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Friday,
June 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Bush looking forward to India trip A virtual
flying hospital
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Vajpayee knew of Musharraf’s plan Pak missiles defective 39 policemen hurt
in Belfast riots
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Palace security report
soon UNP’s no-trust
motion against
Chandrika today India seeks inclusion in Quattrocchi case Abu Sayyaf
rebel shot
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Bush looking forward to India trip Washington, June 21 “Several weeks ago, Prime Minister (Atal Behari) Vajpayee invited me to visit India. We have yet to settle on a suitable date but let me reiterate what I said then — I am looking forward to the trip,” said Mr Bush, in his reply to remarks by Indian Ambassador Lalit Mansingh on the occasion of presentation of his letter of credence. “After years of estrangement, India and the United States together surrendered to reality. They recognised an unavoidable fact — they are destined to have a qualitatively different and better relationship than in the past.” Listing a few benefits “flowing from this great change,” Mr Bush said “bilateral trade and investment has soared. Last year, for example, it approached $15 billion, making the United States the largest single investor in India.” “US and Indian troops have worked together around the world to keep the peace in countries as diverse as Somalia and Haiti.” But “perhaps most notable, though, has been the contribution of the rapidly growing Indian American community. They now number over one million and, by some estimates, are the most prosperous single ethnic group in this country.” “As friends, I know that our two nations will not always agree. We will, however, always agree on the importance of talking openly and honestly about our differences and to work together for mutually agreeable solutions.” Earlier, Mr Mansingh said “Washington is not new to me. I am fortunate to have served my government here earlier, when your illustrious father was President. I now consider myself particularly privileged to assume my responsibilities as India’s Ambassador to the United States at a time of major transformation and great promise in our relationship.” Mr Mansingh went on to list the commonalities between India and the US ranging from a shared commitment to democracy and to “the rule of law, basic human freedoms, tolerance and pluralism. Anchored in these natural affinities, our ties have been enduring and have withstood the vicissitudes of historical evolution and political changes over several decades.” Mr Mansingh said reciprocal visits by then President Bill Clinton in March, 2000, to India and Mr Vajpayee to the USA in September of the same year “have provided new impulse to the broadening and deepening of our relations in the 21st century.” “Having been a fortunate witness to and participant in these historic events, my foremost task would be to work with your government to build upon these sound foundations and contribute towards the consolidation of a partnership that my prime minister has characterized as one between two natural allies.” Mr Mansingh thanked Mr Bush on behalf of Mr Vajpayee for his message of sympathy during the devastating earthquake that ravaged Gujarat on January 26 and for “the generosity of the government and people in the United States.” Mr Mansingh also listed various areas of trade and investment cooperation, which he said “emerged as the prime mover in the India-US relationship.” Noting that globalisation had ushered in new opportunities, he said “It has also brought us many challenges whose solutions require joint approaches.” One such was “the scourge of international terrorism,” and “the setting up of the India-US Working Group on Counter-terrorism and forum for dialogue on Afghanistan are important steps in combating this menace.” He pledged that as in the past, when India sought to address divergences in our views “through open and honest dialogue,” India was “committed to continuing this approach in the spirit of candor and understanding which characterizes our relations.” Mr Mansingh lavished praise on the Indian-American community. “More than a million and a half people from India have made America their home. They have prospered and thrived here and have contributed to this country’s rich diversity and its economic and technological success.” “They constitute a vital element in the continuing endeavour to forge a dynamic relationship of close friendship, deep understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries.”
IANS |
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A virtual flying hospital Paris, June 21 Government ministers, military personnel, executives, engineers, technical hands and trade brokers have made a beeline to the Show. (The taxi driver smilingly said there is a shortage of 300 drivers to cope with the daily rush.) From the fun of watching daily air display (flights of fancy) by a variety of aircraft to a close look and feel of the flying machines, the Show provides an opportunity of sitting in the cockpits of key fighter planes and helicopters to juggling with the controls in simulators. One can watch the demos of military hardware, killer machine guns, aircraft performance and equipment on TV screens, experience space odyssey or have oneself photographed against the backdrop of aircraft on static display. The show is an exposure, an education and an experience where one comes across light aircraft, vintage aircraft (the World War II Spilfiers) and unmanned aerial vehicles rub wings with F-16s, Euro fighters, Mi-17 helicopters and gigantic super transport planes like Antonov 225 for space and attention. The rumoured controversy between Boeings and Airbus companies has neither cast a shadow over the show nor died out. Nevertheless, it has stirred up excitement. The latter is the talk of the Show. But this correspondent came across Airbus of a different type, parked next to Europe in Space exhibitions put up by the European Space Agency (ESA), that uses state-of-the-art technology to transport visitors to the other world. The Airbus is A310-304 MRT. Climbing up the wide flight of stairs, TNS learnt that aircraft belonged to the German Air Force’s Special Air Mission Wing. An English speaking German officer was too willing to talk with pride not only about the Wing, Flugbereitschaft-BMVg, but also about the special features of A310 MRT-Multi Role Transporter. This Airbus is as much for the use of the German VIPs: Chancellor and government and parliamentary representatives as a flying hospital. “We are the only country to have a fleet of such an aircraft”. After a pause to a comment he continued, “It can be likened to Air Force One, the official plane of the US President”, he smiled. With destinations worldwide, the Airbus, a joint venture of Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace and Lufthansa Technik AG covers many tasks of military transport. The aircraft can be converted into the following: 1. Passenger version for transport of troops; 2. Combined version of transport of troops and cargo and 3. Flying hospital (VUK) to transport wounded, injured and ill soldiers. Soon two more such planes will join the fleet. The interior is dismantled and redone as per the requirements. The passenger version has a capacity of 214 passengers. It takes about five days to do the job. The Combined version has two parts, cargo (containers) and passengers (57). It takes two hours to load a maximum of 33 tonnes of payload. The third is VUK (Verwundeten-Unfallverletztenund Krankentransport). This is the key attraction of the MRT plane. This configuration allows up to six intensive care units, 38 stretchers and 32 seats. The inbuilt flexibility allows six different combinations. There is adequate space for intensive care units. Full conversion takes about five days. The Medical evacuation of the Wing comprises a special 25-member team comprising one medical director, one anaesthesiologist, three physicians specialists in medical evacuation, 12 paramedics specialists in intensive care, one specialist for medical devices and seven-member airmen medical staff. The aircraft has already undertaken several medical evacuation missions from Namibia to Israel. The Intensive Care Unit equipment and other medical devices is quite an experience to see and examine. The number of stretchers that can fit in easily depends upon the number of ICUs that are set up as the situation demands. The number of stretchers varies from 30 to 56. The Airbus is equipped with the latest medical services available. The officer said recently 100 children in dire medical aid were airlifted from Israel and taken to Germany for treatment. Children had suffered in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The next stage of improvement on this unique Airbus is provision for refuelling while in air. Plans for converting the plane into a tanker exist, waiting a final decision. Once mid-air fuelling becomes operational efficiency will increase. It is a fleet for multipurpose use with a “humane touch”. |
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Vajpayee knew of Musharraf’s plan Islamabad, June 21 “Good morning, Mr President,” Mr Vajpayee said as General Musharraf picked up his telephone call on the hotline yesterday, according to mass-circulation newspaper Jang. “Mr Prime Minister, I’m not the President,” General Musharraf protested politely. But Mr Vajpayee persisted, congratulating him. General Musharraf: “Mr Prime Minister, you are congratulating me for what?” Mr Vajpayee: “Mr President, I’m congratulating you beforehand on assuming the office of President after a few hours.” General Musharraf: “Mr Prime Minister, I too thank you beforehand for the congratulations.” Mr Vajpayee then informed General Musharraf that he was anxiously looking forward to his visit to India, beginning on July 14, and that he would be received with honours, the newspaper said. “Thank you, Prime Minister sahib. Our meeting will be fruitless without meaningful talks on resolving the Kashmir issue,” General Musharraf replied, according to Jang. Mr Vajpayee: “Certainly Kashmir will be discussed, along with other issues.” General Musharraf: “Surely I will discuss other issues too, apart from the main Kashmir dispute.” The leaders then agreed that statements which cloud their summit meeting should not be issued, according to Jang, which said the conversation between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf lasted 16 minutes.
DPA |
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Pak missiles defective Islamabad After a series of complaints from the Pakistan army, a team of two Pak technicians from the Directorate of Electronics and Missile Development (DEMD) Ministry of Defence Production visited China’s Northern Industrial Company’s (NORINCO) Missile Factory in the last week of May to work with the manufacturers to eliminate the defects, it is learnt from reliable sources. Chinese experts were present when three missiles in which the on-board battery, the gyroscope and the ground battery had been replaced were fired at the DEMD test-range. They fell short of target. The Pak team carried the defective components and details of Pak investigation reports with them to China in the hope of finding remedies and evolving methodology for repairing the whole stockpile of missiles supplied by China. The “Baktar Shikan” was one of the weapons Pakistan offered for export at its recent exposition of saleable weapons along with the “Anza” surface-to-air shoulder-fired missile which is also Chinese-supplied and is being produced in Pakistan under licence. The quality of Chinese arms and equipment has been a matter of serious concern for the Pakistan army. Not only are the arms based on outdated technology of Russian origin copied by Chinese, the pathetic quality control in Chinese factories adds to its woes. There is also a feeling amongst the Pakistan military that the Chinese are dumping their sub-standard weapons in Pakistan but they dare not complain too much lest they be perceived as biting the hand that feeds it. Nearly all of Pakistan’s “indigenously developed” weapons systems are of Chinese origin ranging from the updated MiG-19s and MiG-21s to the Khalid main battle tank. All of them are being offered for export. So desperate is Pakistan to earn foreign exchange for its cash-strapped economy (of which it has just enough to pay for one month’s worth of imports) that it has also offered to sell the latest-technology (air-independent propulsion) Agosta class submarines it is yet to receive from France.
ADNI |
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39 policemen hurt in Belfast riots Belfast, June 21 The police, backed by British troops, fired plastic bullets to restore order when hundreds of rioters from rival communities hurled bombs, acid bombs, stones and bottles. The police said 100 petrol bombs were thrown, Cars were set on fire and nine gun shots had been fired at them from both sides. Five of the injured officers were taken to hospital. Protestant hardliners tried to petrol bomb the ambulance taking them away. “I think this is some of the most serious rioting that Belfast has seen for several years. We have had crowds of up to 600 involved at different times,” Mr Alan McQuillan, Assistant Chief Constable of Northern Ireland’s police force, told Sky Television. The rioting followed two days of sectarian violence between Protestant and Roman Catholic communities in north Belfast and coincided with the annual “marching season”, when parades by Protestant groups heighten sectarian tension. The clashes came after an explosion at a house which Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army’s political ally, said was caused by a pipe bomb thrown by pro-British Protestants. Protestant politicians blamed Republicans for the unrest, which also caused a girls’ school to close. Protestant hardliners were still blocking access to the school today morning, witnesses said. They jeered abuse as the police kept them at bay and parents tried to get their children into the building. Roman Catholic nationalists mounted road blocks in the area in protest. The riots erupted as the fragile peace process in the British province faced a fresh crisis over a long-running dispute on guerrilla disarmament between politicians from the Protestant majority and Catholic minority. Britain and the Irish Republic have launched a new push to get the stalled peace process back on track but the disarmament issue remains as thorny as ever despite ceasefires by mainstream guerrilla groups such as the Irish Republican Army.
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Palace security report
soon Kathmandu (Nepal), June 21 The constitution of the task force was announced on Monday. Talking to The Tribune here on Thursday, former Principal Military Secretary of the Royal Palace, Lt-General Santa Kumar Malla, heading the security review team, said that the report will be submitted within three days. He refused to confirm the mandate of the team saying “I cannot talk to you as the review is under way”. General Malla has served as ADC to King Birendra. He joined the Royal Nepal Army in the sixties and was in the Royal Palace Guards during King Mahendra’s rule. He retired as Lt-General 14 months back. Asked if King Gyanendra was afraid of moving into Narayan Hity Royal Palace after June 1 massacre in which Nepal lost its King, Queen and eight other members of the royal family, Lt-General Malla said “that is not the right perception. He has not moved out of his house at Nirmal Nivas on Maharajgunj due to other reasons”. According to sources in the Narayan Hity Royal Palace, King Gyanendra comes to the place anytime between noon and 3 p.m. and attends his office in Mangal Sadan. He calls on the Queen Mother, Ratna Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and visits Queen Komal and other members of the royal family at the Birendra Medical hospital everyday. Sources having links with some members of the royal family said that King Gyanendra will move into Narayan Hity Palace after 45 days (from June 1) when all rituals including “Shradh” end. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Pratinidhi Sabha (Lower House) Taranath Ranabhat today addressed representatives of the Nepal Sadhbhavana Party, the United Peoples Front, the National Peoples Front, the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party to seek co-operation for the smooth functioning of Parliament. The CPN (ML) which is represented in the Rashtriya Sabha (Upper House ) was also invited to the meeting. Mr Ranabhat told The Tribune that he along with the secretary of the Lower House and the Secretary-General of Parliament talked to the parties to ensure that they did not disrupt proceedings during the Budget session beginning on Monday. Mr Ranabhat said that although the Opposition led by the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) had disrupted the last session of Parliament on all 57 working days, he “cannot forecast whether the coming session will witness a pandemonium over the PM’s resignation. This is something they decide in their own party”. |
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UNP’s no-trust
motion against Chandrika today Colombo, June 21 The People’s Alliance (PA) government was reduced to a minority yesterday after one of its key partner — the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) — withdrew its support. The crossover of seven SLMC MPs to the opposition has led to a change in the balance of power in Parliament. The opposition now has majority of only six seats. Strategic re-alignments of political alliances are expected with SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, sacked by President from the Cabinet, crossing over to the opposition with six other MPs. UNP sources said the party would seek the cooperation of the joint opposition as the no-confidence motion was being brought denoting the PA government’s failure to solve the problems of the people. Since the support of the Left-oriented Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which has 10 members is crucial, a meeting between the UNP and the JVP is scheduled for this evening, a party spokesman said. The politburo of the JVP which met yesterday decided to call a central committee meeting on Saturday amid indications that the party might tilt towards the government during the UNP sponsored no-confidence motion.
UNI |
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India seeks inclusion in Quattrocchi case Kuala Lumpur, June 21 Quattrocchi (62), faces charges of corruption and conspiracy in India, involving a $ 1.4 billion arms sale scandal in 1986 that rocked the then Rajiv Gandhi Government. He was arrested in Malaysia in December after India asked the Malaysian Government to extradite him. Quattrocchi’s lawyers claiming the arrest to be illegal have begun court action to block the extradition. Today, lawyer Cyrus Das pleaded that the Indian government should be given “full and fair” opportunity to defend itself against Mr Quattrocchi’s claim that the case was politically motivated. Judge Abdul Aziz Mohamad will continue to hear the argument on the issue tomorrow. Quattrocchi, who is free on bail but has surrendered his passport, said that he had offered to talk to the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation officers about the case before he left India in 1993, but had not received any response then.
AP |
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Abu Sayyaf
rebel shot Zamboanga (Philippines) June 21 The rebel, Nuramun Asamun, was arrested on Tuesday in the mountain village of Sinangcapan in Basilan island where he was buying medical supplies from a pharmacy, regional Army spokesman Lt Col Danilo Servando said. Asamun resisted arrest, grabbing a soldier’s service pistol and wounding him in the leg. He was shot dead while fleeing, Mr Servando said.
AFP |
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