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Sunday,
August 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Report: USA maltreating non-citizens More in queue for ‘visa lottery’
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Iraq for talks on arms inspectors HC admits Bhutto’s plea to contest poll Disclose Sharif’s
exile deal: HC |
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Jaish among ‘deadliest outfits’ Vajpayee’s charge hypocritical: Pak Arundhati draws crowds in Pak 11 hurt in blast on Indonesia’s I-Day LTTE ready to discuss
‘core issues’ Playwright held
for blasphemy in Bangladesh Transshipment of Indian goods dead issue
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Report: USA maltreating non-citizens A damning indictment of the US government for its maltreatment of non-citizens in the aftermath of September 11 terrorist attacks has come from the Human Rights Watch, the largest human rights organisation based in the USA. In its 95-page report just released, the Human Rights Watch says the country has witnessed a persistent, deliberate and unwarranted erosion of basic rights against abusive governmental power that are guaranteed by the US Constitution and international human rights law. Most of those directly affected have been non-US citizens. “Under Attorney-General John Ashcroft of the Justice Department has subjected them to arbitrary detention, violated due process in legal proceedings against them, and run roughshod over the presumption of innocence,” adds the report. In releasing the report, Mr James Fellner, Director of the HRW’s US programme, says: “An immigration violation should not give the government a licence to rip up the rule book. By restricting judicial oversight and blocking public scrutiny, the government has exercised virtually unchecked power over those it has detained.” The report has drawn on scores of interviews with current and former detainees and their attorneys to provide the most comprehensive analysis of the maltreatment of non-US citizens swept up in the September 11 investigation. According to the report, the lives of many who came to the USA for better life have been harmed by the practices documented by the HRW. Their lives were turned upside down when their nationality and religion drew the government’s attention, although they were never charged with terrorism. The report quotes Muffed Khan, a deported Pakistani, as saying “For me, America was the dreamland. I used to think that I was lucky to live in a liberal and democratic country. But the dreamland became hell for me after September 11.” The report says the veil of secrecy the Department of Justice has wrapped around the post-September 11 detainees reflects “a stunning disregard” for the democratic principles of public transparency and accountability. “Faced with the very real; yet unmeasurable danger of ongoing terrorist threats and urgent need to find and hold accountable those responsible for September 11, the US Government has failed to hold high the fundamental principles on which the nation is premised — the very values that President Bush declared were under attack from terrorists.” The report underlines the need for bringing transparency and accountability to the US Government’s treatment of detainees. |
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More in queue for ‘visa lottery’ Washington, August 17 In October, 2001, the State Department received some 1.5 million
applications from the region for “visa lottery” which awards 50,000 green cards to those who win a random draw, the report, which used data from the US Census Bureau for its compilation, said. Interest in immigrating to America remains high throughout the Middle- East, including Pakistan, even after the September 11 terrorist attacks and intense scrutiny
on the Muslim community, Mr Steven Camarota, the report’s author said. Around 200,000 from the Middle-East immigrated to the USA in 1970, compared to 1.5 million in 2000 and 2.5 million is expected to arrive within the next decade, the report said. In addition to those who entered the country legally, it estimates that 10 per cent of Middle-East immigrants entered the USA illegally, with many staying beyond the expiry of their temporary visas. In 1970, only 15 per cent of the immigrants were Muslims. The rest were Christians. By 2000, the number of Muslims from the region had increased by 73 per cent. People from the Middle-East rank among the most highly educated among America’s immigrant groups. Nearly half of them had a college education compared to 28 per cent of natives. In addition, twice the percentage held graduate or professional degrees. As a result, the Middle- East immigrants had a higher average income than most natives.
PTI |
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Iraq for talks on arms inspectors United Nations, August 17 In a 10-page letter to Mr Annan, Iraq Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said his country was ready to hold a round of technical negotiations but the parleys should focus on outstanding issues as also practical arrangements for “return of the inspection system for the future.” The offer in Mr Sabri’s letter, written in Arabic and carried yesterday by the official INA agency, fell short of UN demands, made in a previous letter from Mr Annan, of sending a formal invitation to resume arms inspections. Mr Annan is vacationing and his reaction was not immediately available. “We are renewing this offer for the holding of technical discussions to review what was achieved in the last phase (of weapons inspections) and discuss how to tackle issues which were still not settled when the inspectors left Iraq of their own accord in 1998,” Mr Sabri wrote. He said Baghdad’s latest proposal was intended “to avoid the disagreements and crises which marked the work of inspectors in the past and build a solid base for future cooperation.” In his August 6 reply, Mr Annan rejected Iraq’s offer to determine outstanding issues insisting that Baghdad must abide by the plan laid out by the Security Council in a 1999 resolution. The weapons inspectors are expected to certify that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological and chemical, and long-range missiles as also materials and facilities necessary for producing them before the Security Council considers lifting of sanctions imposed in 1990 following Baghdad’s attack on Kuwait. Mr Annan had suggested that Iraq follows the “roadmap” set by the Security Council which would allow six months to the inspectors to study the developments since they left in December 1998 and then identify the tasks which need to be accomplished and the question that Baghdad needs to answer. Under a council resolution, inspectors are expected to provide a list of outstanding tasks to the Security Council after six months’ study and Mr Annan has offered to supply it to Iraq beforehand to enable it make any comments that it feels necessary. In its latest letter, Iraq also offered that the United Nations team could put forth “issues deemed necessary to advance dialogue and to lay the foundations to build common ground for the next inspection and monitoring phase.” The inspectors had left in December 1998 ahead of American and British air strikes after the then Chief Weapons Inspector Richard Bulter said Baghdad was not cooperating with them.
PTI |
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HC admits Bhutto’s plea to contest poll Islamabad, August 17 The court, taking notice of the petition, has asked the federal government and the Election Commission to file their replies to her petition. Arguing on behalf of Ms Bhutto, in self-exile abroad, her lawyer Farooq H. Naek said the military regime saw her as a threat to its power and was continuing to bring in politically
motivated rules to persecute her. Under the new rules brought in by the Musharraf regime, Ms Bhutto can neither contest the poll nor lead her party to do so. To circumvent the rules, Ms Bhutto floated a subsidiary party, the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), and appointed her loyalists to head it. The new party has been permitted by the Election Commission to contest the poll.
PTI |
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Disclose Sharif’s
exile deal: HC Islamabad, August 17 The high court yesterday directed Deputy Attorney General to seek the details of “exile package” of the Sharif family under which they were sent to Jeddah in 2000, allegedly on a 10-year exile. The details were sought in connection with a petition filed by an activist of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) questioning the government’s recent statements that Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz Sharif, who has been nominated to head the party would not be permitted to return as he too was bound by the “arrangement” under which Sharif and family were permitted to go abroad.
PTI |
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Jaish among ‘deadliest outfits’ Washington, August 17 In his annual report to the US President and Congress, Mr Rumsfeld attributed the emergence and growth of Jaish-i-Mohammad and other terrorist outfits to the conditions prevailing in “some states, including some with nuclear weapons” where there are no capable or responsible governments. Without mentioning Pakistan as one of those states, he said: “The absence of capable or responsible governments in many countries in wide areas of Asia, Africa and the western hemisphere creates a fertile ground for non-state actors to engage in terrorism, acquisition of NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) weapons, illegal drug trafficking or other illicit activities across state borders.” “A terrorist underworld including such groups as the Al-Qaida, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, Islamic Jehad, and the Jaish-i-Mohammad operates in such areas,” the report with subheading “Increasing challenges and threats emanating from the territories of weak states and ungoverned areas” said. Mr Rumsfeld said in several regions, the inability of some states to govern their societies, safeguard their military armaments and prevent their territories from serving as sanctuary to terrorists and criminal organisations posed a threat to stability and places a demand on US forces.
PTI |
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Vajpayee’s charge hypocritical: Pak Islamabad, August 17 Such accusations were routinely levelled by the Indian leaders to “cover up” allegations of human rights violations, the Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement late last night reacting to Mr Vajpayee’s Independence Day address. The statement said Vajpayee’s assertion was contrary to international legality as reflected in the relevant UN Security Council resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, considered by India as outdated. The Pakistani statement termed the forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections as “illegitimate” and said such elections had been “blatantly rigged” in the past. It alleged that Kashmiri people rejected poll in the past, adding that the credibility of elections came under question as they were held under heavy military presence. The statement said despite “enormous Indian pressure”, the Hurriyat Conference had refused to take part in “fraudulent” elections. However, it welcomed Mr Vajpayee’s comments that India desired to have good neighbourly relations with Pakistan as well as his observation that New Delhi wanted to resolve all disputes through talks. It said Pakistan had already made repeated offers to India for the resumption of a meaningful dialogue to resolve all outstanding disputes, including Kashmir.
PTI |
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Arundhati draws crowds in Pak Islamabad, August 17 Arundhati, a Booker Prize winner, arrived here on Pakistan’s Independence Day (August 14). She asked both New Delhi and Islamabad to stop their “childish” attempts to “debase and denigrate” themselves by endlessly threatening to destroy each other. She received a rapturous welcome in Pakistan during her lecture tour, along with N. Ram, Editor, Frontline and Shekhar Gupta, Editor, The Indian Express. She gave lectures in Islamabad and Lahore, organised by newly launched Pakistan newspaper Daily Times, edited by Najam Sethi. Striking an instant rapport with the audience with her famous one liners, she said “for the governments of India and Pakistan, Kashmir is not a problem, it’s their perennial and spectacularly successful solution,” as it was converted into a vexed issue by rulers of both countries to divert the attention from their domestic failures. The author-cum-activist said every time the two governments needed to divert attention of the masses from the domestic problems, they pulled the “Kashmir rabbit” out of their hats. Despite her strong comments on the two governments, Arundhati tread the “Kashmir” path carefully without offering any direct solution. Arundhati avoided making any efforts to meet President Pervez Musharraf during her overnight stay in Islamabad despite some official overtures. She criticised the Indian Government for its Pakistan-centric policy, saying that it threatened to destroy the moral fabric of Indian values that made it distinctively different from Pakistan. Citing love and affection being showered by Pakistanis during her visit, Arundhati said this being her fist trip to the country, she had come with a lot of apprehension. But the welcome to her showed that the hatred was not in-built among the people but consciously created by the two governments.
PTI |
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11 hurt in blast on Indonesia’s I-Day Jakarta, August 17 Jakarta-based Metro-TV reported that an explosion, presumed to be from a grenade, rocked the Blang Padang football field in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, only 30 minutes before a ceremony was scheduled to be held there. "At least 11 persons, including several children, were injured by the explosion," the report said, adding that participants had arrived at the playing field an hour before a ceremony marking Independence Day was held at 8 a.m. (local time). Another report by detik.com online news service said hundreds of people were already in the field, located in the centre of the provincial capital, 1,775 km northwest of Jakarta, when the blast occurred. There were no immediate reports of any party claiming responsibility for the explosion, which local military authorities blamed on the separatist Free Aceh Movement, which has been fighting for an independent Aceh since 1976. A series of explosions also reportedly rocked the North Aceh district last night, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties. The main highway linking Lhokseumawe in north Sumatra, and other cities in the province were deserted as truck drivers obeyed a Eree Aceh Movement call for a strike today, which marks Indonesia’s 57th anniversary of independence from the Netherlands.
DPA |
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LTTE ready to discuss ‘core issues’ Colombo, August 17 “We would like to first discuss urgent and important day-to-day problems, grievances and long sufferings of the people in the North-East. But if the government wants to address the core political issues and other basic issues, we are ready to discuss these as well,’’ Colombo-based Tamil daily “Sudar Oli’’ quoted LTTE sources as saying yesterday in London. According to the newspaper, the LTTE has expressed satisfaction at the outcome of last week’s talks between its chief negotiator and political adviser Anton Balasingham and Minister Milinda Moragoda in Oslo and the overall progress of the on-going peace process. Outlining the issues in the agenda for talks, the LTTE said it had suggested that resettlement of internally displaced people, release of Tamil political prisoners, problems caused due to the newly established high-security zones in the North and establishment of an interim administration in the North-East province be first discussed. The newspaper, known to have direct links with Mr Balasingham, however, said the first round of preliminary deliberations, scheduled to commence between September 12 -17, would focus on drawing a specific timeframe for talks, teams to participate in the talks and other related logistics issues. Meanwhile, the USA Britain and Japan have welcomed the announcement that the government and the LTTE have finalised dates for the commencement of direct talks in Thailand. They also endorsed the Norway-facilitated peace process and applauded the efforts by all sides to end Sri Lanka’s protracted conflict.
UNI |
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Playwright held
for blasphemy in Bangladesh Dhaka, August 17 The police is looking to question 31 other persons involved in staging the satirical play, “Katha Krishnakali,” at a drama festival last week, a police officer said on the condition of anonymity. The playwright, Sambit Saha, was arrested late yesterday at his house in Dinajpur town, 270 km north of Dhaka, the officer said. He has been charged with offending the religious sentiments of Muslims. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to two years in prison. Saha denied the charge, saying that his original script had no reference to the Prophet. Bangladesh is governed by secular laws, but criticism of Islam, its holy book and the Prophet Mohammad is illegal. Earlier this month, the government banned the play from being staged in Faridpur, a town 65 km west of Dhaka, after protests from the audience.
AP |
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Transshipment of Indian goods dead issue Dhaka, August 17 He also admitted that the report by an experts committee constituted in 1999 by the then Awami League government, headed by Prof Zahurul Huq, University Grants, Commission, has been submitted to the government. The daily reported that the report was in cold storage now. The Energy Ministry had not even examined the suggestions of the committee. The daily reported that the committee was constituted honouring the suggestions by the World Bank. Besides local members two foreigners, one from Mongolia and another from Germany, were included in the committee. Another committee constituted by the Awami League government to examine the economic viability of the proposal of India pertaining to the transshipment has not started functioning. Mr Syed Manjur Elahi, Adviser to the former caretaker government and well-established businessmen, told Ittefaq that the present government did not say anything about the task of the committee. It was still to start functioning. Economist and former Finance Minister Sayeeduzzaman was made adviser to the committee. From all these developments it appears that the prospect of allowing transshipment facility to India by Bangladesh is bleak. |
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Islamabad, August 17
In
video: Pakistani
pro-Taliban leader Fazal-ur-Rehman says hardline groups will
contest the elections unitedly. (
