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Monday,
November 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Parties strike deal to form govt in Pak
Pak poll manipulated, says Imran Pakistan sabotaging economic ties: India |
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Pressurise Pak, Kashmiris urge USA Russia halts army
withdrawal from Chechnya War with Iraq ‘to cost USA dear’
LTTE willing to enter politics
First
gay MP enters Parliament today
One killed in Cambodian
hostage standoff 8 killed,
50 hurt in Pak quake
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Parties strike deal to form govt in Pak
Islamabad, November 3 Since Pakistan’s elections last month, supporters and opponents of military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf had wooed a group of conservative Muslim lawmakers, the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) with 59 seats, to win a majority in the 342-seat Parliament. Nawabzada Nasrullah, the head of the anti-military Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), said his group would back MMA head Maulana Fazlur Rehman as the Prime Minister. “We have reached an agreement with the MMA to form the government,” Nasrullah told Reuters. “We are in full agreement, including the ARD’s support for Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s election as the Prime Minister. A formal announcement will be made any time soon.” The ARD includes the PPP of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League faction of another ex-premier, Nawaz Sharif. Officials of these parties could not be immediately reached for comment. Mr Rehman yesterday told Reuters the MMA would be in a position to form a coalition with a simple majority with the main ARD parties and some independents. “We are very positive,” he said. “According to our latest count, we already have 174 seats,” he said. However, another senior MMA official, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, sowed confusion by holding talks with the pro-military Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-QA) yesterday and saying afterwards the two parties were seeking “middle ground”. PML-QA power broker Chaudry Shujaat Hussain appeared in a sombre mood after the meeting, but said: “We shall be able to come to a consensus soon”. The PML-QA won the most seats in the elections on October 10, but its 103 fell well short of the 172 needed for a majority. It has also tried to woo the MMA which unexpectedly emerged as a potential coalition maker after riding a wave of anti-Western feeling among voters over the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Talks between the PML-QA and the MMA stalled over the MMA’s insistence that Mr Rehman should lead any future government. Gen Musharraf yesterday summoned the new National Assembly to meet next Friday and Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider told reporters he was hopeful power would be transferred to an elected prime minister by November 14. Gen Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has been strongly criticised for amending the Constitution before the election to ensure a major role for the military in overseeing the work of a future government and giving himself the power to dismiss Parliament if it becomes unruly. Reuters
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Pak poll manipulated, says Imran
Dubai, November 3 “What Pakistan needs is a powerful and independent election commission like India’s and what Kashmir needs is the voice of Kashmiri people uninhibited by any coercion to come through. So there is a big difference between the elections in Kashmir and in Pakistan,” Khan said, when asked to compare the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. Khan, who was elected in the recent parliament elections, said the two were entirely different as Kashmir had a huge presence of army and security forces and the elections in Pakistan were “manipulated” as usual. “What is happening in Pakistan is a struggle for democracy, a struggle for greater voice in running our own affairs”, he said. On the Kashmir issue, Khan said, “I think for both India and Pakistan, we need strong leadership to solve the Kashmir problem as it is damaging both of us and keeping us behind. It is not allowing the sort of progress and investments that should be taking place in both countries.” PTI
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Pakistan sabotaging economic ties: India
London, November 3 “What is it that the SAARC summit will do? On weighty issues like trade, there is lack of will from Pakistan to make any progress and it is sabotaging the cooperation,” External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper. Mr Sinha, who was here to attend the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting, also lashed out at the West, particularly the USA and the UK, for adopting “double standard” while tackling terrorism. “Terrorism in Kashmir is entirely imported and exported by Pakistan. The international community calls Pakistan a stalwart ally, so the terrorists in Pakistan are bad and the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir are good,” he said. “If the international community wants to live with this definition then good luck to the international community. But it is the same Al-Qaida fellow who comes into Jammu and Kashmir, who goes to Bali, who goes to Singapore, who goes to the USA and who comes to Europe,” the minister said. Mr Sinha said it was the responsibility of countries such as the USA and the UK to force Pakistan to stop sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. “If you cannot, then India will respond without restraint,” he said. Mr Sinha said instead of promoting a “vibrant democracy” in Pakistan, the UK and other countries preferred to look the other way. “You have to trust the will of the people. People have the right to govern and misgovern themselves. The stability of Pakistan should not be confused with the stability and preservation of President Pervez Musharraf in power,” he said. “There is tremendous anger in the minds of the people of India. They are angry even with us. They feel we have taken a very soft line with Pakistan, he said.” PTI
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Pressurise Pak, Kashmiris urge USA
Washington, November 3 This was categorically stated by Anatol Lieven, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and former correspondent for The Times, London, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has just returned from a trip to Pakistan where the political parties are trying to cobble up a coalition regime after the elections. In Mr Lieven’s opinion, Pakistan must be a part of the negotiations in Kashmir if a settlement is to be workable and its army in particular has to be taken into account. In fact, about Washington’s role, the scholar based his argument on the primacy that the army enjoys in Pakistan and the regular Kashmiris’ yearning for autonomy even as men with gun would like to frustrate that intention. Mr Lieven said: Pakistani army simply dominates discussion, not to mention strategy, concerning Kashmir to such an extent in Pakistan that it’s very difficult to imagine any settlement there which doesn’t to some extent salve the pride of the Pakistani army — give it some kind of face-saving element so that it can say that it hasn’t simply had to surrender.” He further substantiated his logic by observing that “the evidence that I’ve seen suggests that most ordinary Kashmiris would settle for autonomy — return to really full autonomy. I think that’s also true in Chechnya, by the way. The problem is, of course, that there are so many men with guns around who exist precisely to frustrate that tendency. And clearly, as long as there isn’t a settlement with Pakistan, there will be some degree of Pakistani encouragement of the — whatever you want to call them — the irreconcilables.” Hence, according to Mr Lieven, “in these circumstances, I do believe that the US has both a duty, a right, and a strong national interest in trying to push for peace over Kashmir and trying to diffuse this conflict. I believe that the recent Kashmir election results, while they were certainly not an endorsement of the Indian rule over Kashmir, do give an opportunity to push forward a peace settlement, both within Kashmir, and ideally between Pakistan and India.”
ANI
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Russia halts army withdrawal from Chechnya
Moscow, November 3 “I have made a decision to interrupt plans to reduce the number of troops in Chechnya,” Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying. The Russian military has an estimated 80,000 troops in and around the separatist North Caucasus republic, where Moscow launched a self-declared “anti-terrorism” operation three years ago. Ivanov’s comments contradict his own announcement on Friday in which he insisted that the planned troop withdrawal would continue despite the Chechen hostage-taking. But Mr Ivanov today said the military now had evidence that new suicide attacks against the Russian state were being planned in Chechnya. As a result, Moscow has reached a decision to intensify its military campaign in the region. “Starting today, our military has begun a broad, tough but well-conceived special military operation across the whole of Chechnya,” said Mr Ivanov. “Over the past days, we have been receiving information that guerrillas based in Chechnya — and not only Chechnya — are preparing new terrorist acts,” the Russian defence minister said. “They are training suicide-terrorists,” he added. Moscow stepped up pressure on the USA yesterday to add Chechen rebel groups to its terrorist blacklist, describing the issue as test of the international coalition against terrorism.
AFP
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War with Iraq ‘to cost USA dear’ An Iraq war is likely to cost tens of billions of dollars, more than the $ 200 billion estimate provided by President Bush’s lead economic adviser, Lawrence Lindsey, according to the Washington-based Taxpayers for Common Sense
(TCS), a national budget watch organisation. If the Bush administration determines an Iraq invasion is necessary, it should only do so with both the diplomatic and financial support of allies, including those in the region that stand to benefit from Saddam Hussein’s removal, says Nate
Heasley, Programme Director of the TCS. “The administration has to make it a priority to find other countries to share this financial burden or it will leave the United States in a financially and militarily vulnerable position at the same time as we are trying to win a war on terrorism, Heasley adds. “With no other country currently willing to pay for this war, it could have major implications on spending at home. Efforts to save social security, pay for prescription drug benefits and education initiatives and to increase domestic security will be severely affected,” says the
TCS. The Congressional Budget Office and others have estimated that invading and occupying Iraq will cost between $ 40 and 200 billion. However, according to the
TCS, these figures do not realistically estimate the costs of deploying troops, prosecuting a war with Iraq, or the subsequent occupation of Iraq that many analysts suggest will be necessary to provide stability in the region. The cost of “regime change” will be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The TCS urges that taxpayers should not be forced to “write a blank cheque” for a war on Iraq. It is currently writing a white paper that will provide the complete potential costs of the Iraq invasion and occupation. |
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9 Indian women file suit over sex trade
Silicon Valley, November 3 The 74-page civil complaint on behalf of the women in the age group ranging from 17 to mid 20s, filed in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland last week, accuses Lakireddy Bali Reddy, 65, and four of his relatives of taking part in an international criminal conspiracy of sex trafficking and forced labour. “Our suit aims to dismantle the sex traffickers’ criminal empire in the Bay Area and India,” said Michael Rubin, a San Francisco lawyer representing the women, who were referred to as Jane Does in court documents, the San Jose Mercury newspaper reported. Hearings in the case begin next month. The women were also forced to have sex with Reddy and his His son Vijay Lakireddy is awaiting sentencing on immigration fraud, and another son, Prasad Lakireddy is scheduled to go to trial in January on federal charges stemming from the scheme. All three are named as defendants in the civil lawsuit, which also includes Reddy’s brothers, Jayaprakash Reddy Lakireddy and Venkateswara Reddy Lakireddy, and various family-owned businesses. Addressing a news conference, Rubin said Lakireddy Bali Reddy’s personal and family estate was valued at more than $ 70 million, largely based on commercial real estate holdings in the Bay Area and in India. The lawsuit, he said, aimed at redistributing a significant portion of those assets to the victims and their families, adding that he wanted to ensure that the Reddy family “pays dearly for their human trafficking violations.” Rubin said that the complaint broke new legal grounds and, if successful, would allow other people illegally brought into the USA for sex and coerced labour to sue their tormentors and to seek redress. “This will be the model for future litigation and sends a message to traffickers that we will find you, we will catch you and we will dismantle your empires,” Rubin said.
PTI
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LTTE willing to enter politics
Nakhon Pathom (Thailand), November 3 “It is the ultimate aim of the Tigers,” LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham told a crowded press conference here at the conclusion of four days of hard negotiations with the Sri Lankan Government. He also admitted for the first time that the LTTE had recruited child soldiers during the two decades of war with the Sri Lankan forces, but said, “We do not recruit any underage persons following Conventions of the United Nations. “We have been releasing quite a large number of young persons. They have been handed over to their parents. There are no child soldiers in the North-East.” Noting that since the political mainstream in Sri Lanka was democracy, he said we would have to accept other political groups. The fast pace at which the two once-warring parties have reached agreements on crucial issues over the past few days, even surprised the LTTE. Balasingham said the LTTE did not want to demand the setting up of an interim administration, as it wanted to take up core issues as early as possible. Autonomy or self-rule for Tamils in the North-East is considered the core issue. Earlier, not foreseeing such dramatic progress of the peace talks, the Tigers had thought of an interim administration to be set up. But, seeing the fast progress, Balasingham said, “We will straightaway enter into the process of core issues.” He added that if there was a need felt for an interim administration, it could be pursured then. During their first round of talks held in September in Thailand, the LTTE surprised everyone by saying that it wanted autonomy and not a separate state. The second round here in which the Sri Lankan government was led by Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris has seen agreements reached on several key issues. The talks were expected to deal mostly with humanitarian issues like de-mining and refugees. But when the negotiators from either side finished talking today morning, they had agreed to set up sub-committees to “commence work in connection with relevant political matters.” A joint statement issued at the end of the Norway-brokered meeting said the two sides were committed to accommodate the needs and aspirations of all three communities in the East — Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese. A sub-committee is to be set up to look into relevant political matters. It will be chaired by Balasingham and Peiris, who will be assisted by Cabinet Minister Rauf Hakeem, leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress. Peiris said yesterday that the two sides were not moving too fast. “There is no recklessness. Neither are we dragging our feet.” The joint statement said the two sides recognised that a broad range of issues must be addressed with considerable attention to detail and agreed to set up, whenever needed, sub-committees to act on specific matters under the auspices of the negotiating teams. PTI
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First gay MP enters Parliament today
Jerusalem, November 3 What a difference a decade makes. Since his appointment was announced a month ago, he has been flooded with bouquets of flowers and is constantly being congratulated by people on the street. “It’s incredible. It just doesn’t stop,” says the 62-year-old chemistry professor, smiling in Jerusalem when another passerby recognises him and pumps his hand. The balding academic is set to replace the retiring MP, Amon Rubinstein, from the left-wing Meretz party, at a small ceremony tomorrow. While religious parties hold 29 seats in the Israeli Parliament, the muted outcry over his
appointment is in large part due to the fact that Even already faced down the country’s ultra-right and religious parties nine years ago. Even stunned the nation in 1993 when he delivered a riveting testimony to Parliament about how the army striped him of his job and security clearance as a crack researcher when they discovered he was gay 10 years before. His Parliamentary performance bore immediate fruit. Three months later, the government under the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin changed the laws so that homosexuals could serve openly in the army. The gay community regards his testimony as a seismic event which helped break down barriers.
AFP
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One killed in Cambodian
hostage standoff
Phnom Penh, November 3 Cambodian forces exchanged fire with four gunmen, who took at least 10 persons hostage, including children, late last night in a remote hospital and demanded money and vehicles. “Sorry, I cannot talk now — we are shooting,” deputy provincial police chief Peov Sidon said. The four unidentified men, posing as patients, entered the hospital carrying a case of AK-47 assault rifles and shot a doctor in the leg, a senior local official said. After a 15-hour standoff, one of the patients died of heart trouble, the deputy provincial governor said. “The four pretended to be patients and pulled out rifles and held patients and doctors at gunpoint,” Nhek
Bunchhon, deputy governor of Bontey Meanchey province, around 200 km northwest of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, said. Although the gunmen appeared to have no political motive, the incident underlined the need for massive security operation to protect the visiting leaders. Reuters
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8 killed, 50 hurt in Pak quake Islamabad, November 3 The earthquake, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, was felt in border towns of Gilgit and Skardu yesterday and today, according to the private Geo television channel. But the meteorological office in Islamabad said the earthquake that hit Skardu this afternoon was recorded on the Richter scale at 4.2. Chaudhry Mehmood Arif, a meteorological officer in Islamabad, said the centre of the earthquake was located 50 km southeast of Skardu in Gilgit. He said the tremor was an aftershock from earthquakes yesterday that shook Skardu town, 120 km southeast of Gilgit, and was centered in the Himalayan mountain range. Geo channel correspondents in the area said the earthquake affected 500 families in Gilgit and adjoining areas. It also affected the communication system. PTI
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WARNING
TO MEDIA PRESS
OFFICER TO UN REPLACED IRANIAN
GIRLS RETURN FROM PAK |
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