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Saturday,
November 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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UN adopts tough resolution on Iraq
Pak poll
wrangling on Bhutto
followers to join Pervez allies WINDOW
ON PAKISTAN Post-Sept
11, rights abuse on rise Bali
blast: Al-Qaida claims responsibility |
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Hitler's
gift, Mercedes rusts in Nepal Nepal
frees 6 scribes
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UN adopts tough resolution on Iraq
United Nations, November 8 Capping two months of tough negotiations among the council members, the resolution was voted 15-0 after Russia and France shed their reservations and agreed to the new draft proposed by the USA. Syria, the only Arab member of the 15-member council, also unexpectedly voted in favour of the resolution. Till yesterday, it was expected that Syria would abstain after suggestions given by it were rejected. Shortly after the council voted the resolution, Mr Bush said in Washington that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein faced “the sevrerest consequences” if he defied the resolution. “His cooperation must be prompt and unconditional or he will face the severest consequences,” Mr Bush told reporters in the White House rose garden. Immediately after the vote, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to Iraq to seize the opportunity and dismantle the weapons of mass destruction for “the sake of its own people and for the sake of world security and world order”. Failing which, he said the Security Council “must face its responsibilities”. Russia said the resolution was “the optimum solution give the present circumstances”. BRUSSELS: The European Union has welcomed the United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq, spokeswoman for EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said on Friday in Brussels.
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Pak poll wrangling on
Islamabad, November 8 Previous talks between the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-QA) and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance of hardline Islamic parties stalled due to the latter’s insistence that it lead a coalition, a prospect that financial markets and proponents of the U.S.-led war on terror. Political sources said PML-QA power broker Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain met pro-Taliban Islamic leader Fazal-ur-Rehman in a fresh attempt to break the stalemate that has delayed the calling of parliament nearly a month after the October 10 poll. “The only way to break this deadlock is to resume dialogue with the MMA,’’ Mr Hussain said in a statement issued late yesterday. Earlier this week, efforts by an anti-military alliance led by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to agree a coalition with the Islamists also broke down due to Mr Rehman’s insistance that he should become prime minister. Attempts to reach an agreement between Ms Bhutto’s party and the pro-military PML-QA, which are bitter rivals, have appeared still-born. Yesterday Ms Bhutto’s party also dismissed speculation about a behind -the-scenes deal between the exiled ex-premier and President Pervez Musharraf to negotiate the release of her jailed husband and to allow her back into Pakistan soon. “There is no secret deal between the PPP and the military government,’’ it said in a statement. “There will never be. Let there be no doubt or mistake about it.’’
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Bhutto followers to join Pervez allies
Islamabad, November 8 The calls underline the split within Ms Bhutto’s left-of-center Opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over whether to align with ideological rivals in order to hold power for the first time since 1996, or to adhere to its anti-military platform and stay in the Opposition. “There is no harm in sitting in the government. I have warned Ms Bhutto that if we do not follow this line, there will be division in the party.” Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, a PPP stalwart said. For the PPP to enter the government, it must hold hands either with the far-right Islamists, whose leaders are sympathetic to the Taliban and campaigned against the US hunt for Al-Qaida and the Taliban, or with the Musharraf-allied Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).
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WINDOW
ON PAKISTAN For all the horsetrading, naked opportunism and the chicanery, no party or a grouping has achieved the magic figure of 172 in the Pakistan National Assembly to form the government. The army ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has not been watching from the sidelines, but has been actively conniving to get the king’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League (QA), to muster an alliance and form a government. But so far he has not succeeded, thus forcing the postponement of the inauguration ceremony. Equally, the Americans have been taking keen interest. They wish to keep the far right Islamic grouping of six parties, the MMA, out. This has forced Musharraf to allow Benazir Bhutto’s party, the PPPP, in the reckoning. In fact, stout denials by Benazir’s husband Asif Ali Zardari apart, he has been allowed to meet some top leaders and during his court appearances, for the first time in six years, he had been given excess to the media. The USA would like a moderate grouping consisting of parties like PPPP, PML (Nawaz Sharif), and others to come together and form the government. But success has alluded everybody so far. Commenting on this, the South Asia Tribune said that even if a government is formed it would be the weakest government with the barest majority in the House and could be toppled any time on any issue. This would not be a happy or acceptable situation for Musharraf or the army. “So they have to look for new options and a more stable coalition and in that scenario, the only possible and viable option, which would be acceptable to the USA and the West, would be a coalition under PPPP. It may not be a surprise if Musharraf tries to concede more demands of the PPPP to bring Benazir and Zardari on board. But what a climbdown it would be.” Equally worried were other newspapers like Dawn, Daily Times, the Frontier Post and Nation. Ideological differences apart, there were at least seven serious contenders for the office of the Prime Minister. Ayaz Amir, the most incisive of the columnists, said in Dawn: “A different tune is playing now. With reality knocking at the gates of the military government, the very politicians earlier lambasted and even demonized are now being wooed and courted. Nawaz Sharif and his party, the PML-N, of course remain off-limits because there is no making any peace with them. Besides, in the recent elections the PML-N was cut to size. But behind the smokescreen of confusion laid out in Islamabad — and even experts will acknowledge it is a thick one — a mighty effort is on to settle matters with the PPP and bring it in from the cold. The key to the solution of the stalemate in the capital lies not with the clerics of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. They have too much working against them. Will Musharraf’s American patrons accept a cleric of the MMA as Prime Minister of their most valued ally, Pakistan? The sun will have to rise from the west before they are ready to do so.” The Nation commenting on the ambitions of Musharraf found him to be the hurdle in allowing a free hand to the political leadership to form a natural coalition. It said: “Like his predecessor Zia-ul -Haq, Musharraf is overpowered by the desire to have a completely pliable administration. This is not possible in democracies. The way out of the self-created crisis is to agree to rescind or modify key constitutional reforms as the majority of the elected representatives are opposed to them. Musharraf must realise that accommodation alone is the oil that can keep the political machine running smoothly.” The Frontier Post had this to say: “It is seen in this very light by the ARD president, Nawabzada Nasrullah, who argues the move is intended to facilitate the PML (QA). The Nawabzada has attempted to impart a positive spin to the current state of the ARD-MMA talks, and denied any differences within the ARD’s ranks. But the fact remains that all the reports speak of the MMA’s growing disenchantment with the PPPP’s tactics in recent days, reading them as an effort to use the MMA as a bargaining chip in its negotiations for a deal with the government. The ‘chip’ in question is at the centre of the establishment and the US’s concerns about the presence of the mullahs in the central government.” The Post also said: “The PPPP probably knows that in the final analysis, it is with General Musharraf that a deal will have to be negotiated, not only concerning its own leadership, but also regarding the formation of a government acceptable to the powers that be. Maulana Fazlur Rehman clearly does not fit that bill, and it seems his chances and that of his alliance are fading away. Nawabzada is highly critical of the Assembly session postponement, accusing Musharraf of following in the footsteps of military dictators before him. While Chaudhry Shujaat has been mandated by the PML (QA) to conduct another round of talks with the political parties for a government of national consensus, Amin Fahim’s chances as the front-runner seem to be brightening, now that the closure of a deal between the PPP and the government seems tantalisingly near. The forward blocs stratagem so far does not seem to be visible, but it is a step of last resort for the government if all else.” In order to conquer Musharraf never had to stoop before. Washington is another matter but we are not talking of Washington. On the home front there was no necessity of stooping. But if he is to salvage something from the wreck of all his political engineering, he must make peace with some of his former enemies. |
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Post-Sept 11, rights abuse on rise Concerns have been expressed at the United Nations that post-September 11 anti-terrorism laws, policies and strategies by national governments have been used to undermine human rights across the world. A report by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights Defenders says far too many governments were adopting laws defining ordinary forms of civil disobedience as terrorism by creating new offences related to “incitement”, restricting rights of assembly and suspending normal legal guarantees by extending the period allowed for detentions without trial. The Special Representative, Ms Hina Jilani, presenting the report to the General Assembly’s third committee (humanitarian, social, cultural) earlier this week, said unfortunately there was a growing list of countries adopting legislation which fell short of international human rights forms. She had received reports of attacks against defenders as well as arbitrary prosecution and detention under those laws. Even media laws had been amended in some countries. Further, Ms Jilani said many accepted norms of protest, association or demonstration were now not tolerated, and human rights defenders had been labelled as terrorists — in order to discredit them. The report is an overview of regional consultations the Special Representative had with human rights defenders and their organisations. Referring to Asia, the report says struggles for rights of self-determination and movements for democracy in several countries formed the backdrop of the work of human rights defenders. National security laws, whether already part of domestic legislation or imposed following a declaration of martial law or state of emergency, tended to undermine human rights activity and had been used to punish human rights monitors as well as lawyers, journalists and political activists in the region. Ms Jilani told the third committee that many governments were becoming more preoccupied with their international image and that reflected on their relationship with the donors. She highlighted that trend because such governments had created their own organisations to counter the genuine efforts of civil society actors and NGOs. Briefing UN correspondents on her report, Ms Jilani said in one country she had been told that people fighting and struggling against land evictions were being charged under anti-terrorist laws and in another country media laws were amended to make it a crime to report statements made by “so-called terrorists”, putting journalists and human rights defenders at risk. She said the existing national security laws, which had undermined human rights in the past, had now been strengthened and more forcefully enforced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “I am afraid that these laws and policies are affecting the work of human rights in general, but have resulted in gross violation of the rights of human rights defenders,” Ms Jilani added. |
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Bali blast: Al-Qaida claims responsibility
Hong Kong, November 8 The group led by Osama bin Laden said it had attacked “nightclubs and whorehouses in Indonesia” in a website message which was translated by CNN.com. More than 190 persons, mainly foreign tourists, were killed when a huge car bomb went off outside Bali’s Sari nightclub on October 12. The CNN said the website had been used in the past by the Al- Qaida to claim responsibility for attacks, including the synagogue fire in Tunisia in which mainly German tourists died, and strikes on two ships in Yemen. A spokesman for the Bali-based investigation team hunting the perpetrators of the bombing said he had no information about the reported claim by the Al-Qaida. The Indonesian police said yesterday that a man now under interrogation had admitted being part of a group which carried out the deadly Bali bombing. National police chief Da’i Bachtiar, announcing an apparent major breakthrough after weeks of false leads, said the man, identified as Amrozi, was the member of a group with various tasks concerning the bombing assigned to it.
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Hitler's gift, Mercedes rusts in Nepal
Kathmandu, November 8 The car is reportedly one of the three models left across the world. It was manually carried by labourers from the Himalayan kingdom’s southern plains to the Kathmandu valley surrounded by hills in 1940 when the kingdom did not have roads. King Tribhuvan, grandfather of present King Gyanendra, died in the 1950s. He used to travel in the very same car at a time when Nepal had no motor transport. Mr Biswanath Khanal, head of the Thapathali Engineering Campus where the vintage car is parked, said: “We are trying to get the car repaired. But lack of funds has restrained us from doing so. It needs huge sums of money to repair it”. According to Mr Khanal, $ 5,500 are needed to replace old parts in the vehicle, which is being used as a model to impart training to upcoming mechanics. A former Nepali Prime Minister once offered to buy the car, but the college didn’t have ownership documents to sell it.
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Nepal frees 6 scribes
Kathmandu, November 8 The persons, who were in custody since the imposition of emergency in Nepal in November 2001, were freed on Tuesday, the sources said. The released journalists were: Ishwar Chandra Gyawali and Manarishi Dhital of Dishabodh monthly, Deepak
Sapkota, Dipendra Rokaya and Dhana Bahadur Magar of Janadesh weekly, and Meena Tiwari of Aikyabaddhata monthly.
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