.
Reuters, DPA |
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Daughter ‘fired
shots’ after detention Belgrade, April 1 “After Mr Milosevic was taken away from the premises, his daughter Marija started shooting around herself and these were the shots” that were heard immediately before Mr Milosevic was whisked away from the compound, Mr Mihajlovic told the radio. Five shots were heard just before five vehicles — two jeeps and three limousines with tinted windows — parked in front of the compound wall of Mr Milosevic’s residence sped off. However, Mr Mihajlovic insisted that the “operation of delivery of Slobodan Milosevic to judicial officials has passed off without the use of force, since there was no resistance.” “This was a wise choice both for Mr Milosevic and all of us,” Mr Mihajlovic said. He confirmed that Mr Milosevic’s wife Mira and his daughter remained in the house after Mr Milosevic had been taken away by the police. Serbian officials said they had wanted to resolve the crisis peacefully. “We had intelligence reports saying that there was lots of ammunition, arms and explosives in the residence,” said Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.
AFP |
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Blair to delay poll over FMD
issue London, April 1 There was no official announcement from Downing Street, which kept silent in the face of a barrage of reports that Blair had overruled most of his Labour Cabinet in deciding to delay calling a general election on May 3. Political sources said the local elections in England could not go ahead as planned for May 3 because of the livestock crisis afflicting the countryside. Blair had decided the postponement of the local poll, all but guaranteeing the general election would also be put off. “And my judgment is he will not call the general election tonight or tomorrow or in the coming week either,” one source told Reuters. Blair would have to act this week if he were to call a general election for May 3. British media said Blair had decided to postpone the general election until at least June, when officials hope they would be able to say the foot-and-mouth epidemic was under control. Downing Street said Blair was listening to people’s concerns and “he will act in the best interest of the whole country”. He was in seclusion at his official country residence, Chequers, over the weekend. Blair, elected by landslide in May 1997, can wait until as late as May, 2002 , to call a general election. But farmers, political opposition and even some members of the Labour party have said it would not be right to have elections while much of the countryside is effectively a no-go zone because of the spiralling crisis. Officials were hoping that the disease would have peaked by now, but cases have continued to go up and now top 840. A poll in the Sunday Telegraph suggested he was right to worry. It said 60 per cent wanted Blair to postpone elections. The poll also said Labour’s lead over the Conservatives had slipped three points in three days. Labour’s support was at 48 per cent, the Conservatives rose a single point to 32 per cent, and the third party Liberal Democrats were up one to 15. The Opposition Tories did not praise Blair for his plans to delay. Reuters |
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11 killed in Lanka blast Colombo, April 1 Two Indian singers who were on stage were not hurt in the explosion last night. Eight persons were killed on the spot. Most members of the audience were injured in a stampede when they scrambled to get out of the esplanade at Kurunegala, 90 km north of Colombo. Three persons succumbed to injuries later, raising the toll to 11, they said adding the man who carried the bomb was also believed to have died in the blast. “We suspect this to be the result of a clash between two rival villages in the Kurunegala district,” the police said. It was the final night of a carnival organised by a radio network and a television channel, at which two singers from Mumbai, Rithika and Shamila, were the top attraction. An investigation was underway, but the involvement of the LTTE was almost totally ruled out as the police were convinced that the attack was the result of local rivalry. Meanwhile, worried about the declining morale among his cadres, LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran has issued a warning what the Tiger cadres who surrender to the armed forces will be hunted down and killed. A special LTTE intelligence unit had been detailed for the task of finding the so-called deserters and eliminating them, the Tiger chief told a gathering at a camp near Mallavi, quoting sources in the Northern Wanni, The Island reported. The warning sends a message that the deserters will be killed, no matter wherever they settle down in the government-controlled part of the country. It was also applicable to members of the LTTE’s Pistol Squad, which had operated with some success in government-controlled towns such as Trincomalee, Batticaloa and the Jaffna peninsula working singly and assassinating targeted people, the report said. The government has recently released a list of 17 LTTE-cadres who had surrendered to the
security forces. PTI, UNI |
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All set for first lunar adventure Paris, April 1 Packed with equipment to conduct scientific experiments the 350 kg SMART-1 structural module is set to be propelled moonwards in October 2002. And what looks like the start of a new love affair between space explorers and the Earth’s closest celestial companion could turn out to be just that. According to Bernard Foing, one of the scientists with the European Space Agency which is responsible for the project, lunar colonisation and industrialization can no longer be ruled out. The satellite could also ease manned flights to the Mars. The Moon still exerts a strong attraction for the imaginative and scientists alike, spawning groups like the 400-member Lunar Explorer’s Society which Foing heads. It’s an international organisation which says it aims to promoting the exploration of the Moon for the benefit of humanity. Members believe the Moon should be the next step in the human exploration of the solar system. “In pursuing this aim we hope to bring the best of humanity to the Moon, and to bring the benefits of the Moon to all people on Earth,’’ says the society. Members envisage the Moon being mapped by robots and eventually from 2015 onward becoming a permanent manned outward of the Earth. A few decades whole settlements could be founded, the society believes. Who knows, maybe in 2069 — 100 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took those small steps that turned out to be so big for mankind — the Moon might be able to declare its “independence”. Quite apart from the potential to exploit its mineral resources and potential for power generation. Such concepts are a long way off from reality and without more public enthusiasm for lunar exploration non-commercial spaceflight is hardly likely to get there. “As soon as private concerns send their first astronauts into space it will become clear to everyone that space is no longer just confined to NASA, ESA or other space authorities,” said David Gump of the American LunarCorp concern that wants to run tourist trips to the Moon. DPA |
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Bandh cripples life in Bangladesh Dhaka, April 1 Buses and cars were off the streets in Dhaka, banks and shops were closed and educational institutions suspended classes as about 6,000 paramilitary troops and riot police personnel were deployed by the authorities. Activists of the Opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clashed with the security forces in central Dhaka late yesterday on the eve of the prolonged shutdown, leaving about 50 injured. The Right-Wing alliance backed by Islamic fundamentalists had asked on the Centre-Left government to stand down and dissolve Parliament dominated by the ruling Awami League. Ms Hasina said a general election under a neutral caretaker government would be held after her government completed its term on July 13. The government and the Opposition accused each other of threatening the fragile democracy established in 1991 after a decade-and-a-half of military rule.
DPA |
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Dalai Lama meets Taiwan’s Tibetans Taipei, April 1 Details of the meeting were not immediately available, but the Chinese Television System said some illegal immigrants had requested the Dalai Lama to help them obtain Taiwan identification cards. “The Dalai Lama promised to help them solve their status issues when he meets President Chen Shui-bian next week,” the television station said. The Tibetan leader was scheduled to make a public speech on “ethics in the New Millennium” later today. The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since the failure of an anti-China uprising in Tibet in 1959.
AFP |
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Lollywood turns to India Islamabad, April 1 With local film production going down to just 25 films last year and audience attendance falling to an alarming 10 to 15 per cent, the film industry here, popularly called Lollywood, feels it is time the government allowed cross-border exchange of films, a news report said today. “If the government can allow cross-border channels in people’s homes, there should not be any objection to the display of their films on the large screen,” The News daily quoted film industry sources as saying. It said the situation was so grave that at least three cinema houses in Lahore might face closure this year. Cinema hall owners complained they did not earn enough to keep up with the rising costs of utilities and overall maintenance costs.
PTI |
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