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Saturday,
May 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Global
initiative on Palestine launched WINDOW ON PAKISTAN |
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Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf addresses the nation on Thursday in which he offered
an olive branch to his political foes after his referendum win. Pervez
flayed in US House Pearl
murder trial resumes
FBI
agent warned of attack Chandrika’s
party slams peace plan
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Global initiative on
Palestine launched
Washington, May 3 Secretary of State Colin Powell announced this after meeting UN, European and Russian officials. He said the international conference would be held this summer, probably in Europe, at the foreign ministers’ level. Besides putting “the political way forward” to a Palestinian state, the conference would examine security, economic reform and humanitarian issues, he said. Powell urged Israel to lift restrictions on Palestinian travel and called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to take steps to bring normalcy to the region as he was now free from Israeli confinement. Powell said “something will have to be done about the settlements” on the West Bank. He also expressed hope that Arafat would not let go of this opportunity for peace. President George Bush said a state for Palestinians must be democratic and not based on a foundation of terror and corruption. Addressing a news conference, Bush also repeated that Israel’s hold on the West Bank was an “occupation” and said it must yield to Palestinian statehood. “I’m optimistic we’re making good progress,” the President said. “After all, a week ago, Yasser Arafat was boarded up in this building in Ramallah. He’s now free to show leadership.” Bush was not specific about how much land he wanted Israel to hand over for a Palestinian state. That issue was likely to figure at a White House meeting Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. BRUSSELS: The European Commission hailed on Friday what it called a “breakthrough” towards West Asia peace with an agreement by Major powers to prepare for an international conference this summer. The EU executive said the accord reached by the USA, the European Union, the UN and Russia in Washington on Thursday would revive a moribund peace process. NABLUS: Israeli forces raided the West Bank of Nablus on Friday to root out a group of militants, triggering fighting, in which a soldier, a Palestinian policeman and a Hamas militant were killed. The army said one officer was killed and another seriously wounded when they came under fire as they stormed a building near Nablus’s old quarter to detain militants suspected of planning a suicide bombing in Israel. “During the operation the forces arrested four wanted persons suspected of planning a bombing in Israel in the next few days,” the army said in a statement. Israeli tanks and troops thrust into the heart of Nablus, where they cordoned off a building and soldiers began conducting house-to-house searches shortly before dawn, witnesses said. They said 15 persons mostly Islamic militants, were detained.
IANS, Reuters  |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN The blatant use of the government apparatus, widespread rigging and bogus voting at many places that marked the April 30 controversial referendum in Pakistan have given rise to many serious questions. Will there be really a democratic set-up under the jackboot of the General parading as an elected President? What kinds of constitutional amendments, as he has declared, may be introduced? Will he arrogate to himself all the vital powers to function as an "elected" dictator? After all, by his own admission, General Musharraf does not believe in sharing powers! How will he pull along with the National and Provincial Assemblies to be constituted after the promised October elections? Will he allow only a puppet regime to come up? How will the government function if it happens to be composed of players opposed to his referendum strategy? The thinking public in Pakistan appears to be in a state of uneasiness. It is unsure of what the future has in store for the country. It will be a miracle if the referendum leads to peace and socio-political stability. The dominant political forces, which boycotted the exercise aimed at legitimising the General's rule for the next five years, are unlikely to take things lying down. Going by Press assessments, the prevailing political crisis may only worsen in India's neighbourhood. In its May 2 issue, Dawn of Karachi pointed out that "the task before President Musharraf now is to prove by his actions that his victory would tend to strengthen democracy and lead Pakistan towards political stability and economic growth. With so many powers already in his hands, and more to be acquired through the proposed constitutional amendments, there is a danger that, instead of checks and balances, we (the Pakistanis) may have a situation in which the President will have all the powers for himself. "In such a scenario there is no guarantee that the interests of civil society will be upheld, since the National Security Council, too, will be heavily dominated by the military. There is, thus, the possibility that the elected civilian leadership, instead of being responsive to the people's urges, may succumb to pressures from the military, which may tend to see a given issue in a different light." Looking at what lies beyond the controversial exercise, The Nation of Lahore commented: "The unusual discrepancy between what many independent observers saw with their own eyes on Tuesday and the official turnout figures would lend credence to the reports in local newspapers and foreign electronic media of widespread bogus voting. The perception building is that this referendum was no more credible than that of Zia's. It should also dispel the impression that the President has any large votebank at his disposal. However, the voter’s staying at home was probably more his own decision than in response to the Opposition's boycott call. The Opposition should not expect too much from the voter, who has noted that the main leaders are in comfortable exile while expecting their followers to give sacrifices for their sake. "General Musharraf should take full stock of the prevailing situation before proceeding with the constitutional amendments he intends to introduce. In whichever way one may interpret the referendum results, it cannot be disputed that the country stands more divided than it has ever been since 1988. Now is the time to bridge the gulf rather than widen it through controversial amendments......" The government, instead of thrusting a highly centralised system in the name of so-called true democracy on the nation, should henceforth devote full attention to holding elections on time." The News of the Jang group reminded the General of his promises and responsibilities now that he has come to stay as Pakistan's man of destiny. The paper's no-holds-barred comment: "... The result of this referendum must not be taken for granted as representing the vast will of the people because the manner in which the exercise was held does not provide any accuracy as to the percentage of votes involved. Although the single constituency without voters' lists and a very large number of polling stations facilitated the voters, it affected the basic norms that could ensure the reliability of polls. "Another interesting point to note is that just as the political parties failed to fulfil the promises they have made, similarly military governments have proved unsuccessful in completing the task they had vowed to undertake when they acquired power. "Attention is now directed towards the proposed constitutional amendments under which the elections of the National and Provincial Assemblies will be held. All political parties are intending to contest these polls, which indicates that they per se acquiesce in to the amendments, though they continue to publicly oppose them. But as the nation is passing through testing times, it is necessary that both the military regime and the Opposition should try to make their positions more flexible to work together in the interest of democracy." |
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A Pervez exercise in hypocrisy: US media
Washington, May 3 The Boston Globe in an editorial called it a political variation on hypocrisy while the Baltimore Sun, describing the referendum as “eyewash in Pakistan,” said Musharraf’s move to extend his grip on presidency by five years is troubling and disappointing. Terming it as “Pakistan’s dubious referendum,” The New York Times said editorially it was to no one’s surprise that Musharraf almost certainly won a rigged referendum in Pakistan awarding him another five years as president. Even less surprising, the General’s aides proclaimed the results a vote of confidence. “But either out of indifference or protest, most Pakistanis declined to participate in an election that was preceded by curbs on dissent. The balloting has diminished Musharraf’s stature and he must now take aggressive steps to restore democracy with a vigorously contested parliamentary election, due in October.” The Washington Post said Musharraf had in a recent speech to the nation sought to personalise the question of whether far-reaching changes should be made to Pakistani democracy, telling voters they should decide whether “I’m required or not.” If history is a guide, many Pakistanis will simply ignore such appeals — turnout for past referendums has been extremely low — and Musharraf will effectively fail to obtain the popular mandate he seeks. If he is really “required” for Pakistan, Musharraf should be able to work within a legitimate democratic system. If he is unwilling to do that, continued U.S. support for his rule would be a mistake, the daily wrote. What’s the point of the referendum, questioned The Baltimore Sun. And why hold a referendum that was as brazenly and egregiously rigged as the one Pakistan endured this week? Ballot boxes stuffed, registration rules ignored, civil servants and prisoners rounded up to vote — it was a gala of fraud, claimed the Sun. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Shaheen Sehbai, who recently resigned under government pressure as Editor of The News, said Pakistan’s fourth military dictator, Musharraf, has made a critical decision in his 30-month tenure: to jump into the murky, treacherous waters of Pakistani politics. That this decision was unnecessary, irrational and not in Pakistan’s best interests is now irrelevant. By holding such a referendum, Musharraf has not just put his head on the line; he has created a climate of uncertainty that should alarm the USA and its international allies, he quipped.
IANS |
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Pervez flayed in US House Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has come under strong attack in US Congress for practising “double standard” in fighting terrorism and for continuing with his military rule. Democrat lawmaker Frank Pallone’s censure in the House of Representatives came on the eve of the referendum in Pakistan on Tuesday. He said President Musharraf had been “cozying up” to the USA and its allies under the pretence that he was leading Pakistan in a war against terrorism, while at the same time “he is condoning terrorism at home in Pakistan, as well as in Kashmir.” This, Mr Pallone said, was not only exemplified by the release of those arrested, but also by the continued operation of the religious schools with curricula that encouraged violence. “The double standard is unacceptable and should no longer be tolerated by the USA,” he added. He said it was no coincidence that General Musharraf had released many of those arrested, including leaders of terrorist organisations at the same time as the referendum which would continue his dictatorship for five more years. He had been cooperating with the USA in its anti-terrorist activities, but unfortunately, “General Musharraf has shown no dedication in quelling terrorist activities in his own backyard, Pakistan and Kashmir.” “General Musharraf’s actions are moving in the opposite direction”, Mr Pallone noted. “An extension of his military regime will mean more encouragement to terrorism in Kashmir and ultimately unfortunately the greater likelihood of war with India.” |
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Pearl murder trial resumes
Hyderabad (Pakistan), May 3 Roads surrounding Central Jail in Hyderabad, 160 km north-east of Karachi, were sealed by the police while marksmen were positioned on rooftops. A Karachi court on Tuesday ordered the trial moved out of the volatile commercial hub, where Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl was kidnapped on January 23, after the prosecution said intelligence reports suggested there might be an attack on the city jail where the closed-door trial began in April. The case will now be tried at Central Jail in Hyderabad by a third judge, Ali Ashraf, who heads the anti-terrorism court in that city. The court has heard two prosecution witnesses say prime suspect, British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, commonly known as Sheikh Omar, had been with Pearl before he disappeared. Sheikh Omar and his three co-accused were moved from Karachi to Hyderabad Central Jail yesterday under heavy police guard in a convoy of up to 18 vehicles, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Reuters |
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FBI agent warned of attack
Washington, May 3 The FBI sent the intelligence to its terrorism experts in Washington and New York for analysis and had begun discussing conducting a nationwide canvass of flight schools when the September 11 tragedies occurred, officials said. At least one leader of the 19 suspected hijackers, Hani
Hanjour, received flight training in Arizona in 2001 but his name had not surfaced in the FBI intelligence from Arizona, the officials said. “None of the people identified by Phoenix are connected to the September 11 attacks,” FBI Assistant Director John Collingwood said .
AP |
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Chandrika’s party slams
peace plan Colombo, May 3 Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party denounced plans to lift a ban on Tamil Tiger rebels and create an interim administration in the northeastern war zone, throwing its weight behind an anti-peace drive led until now by the radical fringe. The guerrillas want both conditions fulfilled before beginning substantive talks with the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe — Kumaratunga’s arch political rival. “We are of the opinion that de-proscription could be effected only after the talks commence and are deemed to be progressing satisfactorily,” said a party statement, breaking months of silence on the peace process. “An interim administration should be talked about and formed only after reaching a final settlement of the problem of minorities,” the statement said. The rebels also want next month’s negotiations in Thailand to focus on the interim administration rather than the substance of the conflict.
Reuters |
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In video: Musharraf's landslide victory in the April 30 referendum
has evoked a mixed response amidst the general public.
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