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| Tuesday, January 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India   
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Over 100 killed in mistaken US bombing on Afghan village
“Lagaan” for Karzai USA under pressure to prevent Indo-Pak war |
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Another Argentine head quits A see-saw battle for Zambia’s presidency
Gulf states form customs union, single currency
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Over 100 killed in mistaken US bombing on Afghan village Qalaye Niazi (Afghanistan), December 31
The attack — in the early hours yesterday morning — was believed to have involved one jet, one B-52 bomber and two helicopters, villager Janat Gul said. Villagers said up to 107 persons had been killed, but it was difficult to identify victims because of the damage. At least 10 persons were wounded. An official of the local tribal Shura, or council, said US troops had been invited to witness the damage caused by the raid. A Reuters cameraman saw US troops accompanied by Northern Alliance forces en route to the village at Tira pass. The raid seemed sure to stir up tensions between factions in Afghanistan’s interim administration which want the bombing campaign, under way since October 7, to halt, and those who believe it should continue. Janat Gul said 24 members of his family were killed in the pre-dawn bombing raid and described himself as the sole survivor. “People are very upset about what is going on here,” he said. In the USA, Major Pete Mitchell, a spokesman for US Central Command, said: “We are aware of the incident and we are currently investigating.” Meanwhile, a report from Kabul said an 11-vehicle convoy of British troops arrived today to help pave the way for the planned multinational security force for Afghanistan. The group of about 70 personnel were the first reinforcements for the 200-strong British contingent already patrolling the capital and providing visible support to the new interim administration. The new convoy also brought in medical officers and supplies. Women personnel were also on board. British embassy spokesman Paul Sykes earlier said the reinforcements would help establish a site for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). “They are here to set up the ISAF headquarters”, he said, adding that a number of sites were being considered and evaluated for their security status. The peacekeeping force, expected to number 3,000, had been a source of disquiet for members of the interim administration. Defence Minister Mohammad Fahim was believed to be particularly concerned at the presence of foreign troops since they would dilute his own authority, sources and analysts said. In the South, Marines prepared to hand over to arriving US paratroopers a Kandahar airport facility, including a detention camp where detained Taliban militia members and fighters of bin Laden’s Al Qaida — are being interrogated about his whereabouts. The Pentagon said the deployment of paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division would free the Marines operating there for unspecified duties, possibly to join the hunt for bin Laden. Underscoring what might be simmering differences in the interim government — a mix of Northern Alliance fighters, old allies, mujahideen and exiled technocrats loyal former king Zahir Shah — ministers had given contrasting statements on when they wanted the US bombings to stop. However, interim leader Hamid Karzai — an ally of the King and a former mujahideen — said US troops were welcome to stay until they had attained their goals in Afghanistan and rid the country of extremists.
Reuters, AFP |
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“Lagaan” for Karzai Kabul, December 31 The print of the movie, which has created waves all over India and is the country’s official entry for the Oscars, was handed over by India’s special envoy S.K. Lambah when he called on the Afghan President here yesterday. Lambah said Aamir Khan at the request of the government had specially flown here from Mumbai to hand over the print to him as a New Year’s gift to Afghanistan. Karzai, appreciating the print, told the Indian envoy that in the prevailing atmosphere of yearning for peace in his country, there could not be a better New Year’s gift to the Afghans than the film of the movie star who had a tremendous fan following in Afghanistan. Lambah said even the Afghan President seemed to be updated on the Bollywood scene when he remarked that imprint of Bollywood had survived the “Taliban onslaught”. Karzai said that the film would be premiered on the Afghan Television, which was recently restarted, for nationwide viewing. It will be also released in the theatres here. The screening of the film ‘Lagaan’ would be followed by holding of an Indian film festival in Afghanistan after January 26, in which some of the old classics and new films would be screened in Kabul and some other cities. Meanwhile, India has released $ 1 million out of the $ 100 million-aid package pledged for the reconstruction programme of Afghanistan. At least 25 per cent of the package funds would be utilised for rebuilding the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital established here in
1969. PTI |
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USA under pressure to prevent Indo-Pak war THE USA is under increasing international pressure to take swift action to prevent India and Pakistan from “blundering” into a disastrous war that, as the Washington Post points out, would provide “no winner but the terrorists.” An analysis of comments by the media and South Asia experts in the Western world on the ominous sabre-rattling in the subcontinent clearly points to the need for the Bush administration to involve itself more actively in the confrontation between New Delhi and Islamabad. Analysts are inclined to concede that India has a legitimate grievance that Pakistan is not doing enough to curb the activities of terrorist groups operating from its territory. Also, India, as the world’s largest democracy, gets a more favourable treatment vis-a-vis the military dictatorship in Pakistan. “If history has taught us anything, it is that democracies don’t make war unless they are cornered,” wrote columnist Ellen Ratner in World Net Daily. Ratner said, “I know that Gen Pervez Musharraf has been helping us against Al-Qaida and that India sometimes does not like us. But at the end of the day, India is a stable democracy and Pakistan could have a new leader whose first name would also be “General” who, this time, may have had leadership training at the Taliban School of Government”. “Any country which harbours terrorists should pay the piper, India’s Parliament building is as sacred to the Indian as our Pentagon and the World Trade Center are to us,” she added. James Mulvenan of the California-based Rand Institute is quoted by the Christian Science Monitor as saying that while new partnership with Pakistan is here to stay and the USA should increase its military relations with Pakistan, the more natural ally of the USA is India. “India is a democracy, the economy is functioning, and we could do the Infotech thing with them and then there are good military prospects”, he says. It is not that everyone is impressed with the Indian democracy. The Daily Telegraph from London, for instance, says India may be the world’s largest democracy, but its treatment of the Kashmir issue has been far from exemplary”. At the same time, The Telegraph reminds President Musharraf that “the war against terrorism is indivisible.” The Washington Post gives credit to General Musharraf for taking some “significant steps” in the past several days, including detention of some 50 militants, but urges that he still must do more. But, it would be hard him to act, if the build-up on the border continued, the Post said in an editorial. The Toronto Star urges Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to give some time to the Pakistani leader to crack down on Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba groups. In calling for bilateral talks, the paper said, “Dreadful as the December 13 attack was, it does not legitimise war much less, nuclear war.” If
commentators agree on one thing, it is that the USA should escalate its intervention in order to prevent a war in the sub-continent. “With billions of lives at stake,” wrote the Guardian, “the onus is on America to ensure that all sides start talking again.” Also, “America did not spend $ 1 billion fighting a war in Afghanistan only for it to flare up in Kashmir.” The Los Angeles Times said in an editorial: “Washington assuredly would be involved as peacemaker if the two countries went to war”. The paper added that the Bush administration should send a high-level delegation to the two nations to actively broker peace. The LA Times noted that many Pakistanis who loathed the Taliban and its brand of religious extremism supported the battle for Kashmir and said. “It will take time to persuade them that a nuclear power like India is not going to let its territory be taken away.” The Washington Post said: “The USA has usually tried to avoid involvement in Indo-Pakistan conflicts, but this time, it has little choice. Both India and Pakistan are quietly counting on the USA to stop them from blundering into a disastrous war, the Bush administration must act aggressively to ensure that they don’t.” |
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Another Argentine head quits Buenos Aires (Argentina), December 31 After violent street protests and a battle within the ruling Peronist Party-led Adolfo Rodriguez Saa to suddenly quit as interim President on Sunday, depressed Argentina found itself adrift with no consensus over how to end the chaos. Eduardo Camano, head of the Lower House of Congress, found himself with the hot potato of Argentina’s provisional presidency after the Senate chief also resigned. But Camano can only head the country for 48 hours before Congress must name a new interim President, according to the Constitution. He said a legislative assembly of both houses of Congress was being called for Tuesday at 2 p.m. (5 pm GMT), to choose a new interim leader either until new elections within 90 days or until the next scheduled elections in 2003. One powerful Peronist governor called for an emergency “government of national salvation,” while another urged elections for a new President “as soon as possible.” But the non-stop political tumult raised questions about whether Argentina is governable at all as the crumbling middle class grows increasingly restless in its protests of widespread corruption and a ruthless recession now in its fourth year. Mr Rodriguez Saa, appointed just a week ago by Congress to lead until elections set for March 3, quit after stomping on the toes of Peronist Party barons who accused him of trying to delay or cancel the vote to cling to power longer. His fate was also sealed by thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets on Friday night to protest against strict curbs on bank deposits and his appointment of a Cabinet many believed was rife with corruption. In his short term in office, Mr Rodriguez Saa stopped payments on Argentina’s foreign debt, setting up what would be the biggest sovereign default ever and consolidating Latin America’s third-largest economy as a pariah in world markets. Mr Rodriguez Saa was Argentina’s third president this year. Violent protests that killed 27 people forced Fernando de la Rua to resign as President on December 20 only half way through his four-year term. “What people want more than anything is a government,” said presidential hopeful Carlos Ruckauf, Governor of Buenos Aires province, the country’s richest and most populous. “Argentina immediately needs a government of national salvation.” Peronist power-brokers said Rodriguez Saa’s plans for a new currency and promises to create a million jobs sounded too ambitious for a man only slated to stay in power for three months. Mr Rodriguez Saa said as he quit that the snub by the Peronist governors was the last straw for his caretaker government. “He never consulted us on any measures that he took,” said Mr Jose Manuel de la Sota, another Peronist Governor with presidential aspirations. “The people should elect the President; the sooner the better.” Many of those who took to the street early on Saturday demanded the end of unpopular caps limiting Argentines to $1,000 in cash per month from their bank accounts, put in place a month ago to halt a run on the brittle financial system.
Reuters |
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A see-saw battle for Zambia’s presidency Lusaka, December 31 The latest certified results for 130 of 150 constituencies gave 456,308 votes to Mwanawasa, outgoing President Frederick Chiluba’s chosen heir, against 440,010 for Anderson Mazoka of the United Party for National Development (UPND). As the Electoral Commission announced the latest tally, hundreds of Opposition supporters marched to the Supreme Court in Lusaka to hear their leaders denounce the election as a sham and call for daily protests. Supporters came in buses, walked or cycled to the court as Opposition leaders called for “people power” action, witnesses said. “This is the time to show your power. We urge you to do so peacefully and in a non-violent manner,” Opposition leader Rev Nevers Mumba told the protesters, speaking on behalf of Zambia’s 10 opposition parties. The country’s main opposition leaders Mazoka, Christon Tembo, Tilyenji Kaunda and Godfrey Miyanda were at the protest, sparked by the results which put Mwanawasa in the lead.
Reuters |
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Gulf states form customs union, single currency Muscat, December 31 Leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement at the end of a two-day annual summit in Oman to move forward setting up a customs union to 2003 from 2005 and to establish a single currency by 2010 — part of a planned joint trade zone. “The leaders decided to advance the date for implementing the customs union to January 1, 2003...and lowered tariffs on foreign imports to 5 per cent,” said a communique read by Jameel al-Hujailan, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A previous agreement lowering customs from the present 4-15 per cent had set a start date of 2005. The deal paves the way for a free trade pact with the European Union, the region’s main trading partner. Gulf officials have accused the union of foot-dragging over free trade, saying the GCC had fulfilled its requirements to reach a deal streamlining trade worth about $46 billion. They warned they may reconsider the pact if no progress is made in talks on the deal — hampered by EU demands for GCC common tariffs and by protectionist EU policies.
Reuters |
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Afghan
farmers have resumed the cultivation of poppies, which can be used
to produce drugs, following the fall of the Taliban rulers who had
banned it.
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Pakistan's
Former Information Minister Jawaid Jabbar in an interview said
that dialogues between India and Pakistan was the most preferred
way to conduct relations.
