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Saturday,
April 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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LTTE laying mines during truce: Colombo
US pilot ‘sought permission’ |
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Square dedicated to Maulana Azad A-I bombing trial in Feb Wreck may yield Kapurthala jewels
Pak Sikhs dance to folk tunes
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LTTE laying mines during truce: Colombo Colombo, April 13 The military learned of a rebel plan to mine areas around army defences and routes used by troops while monitoring guerrilla radio transmissions, a government statement said. “Security forces reserve the right to take appropriate measures to prevent such actions,” the statement said without elaborating. The guns fell silent across Sri Lanka’s battlefields at midnight on Thursday when the government began observing the truce to mark the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year which dawns on Saturday. There was no immediate comment from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which declared a unilateral ceasefire four months ago to push forward a Norwegian-brokered peace initiative. Though the government has rejected rebel demands that it declare a full ceasefire before possible peace talks, the military has also scaled back operations and anti-personnel mines have accounted for most of its casualties in recent months. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will take delivery of a major arms shipment next week despite indications that peace talks to end the country’s 18-year ethnic war were imminent. Military officials said a ship carrying more than $ 2.5 million worth of tanks, tank transporters and other military vehicles from the Czech Republic was scheduled to arrive in Colombo. “Though the shipment arrives next week, it was ordered last year and has nothing to do with developments in the peace process,” said a senior military official who declined to be identified. Sri Lanka said it would announce a date for peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels by the end of this month as both sides made gestures of goodwill to push forward a Norwegian peace initiative. The official said the shipment was ordered at the same time as Czech-built rocket launchers which were rushed to Sri Lanka last year to help stall a massive rebel offensive in April. Czech Defence Minister Vladimir Vetchy visited Sri Lanka in February to pledge more military assistance. Sri Lanka allocated $725 million this year to battle the rebel the LTTE. The budget is smaller than last year’s $1 billion defence bill, but the government will also have to meet more than $ 130 in payments deferred from last year. Hopes for an end to the conflict, which has claimed an estimated 64,000 lives, have been growing in recent weeks with both sides releasing prisoners as gestures of goodwill.
Reuters |
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Curfew in US town after racial riots Cincinnati, Ohio, April 13 Almost 100 arrests for overnight curfew violations helped authorities avert a fourth night of racial violence in riot-torn Cincinnati, the police said. City leaders were expected to meet later to decide how long to extend the citywide clampdown. While streets throughout the city appeared nearly deserted, police made 95 arrests for curfew violations, preventing gangs of rioters from assembling, said police chief Paul Humphries. Mayor Charles Luken said the situation appeared much quieter than in the previous three nights, when gangs of black youths went on a looting and destructive rampage
protesting over the killing of an unarmed black man by a white policeman. Except for the presence of heavily armed police, the city appeared nearly deserted soon after the 8 p.m. CDT (0100 Friday GMT) curfew went into effect. A few scattered arrests were reported, a police spokesman said. The Mayor yesterday decreed a state of emergency and an 8 p.m.-till-6 a.m. curfew that would remain in effect until further notice, with no exceptions for anyone to be out on the streets except to go to and from work or for medical emergencies. Suburban communities ringing Cincinnati imposed similar curfews. Cincinnati police, weary from working 12-hour shifts since the unrest began on Monday, were reinforced in by 75 Ohio state troopers provided by Governor Bob Taft, a native of Cincinnati. In Washington, President George W. Bush said through a spokesman that he joined civic leaders “in their appeal ... for calm and a nonviolent resolution to the current situation.” Mr Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, came to the city to appeal for calm but made it clear he was also collecting information on black complaints about police activities which he planned to turn over to the U.S. Justice Department. The chaos in Ohio began following the shooting death last Saturday of Timothy Thomas, 19, who was sought on 14 misdemeanor arrest warrants. It was the 15th time a black crime suspect was killed by Cincinnati police since 1995 — a period during which no white suspects were killed. Cincinnati’s population of more than 300,000 is about 43 per cent black. Investigators said police officer Steve Roach, chased Thomas in the mainly black Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood and fired one shot, striking him in the chest. The officer reportedly thought the victim was reaching for a gun. A police-cruiser videotape of the incident released to television stations on Wednesday revealed very little. Hamilton County prosecutor Mike Allen said all information from a police internal investigation would be examined. Lt Ray Ruberg said specialist Andy Nogueira, a 12-year veteran of the force, was shot on Wednesday by a man in his 50s. The assailant remained at large. He said the police made 82 arrests on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Looting, vandalism, arson and harassment of white motorists occurred in several areas.
Reuters |
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US pilot ‘sought permission’ Washington, April 13 The pilot made a proper pass over the Lingshui military base in the islands before deciding that the only way to save the crew was to land without receiving permission. The sources quoted the crew as saying that the pilot made repeated radio calls to the airport control tower saying the plane was damaged and needed to make an emergency landing, but received no response. At one stage after being hit by the Chinese jet in mid air, the crew was preparing to bail out, but the pilot Lt Shane Osborn was able to gain control. Thereafter, it was decided to land at Hainan airfield. The pilot told debriefers that the spy plane was on autopilot, a position that made it virtually impossible to do anything other than fly straight and level. The Chinese F-8 jet made two passes close to the spy plane, colliding during the second pass, when the Chinese pilot tried to slow down his jet. In the process, he hit the left wing of the spy plane. The fighter jet broke up and the debris damaged two propellers of the spy plane and sheared its nose, where the radar and airspeed detectors are housed. The spy plane then plunged nearly 8,000 feet and almost inverted before the pilot gained control about 50 miles off Hainan island. President Bush has accused China of committing an illegal act of challenging the US aircraft in international air space. The US President stressed he would direct the US representatives to be tough with Beijing in the next week’s talks scheduled to take up the issue of the cause of the accident. Mr Bush, changing his tenor after the 24 member US air crew arrived on American soil asserted in a statement that “from all evidence we have seen, the US aircraft was operating in the international airspace, in full accordance with all laws, procedures and did nothing to cause the accident”. Indicating that spy flights across the South China Sea would continue, Mr Bush said reconnaissance flights were part of a comprehensive national security strategy that helped maintain peace and stability. China’s decision to prevent the return of “our crew for 11 days is inconsistent with the kind of relationship both countries say they wish to have”, he said. Stating that US relations with China could deteriorate in the future, President Bush said both countries disagreed on important basic issues such as human rights and religious freedom. Indicating that US cooperation with China on trade would continue he said, “we agree on the importance of trade and we want to increase the prosperity of our citizens. We want the citizens of both our countries to enjoy the benefits of peace in the world. So, we need to work together on global security problems, such as preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction”.
UNI |
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Judge refuses to dismiss
Laden case New York, April 13 The rulings by US District Judge Leonard Sand yesterday mean that defence lawyers will begin their presentation, expected to last about three weeks, as soon as Monday. The government presented more than 80 witnesses over about two months. The trial, originally expected to last through the summer and possibly into Fall, will conclude much sooner because the government called substantially fewer witnesses. Sand also told federal prosecutors to consolidate the more than 150 acts charged in key counts accusing all four men with “conspiracies to murder, bomb and maim” US nationals. The four men on trial are among 22 defendants named in an indictment containing more than 300 counts of alleged participation in a broad conspiracy, beginning in 1989, to kill US military personnel and civilians.
Reuters |
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Indo-Iran accord on economic ties Teheran, April 13 An Indo-Iran joint statement, issued simultaneously in the two capitals at the conclusion of the four-day visit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to Iran, said the two countries would expeditiously work towards concluding the Bilateral Protection and Promotion of Investment Agreement and Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement. While the statement narrates in details the achievements of the four days of negotiations that the Prime Minister held with Iranian leadership, the countries have also decided to set up an Indo-Iran parliamentary group for intensifying contacts between parliamentarians of the two countries. The two sides condemned the killing of Iranian diplomats and an Iranian journalist by the Taliban in Mazar-e-Sharif in August, 1998, as “an act of terrorism” and called upon the international community to take necessary measures so that perpetrators of this act be identified and brought to justice, the statement said. In order to encourage trade and economic cooperation, the Prime Minister expressed India’s willingness to offer a line of credit of $ 200 million particularly for infrastructure projects in Iran, the statement said. The two leaders namely Mr Vajpayee and Iranian President Syed Mohammad Khatami agreed that this visit at the dawn of a new millennium marked the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral relations of the two countries that share “civilisational and cultural affinities and that the visit would establish a long-term framework for all-round and multifaceted cooperation”. “Recognising the importance of cooperation in the field of energy, the two leaders instructed the Indo-Iran Joint Committee on the transfer of Iranian gas to India to commission joint feasibility studies through appropriate mechanisms for offshore and overland pipelines from Iran to India on an equal cost-sharing basis in order to arrive at a long-term, cost-effective and a secure mode of transfer within a specific time frame”, the statement said, adding that the two leaders directed that these studies be completed expeditiously. It was also agreed that the committee should recommend measures such as may be necessary to facilitate increased cooperation in the liquified natural gas (LNG). Six agreements and MoUs were signed during the visit. Agreements on Trade and Economic Cooperation and Custom Cooperation and MoUs on Technical Cooperation, Cooperation in the field of Energy, Information Technology and Power (Conventional and Non-Conventional sources) were concluded during the visit. “They agreed to enhance mutual cooperation for safeguarding peace and stability in the region which is witnessing the rise of extremist forces,
terrorism and enhanced flow of illicit drugs”, the statement pointed out. |
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Square dedicated to Maulana Azad Shiraz (Iran), April 13 Unveiling a plaque carrying the name of Azad and Hafiz at the square which was earlier called ‘Jomhurai Square’, Mr Vajpayee said “his distinctive contribution to India’s freedom movement was that he combined his spirited advocacy of secularism and India’s national unity with his devout faith in Islam. The Prime Minister also visited the tomb of Hafiz, a 14th century Iranian philosopher-poet, and Persepolis, a city built by King Darius I in 522 BC. PTI |
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A-I bombing trial in Feb Toronto, April 13 British Columbia Supreme Court Judge, Justice Patrick Dohm, fixed the trial for February 4 after hearing arguments. The trial is expected to last at least eight months. Ajaib Singh Bagri, (51) and Ripudaman Singh Malik, (53) have been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder of the passengers and the crew of the Air India flight 182 which crashed off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985. They are also accused in an explosion that killed two baggage handlers at Narita airport near Tokyo the same day. Bagri and Malik have denied the charges. Prosecutor lawyer Rickard Peck said he wanted to charge third accused Inderjit Singh Reyat in the Air-India bombing which can be done only with the permission of the British Government. Reyat, a citizen of the UK, is currently undergoing a prison term in connection with the Tokyo explosion. Mr Peck said he expected a decision soon from the British Government on this. Britain’s permission is needed to modify the terms and conditions under which it extradited Reyat to Canada for trial in connection with the Tokyo case. The extradition laws do not allow filing fresh charges.
PTI |
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Wreck may yield Kapurthala jewels London, April 13 The ship is HMS Britannia, which was bound for India when it was sunk by a German U-boat in the Mediterranean in 1916. On board was a collection of priceless jewels of the Maharaja of Kapurthala, the legendary Jagatjit Singh. Then he was known as his highness raj-e-rajgan Maharaja Jagatjit Singh Maharaj. Later, under the British rule, he became Col Sir Jagatjit Singh Bahadur. That ship has now been found and a couple from Scotland has been given the rights to scour the ship for what they can find. They will be looking for the Kapurthala jewels. The treasure hunt is set to lead inevitably to a legal dispute: Will the Kapurthala family in Punjab have claim to the jewels or will insurers and finders be the keepers? The ship has been found at the bottom of the sea after a long search. It lies 3,000 ft below, almost at the depth to which the Titanic sank. A salvage team from Scotland comprising Alec Crawford, 52, and his wife, Moya, 42, found the ship after a two-year search, The Times reported. But the location is being kept secret for fear that others might get to it first. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh himself was due to board the ship at Port Said when he learnt of the loss. All 158 crew and passengers on the ship died. The jewels on board were the possession of the king. Many jewels at the bottom of the sea are believed to go back centuries. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh himself added to the collection of jewels greatly from his travels abroad. The Maharaja was a Francophile, despite his education by English teachers. And he had a passion to adorn at least some of the 300 women he was said to have kept in his harem. HMS Britannia may yield a fortune wherever it lies. It will also throw up history. And at least a few disputes.
IANS |
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Arafat orders end to
mortar firing Jerusalem, April 13 Mr Arafat issued the order following a US-hosted security meeting in Israel that took place on Wednesday, Channel One TV reported. However, amid encouraging signs towards peace in the region, an explosive device was reportedly detonated close to an Israeli patrol in the southern Gaza strip this morning. Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer described the Israeli-Palestinian meeting as positive and said if the Palestinians live up to their commitments, Israel would consider lifting the blockades and closures, reopening the crossings, and easing other restrictions. Media reports quoted Prime Minister’s spokesman as saying there were encouraging signs from within the Palestinian Authority of a willingness to end the ‘intifada’ or military uprising. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said a future Palestinian state must be strictly limited in sovereignty and area, covering less than half the West Bank seized by Israel in 1967 and deprived of armed forces. It would have to accept Israeli troops guarding its borders and be barred from any treaties with states hostile to Israel, Mr Sharon said in an interview published in the daily Maariv.
PTI, AFP |
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Punjabi aims to be top UK poet London, April 13 The 37-year-old British Indian of Jalandhar-born parents is currently on the teaching staff of Dudley College of Further Education and the first Asian ever to be chosen Poet Laureate of Birmingham city. Since his appointment in October last, he has been widely praised for his efforts to popularise this art form by participating in poetry readings before all sections of the local community. “Poetry should give us hope and optimism,” says Doug. “Even when there is a lot of suffering, a true poet should illuminate the human spirit.” On Wednesday, he was invited to the Buckingham Palace to deliver a poem he had been invited to write to commemorate the forthcoming birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on April 21. Birmingham City Council undertook the cost of framing the poem, entitled — “The Notes of the Rani” — before it was presented to the palace along with a letter from council chairman Albert Bore. Although a private audience with the Queen remains pending, Doug said he was thrilled to write his poem in her honour. “The idea of doing a poem for the Queen is to be seen as a serious poet, writing poetry for serious people,” he told IANS. Doug’s friends say that his ambition is to be considered for the prestigious post of Poet Laureate of England, a 10-year appointment in the gift of the British monarch that comes with a comparatively modest annual stipend of £ 5,000 and 150 bottles of sherry. The incumbent Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, has had the job for two years. Previous appointees have included Ted Hughes and Sir John Betjeman. Doug’s 36-line poem, released exclusively to IANS, is due to be published in the British media next week.
IANS |
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Pak Sikhs dance to folk tunes Panja Sahib (Hassan Abdal), April 13 The festive mood and fervour with which Baisakhi is celebrated here is missing even in Punjab, the land of giddha and bhangra. The dedication with which the Sindhis serve langar (community kitchen) to the Sikh sangat is missing in gurdwaras of Indian Punjab. Sham Singh, co-chairman of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PGPC), said there were more than 2.5 lakh Sindhis, including Kohlis, Shils (tribal), Budhists, Lobanas and Thakurs, in Pakistan. They are great followers of Guru Nanak and have full faith in Guru Granth Sahib. The dedication of Sindhis towards “Guru Ghar” raises a question on the decision of the SGPC to withdraw the right of vote from Sehajdharis (Sindhis are Sehajdhari Sikhs) in the shiromani committee elections. The ancient town of Panja Sahib has a population of about 50,000 including 5 per cent Christians and a few families of Hindus and Peshawari Sikhs. Mohamad Maskin Moghal, an octogenarian journalist, said the town maintained communal harmony even at the time of Partition. The Pakistani Sikhs who are mainly concentrated in Peshawar province are in touch with their roots. They teach their children the “Gurmukhi script” to enable them recite “Gurbani”. However, Roushan Singh, a Peshawari Sikh, complaints that Pakistani Sikhs were denied visas by the Indian Embassy on flimsy grounds. “If my government allows Sikh pilgrims to visit Pakistan shrines, why are we (Pakistani Sikhs) denied visas to pay obeisance at Golden Temple?” he complained. |
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