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April 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Accept blame for collision, USA told Annan sure to get second term Milosevic could face death penalty Bin Laden resents Taliban curbs UK asylum rules ‘worsen racism’ |
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USA to issue
V visas US Senate okays
poll finance Bill Court rejects Estrada’s appeal Priest convicted of sexual
abuse Geneva meeting discusses J&K
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Accept blame for collision, USA told
Sanya, China, April 3 In his first public comments on the incident, today, Mr Jiang made no mention of the 24 U.S. crew members of the surveillance plane, now in their third day of captivity on the Chinese island of Hainan. U.S. President George W. Bush had demanded immediate access to the crew and the return of the top-secret surveillance aircraft, which Washington’s ambassador to Beijing said had probably already been combed over by Chinese officials. China has accused the U.S. EP-3 plane of veering into one of two F-8 fighters on an interception mission 104 km (60 miles) south of Hainan in international air space. “We have sufficient evidence,” Jiang told the visiting Prime Minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The USA must “bear full responsibility”, the official Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying. U.S. officials say they have been told that American diplomats waiting in Hainan would be allowed to see the 24 crew on Tuesday night. But as darkness fell over the tropical island there was still no word of when a meeting would take place. Two of the diplomats left their hotel in the southern city of Sanya and travelled to Haikou to the north of the island. That sparked speculation the crew might be taken to Haikou, which has an international airport. “We cannot understand why the USA often sent its planes to make surveillance flights in areas so close to China. And this time, in violation of international law and practice, the U.S. plane bumped into our plane, invaded the Chinese territorial airspace and landed at our airport, he said. Mr Jiang said the USA should stop such flights and this would be “conducive to the development of the China-U.S. relationship”. U.S. ambassador to China, Adm Joseph Prueher, said he believed Chinese officials had been “all over” the U.S. plane, which is a potential intelligence treasure trove. Washington has warned China to stay off the plane, which it maintains is U.S. sovereign territory under international law. Military analysts say the plane could still reveal secrets about what kind of information the U.S. military is collecting and how that data is processed. At a news conference, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman sidestepped a question on whether Chinese officials had boarded the plane. “We will strictly follow the relevant U.S.-China agreements,” he said, without elaborating. “China has the right to investigate this. I will not say how the investigation is being done while the investigation is underway,” he said. U.S. officials were growing increasingly frustrated as the hours dragged by without contact with the crew, last heard from shortly after they landed in Hainan on Sunday when they radioed that armed Chinese soldiers were boarding the plane. Mr Zhu said the crew members were safe. “In accordance with international practice, and in line with humanitarian spirit, China has made arrangements for the U.S. personnel. I’m confident they’re in a safe environment,” he added. China’s leading English-language state newspaper derided U.S. explanations that the mid-air collision was an accident. The China Daily drew parallels with the 1999 bombing of Beijing’s embassy in Belgrade by a U.S. plane on a NATO bombing mission, which Washington says was a tragic mistake caused by the use of outdated maps. Xinhua on Tuesday reported the Chinese pilot had parachuted from his plane and President Jiang Zemin had called for “utmost efforts” to find him in the South China Sea.
Reuters  |
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Annan sure to get second term WITHIN a few days of his announcement that he would be ready to serve a second term, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, appears all set to achieve what eluded his immediate predecessor, Mr Boutros, Boutros Ghali. Mr Ghali must be turning green with envy at the ease with which Mr Annan, hailing from Ghana, has secured the enthusiastic endorsement of the new US Administration headed by President George W. Bush, for another five-year term that will begin in January 2002. Mr Annan’s chances further fortified by the backing he received from the 50-nation Asian group at the United Nations last week with a warm tribute to his “qualities of leadership”. The group stopped short of a formal endorsement on the ground that they would have to await formal instructions from their respective governments. But diplomatic observers believe this should not prove a hurdle in the way of Mr Annan. The chairman of the group, Pakistan’s Ambassador Shamshad Ahmad, went on record saying, “There is no doubt in the mind of anybody that he will be re-elected”. There was speculation that Asian nations might like to make a bid for a candidate from their region since another term for Mr Annan would mean a 15-year-long representation (Mr Boutros Ghali and Mr Annan) for the African region. The last time an Asian (U Thant) was Secretary-General was during 1961-71. With the “hearty” support of the USA and the Asian group, Mr Annan is all set to secure a second term. The other permanent members of the Security Council — the UK, France, Russia and China — are expected to go along with the overwhelming inclination of member states. In contrast to Mr Annan’s smooth-sailing, Mr Ghali’s quest for a second term was summarily rejected by the Clinton administration whose then Ambassador to the UN, Mrs Madeline Albright, undiplomatically announced that he (Mr Ghali) won’t be stirting around in January 1977”. Mr Ghali gave up, describing the confrontation as a fight between “David and Goliath”. The USA later used its veto in the Security Council to deny the Egyptian diplomat a second term. At his recent press conference in New York, Mr Annan fielded a large number of questions after announcing his intention to seek a second term. “Was he beginning to love and enjoy power?” asked a reporter. Mr Annan took it in the stride and went on to quote Pope Paul I that people in power reminded him of his days as a young bishop in Italy. He (the Pope) used to watch the boys play soccer in the courtyard. When the ball was inflated and was full of air, they rushed and kicked it as if they had the right to kick it. When the ball was deflated and without air, they lost all interest and walked away. He said this was the lot of those in power, so don’t be envious. “So, I am very realistic about this position, what it brings, how it can distort and what happens when you walk away from it”, Mr Annan said, adding “it has not gone to my head, if that is what you are implying”. Mr Annan was candid enough to admit that during his first term the UN had not been able to do much to meet the special need for peace-keeping operations and it should have been able to do much better in places like Sierra Leone and achieve better success, but “that requires will and resources”. He hoped to work with member states to strengthen the peace operations and to give the backing and the resources that it needed. Mr Annan pledged that if elected for a second term, he would place the “fight against poverty”, on the top of the UN agenda along with respect for environment, the issue of education for girls and peace-keeping operations. |
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Milosevic could face death penalty Vienna, April 3 Speaking to reporters in Vienna, Dusan Mihajlovic said: “We have indications that Milosevic was also involved in serious crimes which carry the death penalty. But we are talking about investigations, we need proof; if we get this we will ask the justice authorities to bring charges.” He did not specify what the additional charges might be. The Justice Ministry has so far not accused Milosevic of any offence serious enough to carry the death penalty. At present he faces charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy. However, many of his opponents have accused him of involvement in politically motivated killings, which could in theory result in the death penalty. The penalty has not been carried out in Serbia for many years. Mr Mihajlovic, on an official visit to Austria, said he had been joking when he suggested last night that the former Yugoslav leader might choose voluntarily to face the international war crimes tribunal in the Hague. “It is really of historic importance that there should initially be a court hearing in Serbia,” the minister said. “It is important that Milosevic is put on trial in Serbia for what he did there, for what he did to the people. Otherwise false myths could arise and we have had enough false myths in the past.” Mr Mihajlovic said last night that Milosevic might wish to be handed over to the Hague to avoid the death penalty at home and escape the harsh conditions in Belgrade’s prisons. Meanwhile, a new criminal charge has been filed against former Slobodan Milosevic for purposefully inciting three of his supporters to obstruct discharging of official duties by authorised people. Chief of Public Security Department of the Serbian Interior Minister Sreten Lukic told reporters at a news conference yesterday that criminal charges, filed against Milosevic yesterday, were in addition to the charges for abuse of power, financial malversation and transactions for which he was arrested on Sunday. BELGRADE: Belgrade’s arrest of Slobodan Milosevic won vital US aid for its floundering economy, as the jailed former President defended himself with the stunning confession that millions of dollars he is accused of stealing went to warring Bosnian and Croatian Serbs. US Secretary of State Colin Powell decided that Belgrade had qualified for Washington’s ongoing support after it locked the ex-leader on Sunday, hours after a deadline the USA had set for Belgrade to either cooperate with a UN war crimes court or lose the money. Serbian Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic welcomed the move, with the Beta news agency quoting him as saying, “It’s good news that will reinforce the ambitious path of economic reform on which we have embarked.” But as world leaders tempered their congratulations with warnings that Milosevic must face trial before The Hague-based court that indicted him for war crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo, Mr Powell said further aid would also be conditional. “Clearly, the Milosevic arrest over the weekend and the strong stance taken for the rule of law shows some progress,” a senior State Department official said. But he added that unless Belgrade continued cooperation, Washington would not help convene a donors conference for Yugoslavia. Belgrade is changing its law which currently bans extradition to allow for Milosevic’s transfer, despite strong objections from Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica that the UN Tribunal is biased and “anti-Serb.” Meanwhile, Milosevic on Tuesday denied he ever stole government money to enrich himself or finance political crimes but acknowledged his regime secretly funded and armed breakaway Serb forces in Bosnia and Croatia. The former Yugoslav President imprisoned on 30-day remand, wrote his own reply to charges brought against him of corruption and criminal conspiracy in an appeal against his detention. The document was circulated to reporters by his lawyer. The indictment alleged embezzlement of state customs dues between 1994 and October 2000, when Milosevic fell from power. But Milosevic said the reason some items did not appear in state budgets was because they were state secrets. “There was never talk on giving money or material goods to any individuals or groups,” his appeal said. “I highlighted at the interrogation by the investigating judge that I personally did not deal with the issue of the party finances for all of the past 10 years,” Milosevic said. NEW YORK: Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic should never be extradited to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, his successor told The New York Times in today’s edition. Mr Kostunica said he was ready to help the court investigate war crimes and that Milosevic, who has so far been accused of criminal conspiracy and abuse of power, should be brought to trial on war crimes charges too, but before domestic courts. Extradition was out of the question, he said.
Reuters, AFP |
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Bin Laden resents Taliban curbs Islamabad, April 3 “It is surprising that the USA is free to do whatever it feels like and I have been placed under restrictions... History will record this fact,” Bin Laden said in a letter to Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban Government, media reports said. Pakistani newspaper “The Dawn” said despite giving Bin Laden an asylum, which prompted the United Nations to impose sanctions against it, the Taliban had imposed restrictions on his movements and speech and he was barred from holding meetings as well as speaking to the press. Since then the Saudi militant took to poetry to express his anger and outrage at the USA and other nations. Bin Laden, in his letter, delivered by Taliban Minister for State Frontier Regions Sayed Jalaluddin Haqqani, stated that the world community’s reaction to the demolition of the Buddha statues in the Bamiyan province had proved the West’s general antagonism towards Islam. He quoted former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, as having said that there were other issues besides Osama which the Taliban needed to resolve. He insisted that it was proof enough that he was being used as a pretext. Bin Laden claimed that no matter what that Taliban did to refurbish its image, the USA and its western allies would never recognise the Afghan fundamentalist Islamic regime, The Dawn newspaper said. KABUL: Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban movement today vowed to punish anyone caught smuggling remains of two giant Buddha statues, demolished last month in the face of international protests and a global outcry. Taliban officials dismissed media reports that truckloads of rubble from the historic Bamiyan Buddhas, which once towered 53 metres (175 feet) and 38 metres (120 feet), had been driven across the border into neighbouring Pakistan and was for sale in the city of Peshawar. “We will severely punish anybody trying to smuggle or excavate relics from Bamiyan and other parts of the country,” Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal told reporters. Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil said there had been no smuggling. “The reports of the debris smuggling and sale are totally wrong. No one is allowed to take a single piece out and nothing has been sold,” Mr Muttawakil told Reuters. Antique dealers and smugglers in Peshawar said they were not aware of any new Afghan artefacts — including pieces of the destroyed Buddhas — being available in the market. Mr Muttawakil said rubble from the wrecked Bamiyan statues was still piled up next to the sandstone cliffs where the massive idols were hewn out around 1,500 years ago. The Taliban’s Jamal said the movement was mixing Bamiyan rubble with soil and that the remains could no longer be distinguished. “The debris has been thrown and mixed up with other soils,” he said.
PTI, Reuters |
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UK asylum rules ‘worsen racism’ Strasbourg, (France), April 3 A report by the council’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) also deplored that some politicians added racist and xenophobic overtones to the public debate on asylum and immigration. The police force also came in for criticism in the report, which said officers consistently under-reported racist attacks while minorities were over-represented among those who die in custody. The “ECRI is concerned at the “general negative climate concerning asylum seekers and refugees in the United Kingdom,” said the report, which was completed last June but released only now, together with comments from the British Government. Increasingly restrictive asylum and immigration laws have played a fundamental role in fostering public resentment towards asylum seekers, according to the report. “Episodes of racial attacks and harassment against asylum seekers, notably Roma or gypsies, demonstrate some of the dangers which the increasingly negative climate of opinion can bring about,” said the report. It also expressed concern at the use of detention for asylum seekers in Britain, pointing out that “although most detained asylum seekers are not charged with any criminal offence, many are reportedly held in prisons”. The report also said the police force consistently under-reported racially motivated incidents and that members of ethnic minorities lacked confidence in the possibility of redress. “A disproportionate number of people belonging to minority groups are subjected to stop and search controls,” the report said. It called for a public inquiry into the issue of deaths in custody, saying there was an over-representation of ethnic minorities in these deaths. The British Government responded that “there is no obvious common link between ethnic minority deaths, which have occurred in a wide range of circumstances. “Neither are the numbers involved large enough to draw any significant statistical conclusions”. The report noted that despite legislation banning racist chanting in football grounds, the phenomenon was still common. It expressed concern at the lack of legal protection against religious discrimination, except in Northern Ireland, and singled out the Muslim community as being particularly vulnerable to this type of prejudice. It also deplored some confusion in civil law on the subject, pointing out that Jews and Sikhs were considered “racial groups” under current legislation but Muslims, Christians and Buddhists were not. “The ECRI is concerned at the appearance of “racist or racially inflammatory material in the printed media,” the report said, adding that consistent attacks against asylum seekers in newspapers were a particular concern.
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USA to issue
V visas Washington, April 3 “To be eligible to apply for the new V visa, an overseas applicant must have had an immigration petition filed on his/her behalf by the legal permanent resident family member with the INS (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) on or before December 21, 2000, the date of enactment of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE Act),” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. In addition, the applicant must have been waiting for an available visa number for at least three years since the petition (Form I-130) was filed. Those issued V visas will be allowed to enter the USA as non-immigrants, reunite with family members in the USA and wait in the USA for the process of legal immigration to be completed.
IANS
US
Senate okays poll finance Bill Washington, April 3 The 59-41 vote sent the measure to the House, where a tough fight was expected even though similar Bills had been approved twice in recent years. Beyond that, President George W. Bush had not said definitively whether he would sign the Bill and if the measure was approved, a court challenge to its constitutionality was a certainty. The legislation “will let us get away from the obscene money chase,” said Senator Paul
Wellstone. AP |
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Court rejects Estrada’s appeal Manila, April 3 “The court voted 13-0 to deny the motion for reconsideration of former President Estrada,” assistant court clerk Maria Luisa Villarama told Reuters over the telephone. The decision by the court effectively cleared the way for the filing by the government ombudsman of corruption, bribery and economic plunder charges against Estrada. The plunder charge is punishable by death. Estrada has denied any wrongdoing. COTABATO: Muslim separatist guerrillas in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao began observing a unilateral ceasefire today after a series of last-minute skirmishes left one rebel dead, officials said. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) spokesman Eid Kabalu said the 12,500-member guerrilla force suspended armed hostilities with the government and the truce was
open-ended. Reuters, AFP |
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Priest convicted of sexual abuse New York, April 3 According to the testimony at trial, the victim, whose name was not released, went to priest Mokeshnarine Parshad’s house for counselling on February 25, 1999. Parshad asked her to remove her shirt on the pretext of doing what he called a “reading”. He later gave her a glass of juice to drink and she said she become dizzly after drinking it. The victim testified that Parshad then sexually abused her. She somehow escaped and stumbled into a store whose owner then summoned the police.
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Geneva meeting discusses J&K Geneva, April 3 Although the meeting was organised to honour London-based Kashmiri leader Syed Nazir Gilani for his research on human rights, it enabled a cross-section of participants to put forth suggestions for ending the violence and finding a permanent solution to the 54-year-old problem. Organised by Sardar Shoukat Kashmiri of the United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP), the meeting was attended by Mr G.M. Sati and Tahir Masood Mir of the APHC, Riyaz Punjabi, chairman of the autonomy committee, Ashok Bhan, Kashmiri Pandit leader and a lawyer, besides several others. Although participants differed in their approach to the resolution of the problem, there was general consensus that the issue be resolved peacefully and amicably.
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