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Friday,
March 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Impetus to Saudi plan; Solana meets Mubarak
Palestinian leader for US
support Sheikh Omar moved to secure place |
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Opposition leader not charged with treason
5 Grammys for Alicia, U2 gets 4
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Impetus to Saudi plan; Solana meets Mubarak Cairo, February 28 The EU foreign policy chief talked to President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher following his hastily-arranged meeting about the “land-for-peace” proposal on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Abdullah. Mr Solana told newsmen on arrival in Cairo the prince expected to win backing at next month’s Arab League summit for his proposal to normalise Arab ties with Israel in return for a full withdrawal from land occupied in the 1967 war. Mr Solana, due to travel to Jordan to discuss the initiative with King Abdullah later on Thursday, said he would also hold talks in the USA on Monday and Tuesday. “It is going to be a hectic period of time in which we would also like to cooperate as much as possible to move the peace process forward,” he said after meeting President Mubarak. Mr Mubarak is also heading to Washington on Saturday for a previously planned five-day visit. “We are going to have the opportunity...to continue in coordinating our work,” Mr Solana said of Mubarak’s trip. World leaders have latched on to the Saudi initiative, first floated by Prince Abdullah in an interview in the New York Times last week, as a possible way to end the violence between Israelis and Palestinians that erupted in September 2000. After meeting Mr Mubarak, the EU leader reiterated that Prince Abdullah was determined to promote his plan and win the approval of Arabs at the March 27-28 Arab League summit in Beirut. He hoped Israel would lift travel restrictions on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and allow him to attend the summit. “I think Mr Arafat will be able to be in Beirut. That is what I hope,” he told reporters after meeting Maher. During his visit to Israel and the Palestinian areas earlier this week, Mr Solana urged Israel to end the confinement which has kept Arafat in Ramallah on the West Bank since December. The Saudi initiative is based on the land-for-peace principle that was also the basis for Arab-Israeli peace talks launched in 1991 but which had faltered by 2000. Diplomats said although the plan held little new, various parties were able to treat it as a fresh starting point because it came from Saudi Arabia, a hitherto opponent of normalisation with Israel.
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Palestinian leader for US support New York, February 28 “There must be a very important, and very strong, and very quick push from outside,” Mr Arafat said in an interview to the New York Times last night at his battered and darkened compound in Ramallah, where Israeli forces have confined him for almost three months. His strongest hope seemed to be that the USA would use the Saudi proposal to end 17 months of unrelenting violence, which he suggested now threatens the region’s stability, the Times said. “The most important thing is that it is accepted by the Europeans, the Russians and the Americans,” Mr Arafat said. The critical role, he stressed, was that of US President George W. Bush. How quickly the goals of the Saudi plan can be attained “depends no doubt on the USA,” he said. Asked if he believed he would live to see a Palestinian state, Mr Arafat (72), said, “no doubt, no doubt.” Mr Arafat, the Times said, noted with satisfaction the recent signs of Israeli dissent, pointing in particular to a letter signed by more than 250 reserve members of the armed forces refusing to serve in the occupied territories. But, when asked if he thought Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s coalition government would be split by the Saudi proposal, he said: “We hope not. We hope all of them will accept it.” “Not to forget,” Mr Arafat said, when it was suggested that the USA thought he had not done enough to fight violence, “I didn’t send my helicopters and my F-15’s and my F-16’s and my tanks to any Israeli city. “But in spite of that, we are completely committed to the peace of the brave, which we have signed. Not only for us, the peace is for us, the Palestinians; for them, the Israelis; for the whole West Asia.”
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7 Palestinians among 8 shot Jenin (West Bank), February 28 The violence underlined the urgency of a widely hailed Saudi peace initiative which western diplomats say offers hope of ending the 17 month long Israeli-Palestinian conflict but could, easily be derailed by new bloodshed. Palestinian security and hospital sources said Israeli troops killed three Palestinian policemen in an attack on a checkpost, north of the Palestinian-ruled town of Jenin. Two more police who were guarding a television tower south-west of Jenin were killed in a separate raid, the sources said. A sixth Palestinian, described by hospital sources as a gunman, was killed in clashes with the Israeli forces at the Balata refugee camp on the edge of the city of Nablus. A seventh, identified as a 34-year-old man, was shot dead in the centre of the city, the hospital sources said. Palestinian gunmen shot an Israeli soldier and wounded two others during the clashes at Balata, the army said. It confirmed that its forces had attacked the Balata and Jenin refugee camps and said heavy fighting had taken place. It called the camps “bases of terror infrastructure that have been responsible for the murder of dozens of Israelis’’. At least 903 Palestinians and 280 Israelis have been killed since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.
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Sheikh Omar moved to secure place Karachi, February 28 Police received an anonymous phone call on Tuesday night threatening to attack the detention centre where Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was being held if Pakistan’s Government bowed to a U.S. demand to extradite the Britain-born Islamic militant. “After a meeting, which reviewed the threat, we have decided to keep Omar at a more secure place,’’ a police official said. He added that two other suspects in the case, Salman Saquib and Sheikh Adil, had been shifted to a separate high security detention centre. The USA wants custody of Sheikh Omar, either by extradition under a 1931 treaty or by the simpler rendition process, over the kidnap of Pearl, who disappeared on January 23 here while reporting on Islamic militants. A videotape confirming his murder by his captors surfaced in Karachi last week. His body has not been found and it is unclear where or when he was murdered. WASHINGTON: The USA has announced a $ 5 million reward for information leading to the arrest in any country of those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters that the USA would like “to get our hands on” Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed, he said Washington had made clear to the Pakistanis that it wanted to get in custody people who committed crimes against American citizens.
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Sushma’s Pak visit sparks speculation Islamabad, February 28 The Indian Government’s decision to clear the decks for Ms Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad was seen by the media here as a prelude to “soft opening” of the door by New Delhi for de-escalation of tensions and more dialogue in the coming days and months. The SAARC Information Ministers Conference begins on March 7.
PTI |
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Opposition leader not charged with treason Cape Town, February 28 Zuma, who met Mugabe, Vice-President Joseph Msika and cabinet ministers in Harare yesterday, said he had been assured that campaigning for the March 9-10 presidential election was proceeding “normally”. President Mugabe is seeking to extend his 22-year rule in the face of a strong challenge from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Local and foreign observers charge that the campaign is being rigged in Mugabe’s favour and that his followers are being allowed to intimidate and assault opposition supporters. “The Zimbabweans assured the South Africans that leader of the opposition Morgan Tsvangirai had not been charged with treason as reported in the media and said police had only questioned him,” Zuma said. Tsvangirai was called to a police station on Monday and told reporters afterwards he had been charged with treason following the broadcast of a video purporting to show him discussing Mugabe’s assassination. “I have been charged with high treason,” he said. “I denied that completely.”
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5 Grammys for Alicia, U2 gets 4
Los Angeles, February 28 The Irish rock band U2, whose inspirational music struck a new chord after September 11, took four awards last night and denied Keys the chance to set a record for most Grammys ever by a female artist. Keys’ song “fallin” won song of the year, and she was named best new artist. She also won three awards in rhythm ‘n’ blues categories, tying Lauryn Hill’s 1999 record of five awards. U2’s record of the year award for “Walk On” marked the second straight year they won the top category. The “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack won album of the year. The album of country roots music and bluegrass was shunned by country music radio and beat out U2 and Bob Dylan for the top album award. Another artist who had a chance to break Hill’s record was India. Arie. The alternative soul artist whose debut was “Acoustic Soul” was nominated for seven awards but won none. Canadian newcomer Nelly Furtado won the pop female vocal category award. Music sales for 2001 were down 5 per cent, the first decline in more than a decade. Recording companies blame the slump mainly on free downloading from the Internet. On Tuesday night, the Eagles, Joel, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt and others gave four concerts around the Los Angeles area to raise funds and awareness for that cause. The Eagles’ Don Henley, a nominee, alluded to the fight when he presented the award for best rock performance, which went to Train for “drops of Jupiter.”
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Islamabad, February 28
Alicia Keys, whose classically influenced soul debut was one of last year’s biggest albums, and the bluegrass soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” each won five Grammys.
The Irish rock band U2, whose inspirational music struck a new chord after September 11, took four awards last night and denied Keys the chance to set a record for most Grammys ever by a female artist.
