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Tuesday,
February 18, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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NATO breaks war impasse War sans support difficult: Straw Turkey hints at delay in US troop deployment
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Five die as storm
ravages US states Visa nod to Pak, Indian diplomats Diplomat Samar Sen dead
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NATO breaks war impasse Brussels, February 17 “The Alliance solidarity has prevailed,” the NATO Secretary-General, Lord Robertson, said yesterday. “We have been able to collectively overcome the impasse.” After France was shut out of the room, the other two holdouts — Germany and Belgium — dropped their objections to starting planning for Turkey’s defence immediately, NATO officials said. Belgium threw a last-minute wrench into the works by insisting on linking any eventual NATO deployment to developments at the UN Security Council. But the final statement says only “we continue to support efforts in the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.” NATO diplomats said the USA and other allies objected in principle to hog-tying alliance decision-making to any other organisation. Belgium had joined France and Germany for the past month in blocking a NATO decision to begin planning to help fortify Turkey — the only NATO ally bordering Iraq — against any potential reprisals. They argued that such a move was premature and would undermine UN efforts to avoid a war. To help end the stalemate, NATO put the issue yesterday to its Defence Planning Committee, which excludes France. Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt today welcomed an accord reached by NATO to boost Turkey’s defences to prepare for a possible Iraq war, which his country had stubbornly opposed before finally lifting its objections. “We are happy that we managed to convince our allies of the justness of our demands,” the Belga news agency quoted him as saying.
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War sans support difficult: Straw London, February 17 Prime Minister Tony Blair staunchly supports the USA’s tough stance on Iraq and has sent 40,000 troops to the Gulf region to back US forces. But hundreds of thousands of people marched through London on Saturday to protest possible military action against President Saddam Hussein. Organisers said some two million people attended the anti-war rally, while the police put the figure at 750,000. Mr Straw told the BBC that the march was a “very, very large demonstration, probably the largest one we’ve seen in our recent democratic history in London. We have to take account of public opinion.” Asked whether Britain could go to war with Iraq if a large part of the population opposed military action, Mr Straw said it would be “very difficult, indeed, in those circumstances.” “It’s patently more straightforward for governments to take a country to war, to military action, if they’ve palpably got the whole of the population behind them, than if not,” he said.
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Turkey hints at delay in US troop deployment Ankara, February 17 Down on the Iraqi border, military sources said the Turkish and U.S. military were meeting Iraqi Kurdish groups who controlled northern Iraq. Witnesses saw a helicopter arc over the border to an army base for talks aimed at easing tension between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds that could hamper any US action. Washington expects Turkey’s Parliament to meet tomorrow to approve dispatch of tens of thousands of troops, but the weekend has seen Ankara officials casting doubt on that plan. “There are certain points we give importance to,’’ Mr Gul told journalists before departing for Brussels. “Without reaching an agreement on those points, I believe it will be difficult to persuade Parliament...we will relay our concerns to the USA today and we will do what is necessary in line with that,’’ he said. Turkey says it is strongly opposed to any military action against Iraq, fearing turmoil in the region. But it would be hard-pressed to resist the entreaties of its closest ally. A security source in Diyarbakir said two U.S. transport planes had landed at the main airbase in the southeastern city yesterday. The total number of U.S. personnel there upgrading facilities under an interim agreement with Turkey now numbered about 1,000, he said.
Reuters |
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Five die as storm
ravages US states
New York, February 17 The storm, which could end up being the fifth worst in history, according to the meteorologists, is expected to continue, with major areas in the region witnessing heavy snow, accompanied by high velocity winds, affecting normal life for days. Five deaths were being blamed on the storm, which started on February 14, forcing West Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware states to declare emergency with some parts experiencing up to 10 cm of snowfall per hour. In New York City, which was expected to experience between 45 and 60 cm of snowfall, the authorities advised people not to take out cars from garages to allow emergency crews to clear the roads but warned that it might be impossible to keep all roads open to traffic. Hundreds of people were stranded at airports as all flights to Washington were cancelled till further notice, with airports in New York and New Jersey, including Kennedy and Newark, witnessing heavy delays. The hostile weather conditions forced President George W. Bush to take a two-hour drive on snow-covered roads from Camp David, his weekend retreat, to the White House unlike his usual helicopter ride.
PTI |
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Visa nod to Pak, Indian diplomats Islamabad, February 17 It has been agreed that assignment visas of senior Indian diplomat T.C.A. Raghavan and Pakistan’s Munawar Saeed Bhatti will be cleared tomorrow, Mr Vikram Misri, acting Charge d’Affaires of the Indian High Commission here, said. He said Mr Raghavan and Mr Bhatti would simultaneously be granted visas after which they would decide about dates to take over their respective assignments. Both have been designated as Deputy High Commissioners until the appointment of High Commissioners, he said.
PTI |
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Diplomat Samar Sen dead London, February 17 Sen, who was India's first High Commissioner to Bangladesh, had a miraculous escape after the assassination of President Sheikh Mujibur Rehman when four persons made an abortive attempt to kill him by barging into the Indian mission building in Dhaka. Three persons were killed in the shoot-out. Sen, who joined the Indian Civil Service in the thirties as Secretary to the Indian delegation which participated in the founding of the United Nations at Lake Success. He also worked as the Liaison Officer of the Government of India at the United Nations during 1946-48.
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Midnapore (WB), February 17 |
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Tonnes of Biscuits United Nations, February 17 |
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London, February 17
