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July 21, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Parliament to take up Wahid impeachment move
Violence at G-8 summit Leaders for global health fund Genoa, July 20 Police fired tear gas and live bullets at anti-globalisation demonstrators today, killing one person, in the first outbreak of violence during a summit of big powers that opened in the Italian port of Genoa. |
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Nepali Cong to choose leader
tomorrow Impeachment move against Chandrika Vancouver, July 20 Cramped quarters are hampering the ability of two men charged in the 1985 Air India bombing to prepare for their trial, one of their defence lawyers said. David Crossin, who is representing Ripudaman Singh Malik, yesterday said he reapplied for bail for his client because Malik’s cramped jail cell limited his ability to view the large of pages of evidence in the case.
Caucus wants curbs
on India to go US plea to Pak
on Laden Musharraf’s gifts lying at mission
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Parliament to take up Wahid impeachment move Jakarta, July 20 People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais, Wahid’s chief enemy, did not give a timeframe but said the assembly would sit from 10 a.m. and Wahid would be asked to give an accountability speech on Monday. “The leaders of the MPR have decided that tomorrow, God willing, we will have a plenary meeting at 10 in the morning, which logically will proceed to the special (impeachment) session,” Rais told reporters. Rais pressed for the impeachment hearing to begin tomorrow because of row with Wahid over the appointment of a new police chief. A stern-faced Amien Rais called Wahid’s appointment of Chairuddin Ismail as acting commander of the police a “trick”, adding a final decision on when to hold the impeachment hearing would be announced later. “The swearing in of the deputy police chief Chairuddin to become the temporary police chief is just a trick.” While legislators have been homing in on Wahid’s erratic 21-month performance, the furore surrounding the national police chief has become the latest trigger to hold an early impeachment hearing, currently scheduled for August 1. Meanwhile, President Wahid delayed declaring a civil emergency to July 31 to allow more time to thrash out a compromise to save his job. “We have to be ready to implement the state of emergency on July 31 at 6 pm if there is no compromise,” Wahid said in a brief statement at the palace at his self-imposed deadline. Wahid has been using the emergency threat — which allows an early election and grants him wideranging powers — to try to fend off a push by the supreme People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to sack him over his chaotic 21-month rule. However, key army and police generals have warned they would not carry out such an order, throwing serious doubt over what impact the civil emergency measure would have.
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Violence
at G-8 summit Genoa, July 20 Protesters wearing masks and carrying sticks broke some windows and threw a flare at police before setting fire to a garbage dumpster on a street on the eastern side of Genoa, witnesses said. Police responded with tear gas and dispersed the crowd of several hundred demonstrators which had assembled near the high-security “red zone” where the group of eight leaders were meeting. Tens of thousands of other demonstrators prepared to march towards the centre of the city to protest against the G8 meeting. Some groups have vowed to try to break into the “red zone” despite a concrete and steel cordon and some 20,000 police and soldiers. In the meantime, leaders of the seven wealthiest countries, anxious to show they are on top of the problems besetting the global economy, began meeting in one-on-one sessions today before the formal opening of their annual economic summit. In addition to discussing the global economy, the G-8summit was expected to quickly endorse creation of a new global health fund to attack AIDS and other infectious diseases in poor nations. US President George W Bush, who spoke to reporters in Britain today before leaving for Genoa, said he planned to stress the ways the US Government was trying to jump-start the world’s largest economy, which has been mired in a year-long slowdown. “I will share with my fellow leaders the fact that I shepherded through a major reduction in income taxes in America” and the federal reserve is doing its part by aggressively cutting interest rates, Bush said. Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, intent on describing his rescue programme to rid Japanese banks of $ 1trillion in bad loans, met with Canadian premier Chretien, who is attending his eighth summit and is now the dean of the
meetings. The two spoke on a luxury cruise ship anchored in the harbour where seven of the eight leaders, but not bush, will be staying because of a shortage of hotel rooms in Genoa. In an effort to disprove the demonstrators’ claims that the wealthy countries don’t care about the problems of the poor, the leaders today planned to announce the establishment of a new global health fund to combat aids, getting it started with initial contributions of around dlrs one billion. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, scheduled to be on hand for the unveiling ceremony, has said $ 7 billion to $ 10 billion is needed to address the AIDS problem adequately.
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Nepali Cong to
choose leader tomorrow
Kathmandu, July 20 “The election will be held by Sunday, but first we are all trying to reach a consensus and decide on a candidate who will be chosen unanimously,” said Mr Sushil Koirala, the party’s General Secretary. Mr Sushil Koirala, who is the Prime Minister’s nephew, also announced his candidacy for the post. Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur
Deuba, who challenged Mr Girija Koirala for the leadership last year, is the top contender. Mr Deuba leads the rebels in the party who have been opposing Mr Koirala.
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Impeachment move against Chandrika Colombo, July 20 The move comes a day after the opposition held a rally in Colombo to protest Ms Kumaratunga’s sudden suspension of Parliament on July 10 to save her minority government from a no-confidence motion and the holding of a referendum. Opposition leaders also vowed to take a joint stand to either boycott or vote against the August 21 referendum, which will ask citizens if they want the Constitution changed. The government lost its slim majority last month after seven Muslim legislators crossed over to the opposition, which rushed to capitalise on the move by presenting a no-faith motion that would have been debated this week had Ms Kumaratunga not suspended Parliament. At least two persons died of gunshot injuries after the police opened fire on Thursday on crowds of slogan-shouting protesters. Some 80 persons were injured and admitted to government hospitals in Colombo. The opposition, meanwhile, appointed a panel to draw up articles of impeachment against Ms Kumaratunga. A five-member committee of opposition legislators was named at a meeting of the joint opposition which represents 115 members — a majority in the 225-member Assembly. “We have agreed to have a committee of experts to draw up the chargesheet against the President and have it ready for approval by all constituent members of the joint opposition in less than two weeks,” a spokesman said.
IANS, AFP |
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Bail plea for suspect in ‘Kanishka’ case Vancouver, July 20 David Crossin, who is representing Ripudaman Singh Malik, yesterday said he reapplied for bail for his client because Malik’s cramped jail cell limited his ability to view the large of pages of evidence in the case. “It is dramatically interfering with my ability to defend him,” Mr Crossin said adding “There’s just not enough space to house the mass of material that they have to review in order to properly instruct counsel.” Malik, who was already denied bail once, was charged last October along with Ajaib Singh Bagri of murdering the 329 persons aboard Air India Flight 182. A third man, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was added to indictment in June. Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm adjourned the bail application and urged all parties to meet to try to improve the situation for the suspects. Crossing also complained that Malik was not allowed to spend enough hours each day on his case.
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Jewish militants kill 3 Palestinians Hebron, July 20 In a break with the standing policy, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said today that Israel might allow monitors to oversee a future truce, if they came from the USA, Israel’s long-time closest ally. “The whole matter of observers is unacceptable to us, but if this will be forced upon us, I will live with the presence of monitors of the Americans,’’ he told Israel Radio. Group of Eight big-power Foreign Ministers in Rome on yesterday, hours before the attack on the Palestinian family’s car, had called on Israel and the Palestinians to let outside monitors oversee an endangered US-backed truce-to-talks plan. Israel Radio said a group calling itself “The Committee for Safety on the Roads” — a name alluding to the danger Jewish settlers face from Palestinian gunmen — claimed the responsibility for the shooting near the West Bank city of Hebron. The assault left three-month-old Diya’ Tmeizi the youngest person to die in 10 months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Hospital officials said that besides the baby, two men were killed and five persons from the Tmeizi family, including one four-month-old girl and one five-month-old girl, were wounded. GENEVA: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed the escalating violence in the West Asia with his special envoy for the peace process, Terje Roed-Larsen, who just concluded a series of contacts on the situation in the region with key officials. Meeting in Geneva, the Secretary-General and Roed-Larsen reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories.
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Caucus wants curbs on India to go Washington, July 20 “These sanctions are counter-productive to US efforts to engage India,” Mr Royce told Mr Blackwill yesterday. “Peace and security in South Asia are very much in our national interests. India is the largest country in the region and it is critical that we build upon the momentum and continue to strengthen our strategic relationship with India. We are trying to develop a foreign policy with India that
focuses on trade, investment and security,” media reports said quoting Mr Royce. The two co-chairmen of the caucus, Royce and Congressman Jim McDermott, introduced legislation earlier in the year to remove all prohibitions on assistance to India and Pakistan, and end all sanctions and other economic restrictions imposed on the two countries under Arms Export Control Act. Mr Blackwill said he would do all he could to make relations with India a top priority.
PTI |
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US plea to Pak on Laden Islamabad, July 20 During a series of meetings with a group of visiting Pakistani journalists in Washington and New York, senior US State Department officials said they believed Pakistan could exert pressure on Taliban to address US concerns over Osama’s alleged network in Afghanistan, it was reported. US officials informed the group of 11 Pakistani scribes of the potential threat to US citizens and interests from Bin Laden and his followers across the world. Recognising Taliban as a major force in Afghanistan, some US officials were of the opinion that the Islamic militia could not survive for long if Pakistan withdrew its support. Senator Sam Brownback, whose amendment helped Pakistan receive $ 20 million for education also thinks Islamabad has the potential to urge Taliban to stop harbouring Bin Laden and his Al-Qaida (The Base) organisation.
PTI |
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Musharraf’s gifts lying at mission Islamabad, July 20 The Pakistani security officials made it clear that no gifts would be carried in the President’s aircraft, it was officially learnt. The Indian President and the Prime Minister presented Kashmiri shawls, handicrafts and other precious items to General Musharraf and his wife.
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