 |
| Sunday,
April 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
A protester bleeds as he is arrested after violence flared up when a group of protesters broke through the security cordon around the site of the summit of the Americas.— Reuters photo Pak judge refuses
to resign Hold elections by Oct 12: Pakistan CJ Arafat orders arrest
of 8 Hamas militants |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
‘‘New Left’’ now in China also Peru admits it
shot plane Indian cyclist held in Pak
|
|
Clashes mar summit of Americas Quebec City, April 21 The opening ceremony began 90 minutes late yesterday after a tense afternoon in which the police fired teargas and baton-charged a squad of masked militants who hauled down sections of the fence surrounding the downtown area where the summit takes place. In other parts of this historic French Canadian city, lines of riot police carrying shields faced off against crowds of demonstrators. Fresh clashes broke out in the evening, with the police firing teargas to keep about 1,000 demonstrators away from the fence a few blocks from the summit. The violence, close to the conference centre, followed street battles at international meetings in Seattle in 1999 and Prague last year. The demonstrators oppose a key aim of the Summit of the Americas — the creation by the end of 2005 of a trading bloc embracing 800 million people from Canada to Chile. They say it would favour the rich and exploit the poor, whereas proponents of the Free Trade Area of the Americas say it will spread prosperity underpinned by democratic rule. The Summit host, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, said in his opening speech that a small group of extremists was to blame for the violence. “I welcome those who have come to Quebec City to make known their views on how best to advance the social and economic interest of our fellow citizens. But violence and provocation is unacceptable in a democracy,” he said. The US President, Mr George W. Bush, whose timetable for meetings with regional leaders was upset by the clashes, said the protesters were wrong. “Trade not only helps spread prosperity, but trade helps spread freedom...,” he told reporters. “We need trade.” Support for the protesters came from Cuba’s President Fidel Castro, the only regional leader not invited to the summit and a vehement opponent of the FTAA and capitalism in general. In a message read on Cuban television, the veteran Communist leader expressed his admiration for the protesters and denounced what he called the “brutal” actions of the Canadian police. Canadian security forces had mounted a huge security operation to block any violence from the diverse international army of protesters which links environmentalists, anti-capitalists, human rights groups, anarchists and others. Just before trouble broke out, a carnival-like mood prevailed. Protesters had festooned the chain-link fence — which they have dubbed “The Wall of Shame” — with balloons, posters, and even a collection of brassieres in recent days. In the afternoon, some 2,000 protesters converged on different points in the fence. About 100 of them, many masked and clad in black, tore down about 15 segments of the 10-foot-high fence. Pouring into the security zone, they hurled rocks, bottles, cans and other missiles, including hockey pucks, at the policemen, who responded with tear gas and a baton charge. Militants threw back teargas canisters before retreating. Reporters saw protesters throw two petrol bombs. For several hours, lines of helmeted police with shields faced off against milling crowds of demonstrators, sporadically firing teargas. At least three policemen were injured but there were no reported civilian injuries. The provocateurs were a US anarchist group called Black Bloc, Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Mike Gaudet said. One leader of the group had been arrested along with four other protesters, he said. The prospect of the huge free trade zone has galvanised a generation of activists, as the Vietnam War and nuclear arms did previously. They say it is designed to benefit big corporations, not Latin America’s millions of poor. Summit leaders say their meeting will reinforce the principles of democratic rule and human rights. “I am convinced that on Sunday, when we leave Quebec, we will have advanced our common cause. That we will have in hand a renewed plan to strengthen democracy, create prosperity and realize the human potential of the hemisphere,” Mr Chretien said in his speech. The FTAA plan envisages a lowering of tariffs and easing of customs rules to open up a flood of cross-border commerce. But Brazil’s President Fernando Enrique Cardoso spoke bluntly in his speech about the Latin American economic giant’s differences with Washington. He took a swipe at anti-dumping laws, saying that the FTAA was a welcome move as long as these and other non-tariff rules were not used as protection. He called for continued world climate talks based on the kyoto accord, which Mr Bush has rejected. Mr Cardoso also added a note of sympathy for the protesters, saying that their fears of economic globalisation “without a human face” were a common challenge. HAVANA: President Fidel Castro has expressed support for the protesters outside the summit and called the police action to stop them shameful. “In the name of the people of Cuba, I would like to express our sympathy and admiration,” said Mr Castro’s message, read on state television last night. “Cuba supports you, embraces you, salutes you.” Cuba was the only country in the western hemisphere that was not invited to the summit.
Reuters, AP |
|
Pak judge refuses to resign Islamabad, April 21 Justice Qayyum while declining to resign also ruled out any attempts to seek a review of the Supreme Court judgement setting aside Lahore High Court verdict convicting both leaders for a five-year prison term along with a fine $8.3m in a corruption case. The Judge told newspersons at Lahore yesterday that he contemplated no line of action to absolve himself and planned to continue in the service. His comments followed even as the Peoples Lawyers
Forum (PLF) met at Lahore to discuss the Judge's refusal to resign. One
of the PLF's leaders, Mian Shoukat Ali, has told the local media that his organisation had planned to restrain Justice Qayyum from functioning as judge. In view of the Judge's refusal to quit, the government planned to refer the Supreme Court judgement to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for a follow up action, media reports here said.
PTI |
|
Hold elections by Oct 12: Pakistan CJ Islamabad, April 21 In a court journal issued on Friday night, the court also said that the prolonged involvement of the military in running the affairs of the country would only politicise the armed forces. Justice Khan said: “Military rulers were bound to hold elections to the Senate, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies before October 12, 2002, as directed by the Court in May last year. He added: “We, hereby, reaffirm by way of emphasis that validation and legitimacy accorded to the present government is conditional, inter-linked and intertwined with the holding of general election to the National Assembly, the provincial Assemblies and the Senate within the time-frame laid down by this court”. Justice Khan further said that irrespective of the causes for the military intervention, its prolonged involvement in the civil affairs would not only politicise armed forces but also affect its professionalism. He emphasised that the Supreme Court was firmly committed to the governance of country by the peoples’ representatives. “We reiterate the definition term ‘democracy’ to the effect that it is government of the people, by the people and for the people” and not by the Army rule for an indefinite period”, he averred.
ANI |
|
Arafat orders arrest of 8 Hamas militants Tel Aviv, April 21 The move followed Israel’s decision to ease travel restrictions in the Gaza Strip and after sporadic clashes between soldiers and Palestinian demonstrators continued to erupt in the occupied territories yesterday. The Gaza Strip, meanwhile, remained largely calm. Militant Palestinians had earlier fired mortar shells at the Kibbutz of Nir Am but failed to inflict any damage. The attackers fired a total of more than 100 shells at Israeli targets last week. Reports said Yasser Arafat had called for an end to the mortar attacks but that the militant Hamas group vowed to press ahead with his fight for “liberation”. The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, had released videotape showing three masked men identified as members of Hamas’ armed wing firing mortars from somewhere in Gaza at Israel. GAZA: Israeli troops shot and wounded a Palestinian journalist filming at the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza, hospital officials said. Laila Odeh, a correspondent for the Abu Dhabi Satellite Television, was hit in the thigh while reporting on the housing destroyed by the Israeli forces, cameraman Ayman Al-Ruzzi said.
DPA, Reuters. |
|
‘‘New Left’’ now in China also Batuk Vora The history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is replete with confrontations between “dogmatists” and “revisionists” and the present leadership is also not free from such a conflict among its top ranks. It is reflected in most policy discussions, including those concerning media management. Print and TV journalism in China is subjected to censorship, but theoretical debates continue among various factions of Marxists, recognising a stark contradiction between economic liberalisation and political authoritarianism. The debate deals with the economic reforms and problems created by these reforms in socio-cultural life of the people. Conservatism and dogmatism reigned supreme in the party after the student movement of 1989. But a wave of commercialisation and consumerism swept the country after Deng Xiaoping’s visit to Southern China in 1992. Dushu, a popular magazine, became the symbol of elite culture and thoughts in this period, as the then editor Changwen had shifted editorial policy from academic discussions to “easy to read” content. After Wang Hui and his colleague Huang Ping took over, they moved away from consumerist culture of the 1990s. Wang believed that (according to his write-up in New Left Review) towards the end of Seventies, the terms ‘conservatives’ and ‘reformers’, respectively, indicated holdovers of Mao’s last years, and those who considered themselves Marxists, studied the experiences of reforms in Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland. They did not like the term liberal. Some economists of that category advocated large-scale privatisations. Some others warned against wholesale privatisation. Struggle against old conservatives was severe in the early 1980s. But soon, a further division among these Marxists occurred. It was only from 1993-94 that a few prominent Marxists or ‘New Left’ activists took a more critical stand. They were identified as opponents of not only conservatives but also of the West-oriented reformers. These critics attacked the “modernisation” practices launched by the state and party. Problems of Chinese modernity began to be discussed from new angles. Two events of 1998 made it very easy for the ‘New Left’ to criticise the American global system: first was the crash of the Asian economy, followed by the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade by NATO forces. Suddenly capitalism did not seem to be such a surefire guarantee to stability and prosperity. The New Left became a target of a violent Left-liberal offensive. Reform-era CCP came into conflict with the “New Left”. People like Wang Hui strongly resented the ‘New Left’ label, saying that this term came from West, which supported NATO campaign in Europe. It had nothing to do with what he and others like him were propounding in China, they said. In short, all is not well in China. Closer attention to China’s internal debates could throw more light on the possible future scenario, particularly after China joins the WTO.
IPA Service |
|
Peru admits it
shot plane Lima, April 21 The evangelist’s husband and son escaped the crash unhurt when the seaplane ditched in the Amazon river, the pilot’s wife, Bobbi Donaldson, said. Her husband Kevin also survived the crash, but his leg was fractured by a bullet. A Peruvian Air Force spokesman earlier denied it had approached the plane. “After carrying out international identification and interception procedure ... which the pilot ignored ... the Peruvian Air Force plane opened fire as a last resort,’’ the Ministry of Defence said in a communique.
Reuters |
Indian cyclist held in Pak Islamabad, April 21 Viaga Singh had been stranded for several months at the Torkham border point between Pakistan and Afghanistan after the Pakistani authorities refused him a visa for travelling through to India. He had entered Afghanistan on his bicycle from the Central Asian republic of Turkeminstan. According to earlier newspaper reports, Viaga Singh had set out on a world tour from New Delhi to promote peace. AIP said the 38-years-old Viaga Singh, who has travelled across 62 countries, was now under investigation by the Pakistani border security officials.
DPA |
|||||
PLEA TO ADOPT A MINEFIELD HUBBY SLASHES WIFE AFTER ARGUMENT EUROPEAN FIRM GAVE CHINA RADAR MAYORAL CANDIDATE SHOT DEAD US JETS ATTACK KENNEDY NEPHEW TO STAND TRIAL LOST TICKET DEPRIVES COUPLE OF $ 4.5m COURT ORDER TO RADIO STATION |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Quebec City, April 21
