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Friday,
September 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Indo-Pak tension among 4 threats to peace: Annan
Iraq ready to repel
USA with knives
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Media: Nepal will not reimpose
emergency Sikh driver ‘offered’ $ 1m to testify Nasrullah asked to stay
on
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Indo-Pak tension among 4 threats to peace: Annan United Nations, September 12 In a speech prepared for delivery to the General Assembly later Annan also issued a veiled warning to the USA against acting alone against Iraq. Besides Indo-Pak tension and Iraq, he also listed continuing instability in Afghanistan and the Israel-Palestinian conflict as the other threats in his address, the text of which was given to the US Ambassador to UN, Mr John Negroponte, 11 hours ahead of its delivery. He said the situation between India and Pakistan might now have calmed down but it remains “perilous” and if a fresh crisis were to erupt “the international community might have a role to play.” “The underlying causes must be addressed,” he told the 190-member Assembly without elaborating. However, he said he “gladly” acknowledges and “strongly” welcomes the efforts made by “well-placed” UN member-states to help the leaders of the two countries to find a solution. “In South Asia, the world has recently come closer than for many years past to a direct conflict between two nuclear weapon capable countries,” he said. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf are among the world leaders attending the annual session of the assembly. In an apparent reference to the US-led war against terrorism, Annan said, “only concerted and vigilant cooperation among all states offer real hope of denying terrorists their opportunities.” Asserting that multilateralism applied more to the prevention of terrorism, he said “individual states may defend themselves by striking back at terrorist groups and the countries that harbour or support them.” Annan said the Iraq’s refusal to comply with UN demands that it disarm was one of “four threats to world peace, where true leadership and effective action are badly needed.” The Secretary-General, referring to US moves on Iraq, said though the UN Charter gave every country the right to self-defence if attacked, “when states decide to use force to deal with border threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations.” Annan said the more a country makes use of multilateral institutions, the more others trust and respect it and stronger its chance of exercise true leadership. He said any state choosing to follow or reject multilateral path must not be a simple matter of political convenience as it has consequences far beyond the immediate context. He stressed the need to continue putting pressure on Iraq to admit weapons inspectors and comply with the Security Council resolutions which call for elimination of all its weapons of mass destruction under international supervision. “I appeal to all who have influence with Iraq’s leaders to impress on them the vital importance to accepting the weapons inspectors,” he said. Referring to Afghanistan, he urged the international community to help the government led by Hamid Karzai to extend its authority throughout the country and called on donors to make good their commitments to help with reconstruction, rehabilitation and development. “It was the international community’s shameful neglect of Afghanistan in 1990s that allowed that country to slide into chaos, providing a fertile breeding ground for Al-Qaida,” he pointed out.
PTI |
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UN for ‘humane’ anti-terror fight Even as world leaders gathered in New York for UN General Assembly session are set to focus on the international battle against terrorism, an experts group has warned that the United Nations should be wary of offering — or being perceived to be offering — a blanket endorsement of measures taken by member states in the name of counter-terrorism. The report prepared by a group of UN officials and other experts after year-long deliberations has urged that the struggle against terrorism “should be carried out in keeping with international human rights obligations.” The group of experts, in its report released on Tuesday, argues that the UN must project a clear message that terrorism, no matter what the stated cause, is unacceptable and deserves universal condemnation. It also notes that terrorist acts are an assault on human rights. The experts have suggested that the UN should provide more support to its Counter-Terrorism Committee to implement the stringent prohibitions on funding and supporting terrorism. |
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Iraq ready to repel USA with knives Baghdad, September 12 Speaking only hours before US President George W. Bush was due to address the UN General Assembly on Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said Iraq still hoped to avoid any attack. “But if we are attacked, we will choose our own means by using everything at our disposal, even sticks, kitchen knives, our hands and stones,’’ he said in an interview before leaving for New York to attend the General Assembly meeting. “We shall never let those Zionists invade our country,’’ he said. Washington accuses Iraq of being part of an “axis of evil’’ seeking weapons of mass destruction, and Bush’s speech comes amid mounting speculation that the USA is preparing to attack Baghdad to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Mr Bush will deliver a toughly worded challenge to the UN in his speech, saying that it must force Iraq to disarm or risk irrelevance. Implicit in Mr Bush’s message will be that the USA stands ready to act on its own, but aides involved in preparing his speech said Mr Bush would not be delivering an ultimatum, essentially giving the UN a last chance to act. UN arms experts, who began work in Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait, left Iraq in December 1998 ahead of a US-British campaign to punish Baghdad for its alleged failure to cooperate with them. Meanwhile, a US invasion would almost certainly succeed in overthrowing Saddam Hussein, but it could cause the Iraqi leader to unleash his chemical or biological weapons, according to an analysis by an influential think tank. The report from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies also points out that it would take the USA months to fully prepare for an invasion.
Reuters, AP |
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Media: Nepal will not reimpose emergency Kathmandu, September 12 The International Press Institute (IPI), a Vienna-based body that represents some 2,000 media groups from 150 countries, also said Deuba promised to look into the fate of some 20 journalists who have gone missing under the emergency. Deuba met top advisers yesterday to consider reimposing the emergency after two days of raids by Maoist rebels left more than 300 persons dead, according to tolls provided by defence officials. But sources close to the premier have said the Cabinet decided not to immediately reimpose the controversial emergency, which gave security forces wider powers to impose curfews and to detain and interrogate suspected Maoists. The IPI said a six-member delegation met yesterday with Deuba, who gave a commitment “that Nepal had no intention of reimposing a nationwide state of emergency”. In a statement, the IPI said more than 130 journalists had been arrested since the government imposed emergency rule in November 2001 and that at least 20 of them were still missing. “Deuba said he would personally look into the cases of missing journalists since the imposition of the state of emergency,” the group said. Meanwhile, the Maoists have proposed a cease-fire and peace talks to end the blood-bath with the Nepali security forces for the first time since the state of emergency was relaxed nine months ago. “Our party is ready to declare the cease-fire and participate in the peace talks with the government if the government wishes so,” Nepali language daily Kantipur quoted Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachand, as saying. The government has, however, in the past maintained that the peace talks would take place only after the rebels are disarmed. The sudden renewal of the proposal for a cease-fire comes in the backdrop of escalation in attacks on the security forces by the Maoists. Deadly attacks in Arghakhanchi and Sindhuli had killed more than 300 persons, including over 100 security personnel, in less than a week’s time. The Maoist insurgents bombed and set afire offices and buildings in Dadeldhura district — Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s home constituency — in far western Nepal last night. The rebels also targeted the house of spokesman of the Nepali Congress Deuba faction, Hom Nath Dahal in Rampurtar in Okhaldhunga district in eastern Nepal.
AFP, UNI |
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Sikh driver ‘offered’ $ 1m to testify Toronto, September 12 Mr Kulwarn Singh Parmar, a cab-driver in Vancouver, reportedly says the RCMP’s Air-India Task Force harassed him when two police officers recently visited his workplace at Burnaby, near Vancouver. He says the RCMP offered him the money to testify at the trial of businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik, factory worker Ajaib Singh Bagri and electrician Inderjit Singh Reyat. Mr Parmar is brother of Babbar Khalsa leader Talwinder Singh Parmar, who was the RCMP’s prime suspect in the Air-India tragedy. Talwinder Singh Parmar died several years ago in a police shootout in Punjab. Mr Kulwarn Parmar has reportedly accused RCMP Staff Sergeant John Schneider, head of the Air-India Task Force in Vancouver, and two other officers of having offered him a $1 million reward if he agreed to cooperate as a witness. He, however, said he knew nothing about the Air-India bombing. The formal hearings against Malik, Bagri and Reyat would commence in February next year.
IANS |
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Nasrullah asked to stay on Islamabad, September 12 The Nawabzada had cited “health reasons” for stepping down from the post yesterday, but PPP sources were quoted by The News today as saying that differences on seat adjustment among the component parties of the ARD was the main reason for his resignation. The sources said the Nawabzada’s demand of two National Assembly and five Provincial Assembly seats had been shot down by both the PPP as well as the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Instead, they were only ready to give him one National Assembly and two Provincial Assembly seats. This had reportedly angered the Nawabzada. Also both the PPP and the PML (N) had refused to contest the election on the ARD platform with one symbol.
UNI |
HINDU TEMPLE FACES DEMOLITION THREAT BRAZILIAN TAKES OVER HOT UN SEAT 36 NORTH KOREANS DEFECT TO SOUTH |
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