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Monday,
September 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Musharraf lobbies for domestic support US marines practise
landings Russian troops on high alert in Tajikistan Philippines offers 2 bases to USA Exercise calm, says Pope |
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TRIBUNE READERS’ ACCOUNTS Pandits warn Bush Hijackers ‘used’ Swiss knives LTTE suicide
attacks kill 29
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Musharraf lobbies for domestic support Islamabad, September 16 General Musharraf who was due to address editors of the nation’s newspapers, have lunch with senior religious figures and meet leaders of political parties to try to justify a decision that threatens to split the nation. Although Pakistan has yet to spell out what assistance it will give to Washington, the USA says Islamabad has promised full cooperation following earlier requests for access to its airspace, sealing off the border with Afghanistan, cutting fuel supplies and sharing intelligence. Some US officials have suggested Washington also asked General Musharraf to allow some US military forces to be stationed in Pakistan in anticipation of raids against Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his Afghan Taliban protectors. He has a tough task ahead. With his grip on the country still not entirely secure — he only declared himself President in June — General Musharraf has been advised to seek the views of religious and political groups or risk an unforgiving domestic backlash. “These decisions are fundamental to the national security of Pakistan. It is vital that the people should be taken into confidence,” the Pakistan newspaper said in an editorial. General Musharraf must now decide whether to help the USA and risk internal turmoil, or back away and suffer sanctions, possible military strikes and economic meltdown. “Without doubt, Pakistan is caught between the devil and the deep sea,” Dawn newspaper said. The only public official response to the US request so far came from Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on Saturday, who said the government would comply with all UN Security Council resolutions to combat terrorism. Meanwhile, it is planning to extract maximum financial benefit from its decision to extend its full support to a US-led campaign against international terrorism. Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said he was confident that Islamabad’s backing for a campaign which could involve military action against neighbouring Afghanistan would have economic benefits. The prospect of radically improved relations with the USA in particular can pay dividends as the country seeks to claw its way out of its current economic quagmire, Mr Aziz said. “Clearly as the relationship (with the USA grows, I am sure the economic ties will grow which could mean better market access, better treatment on debt rescheduling and more money, both directly and through multilateral institutions,” he added. Mr Aziz, who worked as a senior executive for Citibank in New York before being appointed to his current post after a military coup in 1999, said Pakistan’s relationship with the USA, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank was improving even before the current crisis. Mired in debt and with a third of its people unable to meet their daily nutritional requirements, Pakistan is in desperate need of any kind of economic support it can muster.
Reuters, AFP |
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US marines practise
landings Diti (East Timor), September 16 The taskforce from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron One was due to disembark troops for humanitarian work in Dili, the southwest town of Suai and the Oecussi enclave in Indonesian West Timor. Instead, three amphibious ships led by the 40,000-tonne USS Peleliu stayed off the north coast of the capital practising naval and air manoeuvres with Harrier jets, helicopters and landing craft. Before two passenger jets slammed into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, the warships were on a routine six month deployment to the western Pacific and Arabian Gulf.
Reuters |
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Russian troops on high alert in Tajikistan Moscow/Dushanbe, Sept 16 Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov announced that the 201st Army Division was ready for action after consultations in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin and government ministers. Mr Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the ministers of interior, foreign affairs, defence and the secret service leadership had discussed “a number of problems on Russia’s domestic and foreign policy fronts”, Itar-Tass news agency reported. Russian troops on the Tajik border with Afghanistan protect the central Asian country against a threat from Islamic rebels. Tajikistan said earlier today it would not allow the USA to use its territory and air space for possible retaliatory strikes on Afghanistan, where Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden was living as “a guest” of the ruling fundamentalist Taliban. Washington suspects that Bin Laden, wanted in the USA for other terror attacks, was also the mastermind behind Tuesday’s coordinated assault. The Taliban had rejected US demands for his extradition. The Tajik Foreign Ministry denied earlier reports that it might assist the USA, saying that they were completely unfounded. The country is the former Soviet republic with the longest border with Afghanistan. Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov said on Friday that his country had to consult with Moscow on whether to open up its air space for a US military strike. Following Tuesday’s devastating terror attacks in Washington and New York, Russia had offered the USA closer cooperation. It rejected playing any role in a US-led military retaliatory strike against suspected terrorists.
Reuters |
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Philippines offers 2 bases to USA Manila, September 16 President Gloria Arroyo, facing domestic criticism for her support for the US plan to retaliate, would invoke a UN Security Council resolution against terrorism, said Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes. “If operations will be launched and it will be in pursuit of this UN resolution, then we can participate in this,” Reyes said over ABS-CBN television here. Asked if the Philippines would volunteer combat troops Reyes said “that will have to be discussed later.” “But as for participating, and making Clark and Subic available for use, that is, I think, within the prerogative of the executive (branch), as architects and chief executors of foreign policy in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1368.” Manila has a 50-year-old mutual defense treaty with Washington, but its Senate ended a military basing arrangement for US forces at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base in 1991. Washington last week sought and obtained Manila’s permission to use Filipino ports as transit points should there be a need to evacuate US citizens from Asia and the Middle East.
AFP |
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Exercise calm, says Pope Frosinone (Italy), September 16 The Pope made his appeal, the latest in a series since the devastating attacks last Tuesday, after a mass in the city of
Frosinone, south of Rome. Although the Pope has expressed condemnation and condolences since the attack, it was the first time he personally spoke of the concern about a possible US military response. “May (the Madonna) give comfort and hope to those who are suffering as a result of the tragic terrorist attack which has deeply wounded our beloved American people in these past few days,” he said, speaking in a clear but sad voice. “I direct my heartbroken thoughts to all children of that great nation. May Mary welcome the dead, console the survivors and sustain the families that have been particularly hit,” he told some 40,000 persons. “I pray that Virgin Mary might help them not to fall into the temptation of hatred and violence but rather to commit themselves to justice and peace,” he said. President George W. Bush has said the attack, which killed up to 5,000 at the World Trade Centre in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, had put the USA in a state of war. Mr Bush has vowed to “smoke out” the enemy and win the battle against terrorism. The US Government says Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden is the prime suspect behind the attacks.
Reuters |
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TRIBUNE READERS’ ACCOUNTS RECENT reports are giving higher and higher numbers of Indians affected by the destruction of the World Trade Center, New York. The Tribune Internet Edition invited our readers to share their experiences of the tragedy. Here are two of the accounts that we received. My name is Anuj Anand. I am 25 years old and an alumnus of
Panjab Engineering College. I am working as a software consultant in CNA which has an office in midtown Manhattan. However, my usual workplace is in New jersey across the Hudson river. As soon as
I reached office I saw somebody with a cell phone trying to call his relatives . When
I asked him what had happened, he told me that the WTC had been bombed. As
I was having my breakfast I wondered what had happened to the cable channels all over. Little did
I know that as a result of the WTC collapse the communication tower on its top had
collapsed too. However, after a little while I heard sirens and saw ambulances on roads. Suddenly, all path trains to WTC from Newark were cancelled. I was thanking God that I was in New
Jersey (on the other side of the Hudson) and not in Manhattan where I usually am on every
Tuesday. After a hectic day in the office on Monday it was decided that somebody else in my place would go to Manhattan the next day. Suddenly somebody got a television set to the office and we were all glued to it. It was then that we realised that the WTC had been attacked and its twin towers had collapsed. Suddenly, I thought of my friends working on the 107th floor of II, World Trade Center. It was then that we heard that a plane from Newark was still in air somewhere in Pennsylvania. We were all scared. Nobody knew what would be the next target of terrorists. It was a horrific sight watching the WTC towers go down in downtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, in the office we were all told to go home. We rushed back home and were held up in a traffic jam. We saw hundreds of people trying to return to their homes in
New Jersey by ferries, trains or whatever they found . Some were even on foot. After we reached home and saw the events on television we could realise the enormity of the attack. We silently prayed for all those who perished. All people, all nationalities shared the grief.... the New
York city will no longer be the same. It has changed for me and for everybody forever.... The majestic towers of the World Trade Center are no more.... Anuj Anand works in CNA insurance in New Jersey It was the most horrific day of my life, and I shall never forget September 11, 2001, as long as I live. I usually leave for Columbia around 8:45 am or 9 am, and switch trains at the WTC. Somehow, I left early at 8:30 am that day, and in retrospect I think, I was lucky to have left early. The moment I reached the WTC around 8.45 am, I felt vibrations and didn’t know what it was. All I could see were a lot of policemen and bomb squad officers trying to get us out of the building. We were being warned that there was a bomb in the building and we had to leave the building as soon as possible. I really didn’t know what was happening. Once outside, I learnt that a plane had crashed into the north building of the WTC. I tried frantically to get in touch with Deb and all my relatives in New Jersey. Unfortunately, all networks were busy and after innumerable attempts I managed to make it. All of a sudden, I saw a plane gliding smoothly into the south tower of the WTC. There was panic and people were running helter-skelter. Hundreds of firemen, cops and ambulances arrived at the scene. I was shocked, too, when I saw two burning bodies fall out of one of the buildings. I didn’t know what to do and reaching home seemed like a remote possibility. We were all facing the south building of the WTC and there must have been thousands and thousands of people. One moment, we saw the south tower burning and the very next moment we saw a huge cloud of black thick smoke engulfing us in layers. All I could hear was screams and shouts and the thundering noise of the collapsing building. There were a few people who were caught in the stampede and were lying in front of me and before I could avoid anything I fell on them. I managed to gather myself and run towards an arched opening of a building. People tried to break open the glass door. We were all getting choked and everything blackened out and instead of breathing smoke, I was eating and breathing mud and asbestos through my nose and mouth. Feeling trapped, people were holding on to each other for support. Slowly, we made our way out. The sky outside was an evil combination of black and red, everything seemed to be coated with ash. The mood was sullen and everything had a charred appearance. I managed to get out of the arch with the help of a person called Josephine and he guided me all the way out towards safety. We didn’t know where we were headed. All we knew was that we were lucky to be still alive. After walking for around half an hour cops informed us that all routes in and out of New York to New Jersey were closed. We took shelter in a school in Chinatown, which had a medical unit. I managed to contact my relatives to confirm that I was fine and that I had survived the terrible incident. It had been a traumatic day for all of us and we were all emotionally very unstable. We walked for almost two hours and came across 33rd Street Penn Station. Luckily, the trains were working. Free rides were given in the New Jersey transit for people to get back. I just can’t describe the feeling that I felt when I reached New Jersey. The feeling of being safe and being reunited with my family was indeed very overwhelming. Adrija Biswas, student, Columbia University. |
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Pandits warn Bush Washington, September 16 “Pakistani terrorist groups collaborate closely with Bin Laden’s Al Qaida network. The Taliban itself is the creation of Pakistani madrasas, and has been sustained by Pakistani military and financial support,” the Kashmir News Network said here in a statement. “Pakistan is one of the world’s leading terrorist sponsors, with over a dozen active Islamic terrorist groups. Most of these groups target Jammu and Kashmir, but many also operate in numerous Islamic hotspots from Bosnia to the Philippines. Groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen have long threatened the USA and have stood by Bin Laden in his escalating anti-West war,” the network said. “Pakistani intelligence agencies have coordinated activities of these groups in Jammu and Kashmir, in Afghanistan itself, and elsewhere,” the network said. “These groups hijacked an Indian Airlines jet in 1999 that resulted in freedom for three top terrorist leaders who are now operating from bases in Pakistan. Thus if these terrorist groups and their 1,200 training camps in Pakistan are not dismantled as part of the war against global terrorism, Pakistan will continue to be the problem, not a solution to this war.”
PTI |
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Hijackers ‘used’ Swiss knives Zurich, September 16 Mass-circulation Sonntagsblick did not cite any sources for its report and gave no further details. Nobody was immediately available for comment at the Federal Police Department. The report came after Swiss authorities said on Friday they were probing whether suspects linked to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had used Switzerland as a transit country.
Reuters |
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LTTE suicide
attacks kill 29 Colombo, September 16 A cluster of at least 20 boats of the LTTE attacked the military-chartered ferry, the MV Pride of South, off northern Sri Lanka, Defence Ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said. He said the navy successfully defended the attack against the ferry, but a coastal patrol craft together with 12 sailors was missing. Another 11 sailors were killed and some 43 troopers aboard the ferry were wounded. The navy smashed three rebel boats, including those packed with explosives and ready to ram against the larger vessel. “At least 15 tigers were killed in the three boats that were destroyed,” the spokesman said.
AFP |
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