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Monday,
December 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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UN experts search 3 sites in Iraq
Target list for CIA men |
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3 more held for
links with RAW
WINDOW ON PAKISTAN 11 Maoists killed in Nepal LTTE gets
radio station licence British school may teach Hindi, Urdu Buddha’s tooth on way to Thailand
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UN experts search 3 sites in Iraq
Baghdad, December 15 Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) drove to Um al-Maarek (Mother of Battles), once a nuclear research centre run by the Military Industrialisation Commission, about 15 km south of Baghdad. Teams from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission targeted at least two other sites, Iraqi officials said. All three have been inspected before. One team visited the Nasr (Victory) complex in the Taji area, 25 km north of Baghdad. Long-range Scud missile components are reported to have been produced at this location. Another inspected the Mu'tassim missile plant in Jurf Sakhr, 40 km south of Baghdad. The plant occupies the grounds of the former al-Atheer nuclear facility. Iraq, which denies having banned weapons, gave the United Nations a huge dossier on its arms programmes last weekend in line with a Security Council resolution threatening serious consequences if it failed to cooperate with the inspectors.
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Target list for CIA men New York, December 15 The previously undisclosed CIA list includes key Al-Qaida leaders like Osama bin Laden and his chief deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as other principal figures from the Al-Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups, says the New York Times. President George W. Bush has provided written legal authority to the CIA to hunt down and kill the terrorists without seeking further approval each time the agency is about to stage an operation. The names of about 24 terrorist leaders have recently been on the lethal-force list, officials said. “It is the worst of the worst.” Some officials said the terrorist list was known as the “high-value target list.” However, spokespersons for the White House and the CIA declined to discuss the list or issues involving the use of lethal force against terrorists, the paper said. Despite the authority given to the agency, Mr Bush has not waived the executive order banning assassinations, officials were quoted as saying. The presidential authority to kill terrorists defines operatives of the Al-Qaida as enemy combatants and thus, legitimate targets for lethal force. Mr Bush, the paper said, issued a presidential finding last year, after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, providing the basic executive and legal authority for the CIA to either kill or capture terrorist leaders. Initially, the agency used that authority to hunt for Al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan.
PTI |
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3 more held for
links with RAW
Dhaka, December 15 Of the three arrested yesterday, two were from Mymensingh while the third hailed from Savar, a township on the outskirts of the capital in the northwest, media reports said. Barun Bhowmick Nayan, arrested from Savan, is a public relations officer of a textile mill and the staff reporter of a vernacular daily owned by a former lawmaker belonging to the Awami League. The army, which picked up Nayan, said there were allegations of espionage, smuggling of information to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), patronising terrorists and other crimes. Nayan went to India after the killing of Mujib-ur Rahman in 1975 and returned to Savar after some years. The army-led joint force arrested Pradip and Hekim Mia, suspected of working for RAW, from Mymensingh.
PTI |
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WINDOW
ON PAKISTAN It is difficult for the Zafarullah Khan Jamali government in Pakistan to concentrate on the people’s basic problems when its very survival is in jeopardy. If the new government continues to last, it is mainly because it has the patronage of the General-turned-President. But the way things are moving, President Musharraf may one day find it difficult to provide the necessary oxygen for keeping the PML (Q) ministry going. If such a crisis really comes about — which is not in the realm of impossibility in view of the goings-on in Islamabad and the provincial capitals — the ruling General may take a drastic step ——- dissolving the National Assembly and announcing fresh elections but after a long and suitable gap. This suits him as well as his patrons in Washington. One can make one’s own guesses why President Musharraf is not prepared to vacate the position of Chief of Army Staff despite tremendous pressure from the political class and persuasion from those close to him. In the meantime, the Jamali government has secured a fresh lease of life with one-member majority for the ruling coalition led by the “king’s party”. This has been possible with the recent announcement by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) , having 17 members in Pakistan’s parliament, that it will continue to support the federal ministry. Earlier, the MQM had dissociated itself from the ruling dispensation, saying that its demands were being ignored. Reports in the Pakistani media suggest that the two sides have reached an understanding for cooperation on issues significant for both. The government wants the MQM backing for survival while the latter, an organisation of the migrants from parts of India settled in Sindh, is interested in two things. One, the MQM is pressing the government for lifting the 10-year-ban imposed on its cadres prohibiting their entry in certain Karachi localities called the “No Go Areas”. An end to the restrictions will help the MQM, led by Mr Altaf Hussain, to settle its scores with the rival group of Muhajireen, the MQM (Haqiqi), which has been in control of the “No Go Areas”. The second demand of the MQM is that its candidate should be allowed by the PML (Q) to become the Chief Minister of Sindh. The MQM is the second largest party in the Sindh Assembly with Ms Benazir Bhutto’s PPP being the largest group after the October 12 elections. It will be a landmark development in Pakistani politics if the MQM succeeds in capturing power in Sindh with the help of the “king’s party”, known for the Army patronage it enjoys. This will mean an MQM ministry in Karachi with the backing of the Army, which has been traditionally sustaining the rival Muhajir outfit, the MQM (Haqiqi). The truth is that Army Generals, including President Musharraf, have great distrust for the MQM. They may agree to a marriage of convenience but only till an alternative arrangement is finalised to keep the Jamali government going. Perhaps, that is why the ruling PML (Q) continues to hold discussions with the 66-member MMA of the religious parties for joining the Jamali government. Going by newspaper reports, the MMA leadership has agreed to soften its stand on the American factor in Pakistan’s affairs. But the MMA’s opposition to President Musharraf’s continuance as Army chief and the Ordinance vesting unquestionable powers in him to dismiss the government and dissolve the National Assembly and the provincial Houses remains the stumbling block. It is learnt that the ruling General may agree to review the Ordinance, limiting his authority to only sacking an uncooperative government but allowing the Prime Minister to re-occupy his/her position if the parliamentarians so decide again. In that case, the elected House will remain untouched. So far, however, there is no hint that he may say goodbye to the Army chief’s position. The world will be watching with utmost curiosity how far the two sides can go for protecting their political interests. In the process they will expose themselves as having no regard for principles if it comes to sharing the spoils of power. |
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11 Maoists killed in Nepal Kathmandu, December 15 “The 11 rebels, who were involved in the attack on the patrolling team of the security forces, were killed in Lamjung, Surkhet, Rolpa, Bardia and Kavrepalanchowk during counter action by the security forces,” the ministry said. “One soldier was killed and two others injured during action against the Maoists ... in the Talabang area of Rolpa district.” The security forces have seized various arms, rounds of automatic weapons, explosive material and bombs from these places.
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LTTE
gets radio station licence Colombo, December 15 The licence was issued to the rebel group’s ‘peace secretariat’ “to maintain and operate a private broadcasting station for which equipment worth more than $1,00,000 was imported by the LTTE last month, ‘The Sunday Leader’ said. The newspaper said the Tigers were keen to legalise their clandestine ‘Voice of Tigers’.
PTI |
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British school may teach Hindi, Urdu
London, December 15 The
government favours giving pupils a chance to learn a foreign language from the age of seven but will not insist that the pupils should be offered only a European language. Baroness Ashton, Junior Education Minister, has stressed on the importance of “community languages”. This means that schools, specially in inner cities where Asians families are in large numbers, could choose a “community language” such as Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi or Gujarati. She said, “We have children who are bilingual and trilingual who we consider to be a problem rather than an asset. I’m keen to know how we can see them as a strength.” Some educationists are apprehensive about sidelining European languages among British children because they fear it will hinder their international job prospects. “It is an example of the government trying to be politically correct,” said Nick Keaton of the Campaign for Real Education. He said downgrading European languages was a mistake and argued instead that children whose parents speak a second language should have a chance to learn how to use it at home. But an Education Department official said both European and non-European languages had a part to play in increasing the productivity of Britain.
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Buddha’s tooth on way to Thailand Beijing, December 15 The relic, or “sheli” in Chinese, is believed to belong to the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni, after he attained Nirvana some 2,500 years ago. Beginning today, the sacred tooth of Sakyamuni will be worshipped in Thailand beginning December 15, Xinhua news agency reported. Under a China-Thai agreement, the tooth will be in Thailand from today till March 1 next year to celebrate the 75th birthday of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. An Airbus 310-300 plane of royal Thai Air Force took the relic to Bangkok along with a high-level delegation from China and Thailand. Sarira are remains from cremation of Buddha’s or a saintly monk’s body, often in the shape of beads, regarded as most treasured Buddhist relics. It is for the first time in the century for the relic to be taken to China’s neighbouring countries to be worshipped. “The temporary enshrinement in Thailand of China’s sacred tooth relic is a significant event for the friendly cooperation between the Chinese and Thai governments and for the Buddhist exchanges between both countries,” said Mr Ye Xiaowen, Director of the State Administration of Religious Affairs.
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