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May 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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London, May 22 The roar of two Punjabi origin politicians slugging it out in a London constituency has overshadowed the other 54 South Asian candidates competing for seats in the forthcoming British general election. USA supports Norway’s peace bid in Lanka |
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| Bukhari in Pak on
low-key mission Islamabad, May 22 Imam of Delhi’s historic Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Shah Bukhari arrived in Lahore on a low-key mission, reportedly initiated by Islamic clerics in India and Pakistan, to help resolve outstanding issues, including the Kashmir problem. Bush meets Dalai
Lama today Cook invites Sattar for talks Prisoners ‘stuffed like animals’ Woman stoned to death
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Israel lays down tough terms for Arafat Jerusalem, May 22 Israeli minister without portfolio Danny Naveh said the settlement freeze should only be included among eventual confidence-building measures after an end to the violence, which he blamed on the Palestinians. And he laid down tough conditions for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, including rearresting “the terrorists which he freed” and confiscating “weapons held illegally” by Palestinian militant groups. Mr Naveh said US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who in the wake of the Mitchell report launched a new US drive for Middle East Peace, had not linked a halt to the violence with a freeze on settlement building in the occupied territories. However, the Palestinian official responsible for Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem, Faisal Husseini, said a freeze on the settlements was a precondition. “It is only after such a freeze that we can work towards calming things down on the ground,” he said. Faced with a deepening spiral of violence and international calls for US involvement in halting it, Mr Powell endorsed the report of the Mitchell commission calling for an end to the violence, a halt to Israeli settlements and stronger Palestinian action against terrorism. The commission, bearing the name of its chairman, former US Senator George Mitchell, was set up in October. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel accepted the conclusions by Mr Powell but hinted at reservations on the issue of settlements. “The statements by the US Secretary of State Colin Powell are positive and will find a respondent in Israel,” Mr Peres, on a visit to Moscow, told Israeli public television yesterday. Speaking separately to the US television network CNN, he said: “I can say that we accept his conclusions.” He also expressed satisfaction that Mr Powell said “There is no connection between the ceasefire and the settlements,” even though both Mr Powell and the Mitchell report mentioned the latter issue. “We have announced out of our own initiative there will be no more new settlements and we are not going to use the life in the settlements in order to expand the territories. We are not going to confiscate land,” the former Prime Minister said. But the position on settlements by Mr Peres, the most visible left-winger in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government, is far from unanimous within the coalition. Many in the government say Israel should build new housing units as part of the “natural growth” of settlements. A report from Washington said Mr Powell announced he was naming a special envoy for the Middle East to help implement the recommendations of the Mitchell report. He told a press conference yesterday that Mr William Burns, the US Ambassador to Jordan, would help set out a timeline to implement confidence-building measures listed in the report. A report from Dubai said with violence continuing in Palestinian areas, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has called for the immediate creation of an international force to protect
Palestinians from Israeli aggression. Expressing concern over the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian areas, the UAE Cabinet, at its weekly meeting yesterday, condemned Israel for ignoring calls from the international community to cease its “savage aggression” against the Palestinians. US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk has condemned Israel’s shelling of the house of Palestinian security official Jibril Rajoub, saying that the move worked against peace efforts. “Those who would stop the violence, the Palestinian police or the head of the Palestinian security organisation in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub, are now being hit by the Israeli defense forces,” he said yesterday. “Maybe the strategy is to encourage them to act against their own people. But I don’t imagine that there is an example in history where this strategy has succeeded,” he said, speaking at Beersheba University in Israel’s southern Negev desert. Meanwhile, the Israeli army fired machine guns and anti-tank missiles at the West Bank following an attack that seriously wounded an Israeli and lightly wounded four others in the Gilo neighbourhood east of Jerusalem, army sources and witnesses said. The Israeli civilian, who was in his 60s, lost an eye yesterday when a bullet hit him in his apartment in Gilo, a settlement inside the Israeli-established municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. The army launched a massive reprisal yesterday, firing machine guns, tanks and anti-tank missiles, at the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem in the West Bank, witnesses said.
AFP |
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Punjabi lions fight it out in London London, May 22 Never before has there been such Asian interest in a British parliamentary constituency as in the battle between Labour Party’s Piara Khabra and radio station owner Avtar Lit, an Independent who claims to represent the true interests of Punjabis settled round London’s Heathrow Airport. The two have been at loggerheads ever since they announced their rival candidacies for this key constituency. “The Labour Party’s view is that we don’t consider the Independents a serious threat at all,” Mr Khabra told IANS. “Their view is that it’s not worth meeting them and so I’m just ignoring him.” “The vast majority of people here are White voters and they don’t know who the hell he is. They will vote on the basis of issues, on the performance of the government in power and the promises of the party in opposition,” says the proud socialist, regarded by many as the grand old man of Asian politics in Britain. “His election address only talks about Southall. But if you show this to the majority they say, ‘to hell with that.’ Are upkeep of toilets and street cleaning appropriate to a manifesto?”, he asks. Asked if he would be prepared to cross swords with his opponent at a public meeting, 76-year-old Khabra replies, “I don’t want to give him any credit because he’s not a politician. And a public meeting should discuss national issues like health, education and the economy. We have to stay above panchayat (village council) level.” Mr Lit (51) inevitably has a completely different take on what their differences are. “Mr Khabra has taken exception to the democratic process,” he told IANS. All candidates canvass, meet, laugh, joke, but Mr Khabra takes exception to anyone standing.” Although the White have a clear majority in this particular constituency, Asians have always given the area a distinctive flavour. Thanks to the sparkling business establishments on Broadway the area is known by the host community as the “Jackson Heights” of London. True to tradition Southall opinion polls confirm Labour is in the lead for the coming election. But, says Mr Lit, “We’re looking for a change in Southall. There’s very little that has happened here in the last few years. Mr Khabra says the central government is taking care of everything, but we want local services taken care of and not just at the national level. Local services have been neglected and that’s the view over here.” Mr Lit, current owner of the popular Asian radio station, Sunrise Radio, has been a loyal Labour supporter for years. In fact, he claims to be a far more authentic representative of the Labour Party thinking than the incumbent MP. The irony is both men were born in Jalandhar district. Linked by a common geography, they nevertheless are poles apart when it comes to political rivalries. Meanwhile, the lesser known Liberal Democrats are also fielding a Punjabi in order to keep up with the two main parties. Fifty-six-year old Baldev Sharma is seen by many as a “spoiler.” By common consensus he has no chance of winning but he will almost certainly divide the Labour protest vote that first time candidate Lit hopes to cultivate.
IANS |
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USA supports Norway’s peace bid in Lanka Washington, May 22 Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim met US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and briefed him about the progress achieved towards peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Johnsen was also present during the 30-minute meeting at the State Department yesterday. A State Department spokesperson said Mr Armitage expressed his country’s full support and encouragement to the peace process initiated by the Norwegian Government. Mr Solheim had met top LTTE leaders in the jungles of Northern Jaffna last week and brought the message that the rebel group was prepared to start negotiations once the ban against them was lifted. COLOMBO: Meanwhile, more than a dozen Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in several clashes with government troops, Sri Lanka’s military said today. A military statement said at least 10 rebels were killed in Muhamalai in Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka when government troops attacked four bunkers of the LTTE. In the other incidents, the statement said four rebels were killed or seriously wounded when troops ambushed a group of guerrillas, also in Jaffna peninsula, and two were killed in fighting on the east coast. Four soldiers were also wounded in the fighting.
UNI, Reuters |
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Bukhari in Pak on low-key mission Islamabad, May 22 Media reports said today that soon after his arrival late last night, Imam Bukhari had a meeting with Governor of the Punjab province Mohammad Safdar during which he outlined the objectives of his visit. The Nation quoted the Imam as saying that Muslims of India and Pakistan enjoyed good relations, which should be utilised to pave the way for peace. It quoted the Governor as telling him that peace could not be established in the region without resolving the Kashmir issue and Pakistan was ready to hold a purposeful dialogue with India to settle all differences. The Imam is likely to meet military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, besides top officials of the foreign ministry, it said. Commenting on it, the daily said the visit was part of efforts to bring the Islamic clergy of the two sides to resolve thorny issues after the failure of the track-II diplomacy. “One cannot interpret the visit by Syed Ahmad Bukhari except as a move in this direction. The visit is being presented as a private affair but the fact that while in Pakistan the Imam is scheduled to meet Kashmiri leaders, ulema and government officials indicates there is more to it than meets the eye,” it said.
PTI |
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Bush meets Dalai Lama today Washington, May 22 White House and State Department officials said on Monday that the Nobel Peace laureate would meet Mr Powell today and Mr Bush tomorrow, in his capacity as a noted religious leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate — downplaying his political significance. “The President looks forward to his meeting with the Dalai Lama, a renowned religious leader and Nobel Prize laureate,” said the White House National Security spokeswoman, Ms Mary Ellen Countryman. A State Department official, who requested anonymity, said “It’s our practice to meet the Dalai Lama in his capacity as a respected religious figure,” and noted that the Tibetan leader had previously met Mr Powell’s predecessor, Ms Madeleine Albright. The Dalai Lama was in Washington in July last year when he reached thousands of supporters massed in the heart of the US capital. During that visit, former President Bill Clinton “dropped in” to an unofficial meeting of the Dalai Lama and US officials to avoid giving the encounter an official tone in a bid to limit antagonism to China.
AFP |
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Cook invites Sattar
for talks Islamabad, May 22 The talks will be the highest level contact between Britain and Pakistan since Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup here in October 1999. A Foreign Office spokesman said Mr Sattar had accepted the offer and the meeting would take place in June, although neither side commented on what would be discussed. Britain has expressed concern about the lack of detail in General Musharraf’s plans to restore “genuine democracy” with elections before October 12 next year.
AFP |
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Prisoners ‘stuffed like animals’ Islamabad, May 22 According to the official of the Ministry of Interior, who did not want to be named, 35,232 prisoners could be housed in the prisons as per the rules but owing to indifference on the part of the authorities, 71,627 were lodged in the prisons. As many as 44,258 prisoners are languishing in Punjab jails against a capacity of 17,213, while in Sindh 15,079 prisoners have been jailed against the capacity of 8, 305 prisoners.
ANI |
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Woman stoned
to death Nicosia, May 22 This happened in Teheran’s Evin prison in the presence of the judge who tried her case. Stoning is a relatively rare punishment in Iran. The last stoning such case took place in June 1996 when two Iranians were thus penalised for adultery.
ANI |
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