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Sunday,
March 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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US President justifies war
New Turkish PM dashes US hopes Fresh anti-war protests
Bush waives curbs on Pakistan |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN
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US President justifies war Washington, March 15 In a radio address, after meeting three survivors of the gas attack, he said: “Fifteen years ago, Saddam Hussein’s regime ordered a chemical attack on a village in Iraq called Halabja. With that single order, the regime killed thousands of Kurds. Whole families died while trying to flee clouds of nerve and mustard agents descending from the sky. “Many who managed to survive still suffer from cancer, blindness, respiratory diseases, miscarriages, and severe birth defects among their children,” he said, adding that the weekend marked a bitter anniversary for the people of Iraq. “The chemical attack on Halabja - just one of 40 targeted at Iraq’s own people - provided a glimpse of the crimes Saddam Hussein is willing to commit, and the kind of threat he now presents to the entire world. He is among history’s cruelest dictators, and he is arming himself with the world’s most terrible weapons,” Mr Bush said. Recognising this threat, he said, the UN Security Council had demanded that Saddam Hussein give up all his weapons of mass destruction as a condition for ending the Gulf War 12 years ago. The Security Council has repeated this demand numerous times and warned that Iraq would face serious consequences if it fails to comply. “Iraq has responded with defiance, delay and deception,” he added. Mr Bush said: “There is little reason to hope that Saddam Hussein will disarm. If force is required to disarm him, the American people can know that our armed forces have been given every tool and every resource to achieve victory. The people of Iraq can know that every effort will be made to spare innocent life, and to help Iraq recover from three decades of totalitarian rule. And plans are in place to provide the Iraqis with massive amounts of food, as well as medicine and other essential supplies, in the event of hostilities.” Crucial days lie ahead for the free nations of the world, he said, adding that: “Governments are now showing whether their commitments to liberty and security are words alone or convictions they’re prepared to act upon. And for the government of the USA and the coalition we lead, there is no doubt: we will confront a growing danger, to protect ourselves, to remove a patron and protector of terror, and to keep the peace of the world.”
PTI |
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US, British commanders
discuss final plans Aboard HMS ARK Royal, March 15 “Today is one of the final planning meetings that we will have,” US Rear Admiral Barry Costello told reporters aboard Ark Royal, Britain’s flagship carrier, where he met the commander of the British task force in the Gulf. “The planning is complete. Execution is next and we are ready to go forward,” he said, playing down speculation that Washington might launch its attack without the British amphibious force assembled offshore. “United as one, we’re gonna make this happen,” he said.
Reuters |
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New Turkish PM dashes US hopes
Ankara, March 15 Erdogan’s comments on Friday evening came hours after he presented a Cabinet list to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who approved the government lineup and appointed him as the Prime Minister. US officials have already indicated they had little hope of Ankara approving a request to station 62,000 US troops on Turkish soil in time for any conflict with Iraq, which could be just days away. Parliament rejected a first resolution on the deployment — which US military planners say could speed a victory over Baghdad by forcing to fight on two fronts — two weeks ago. Asked when a new motion might be submitted to parliament, Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolian news agency: “At the moment there is no such thing on our agenda. All of that (comes) after the vote of confidence.” He said the Cabinet would meet on Monday and the government programme could be read in Parliament on Tuesday or Wednesday. A debate would follow two days later and a confidence vote after another day, pushing any new motion on the troop deployment back to the following week. Barring a last-minute reversal on the issue, Washington has said a multi-billion dollar aid package vital to shielding Turkey against the economic impact of war was off the table. The USA is still pushing for overflight rights in any conflict but officials are increasingly pessimistic. In Friday evening’s briefing at party headquarters, Erdogan said it was up to parliament to decide on the overflight request.
Reuters |
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Fresh anti-war protests
Wellington, March 15 More than 4,000 persons marched in southern New Zealand’s main cities of Christchurch and Dunedin chanting “give peace a chance.” The police said the New Zealand protests, organised by the Peace Action Network, was orderly with no arrests. In Dunedin nearly 1,000 protested against a possible war against Iraq, while in Christchurch more than 3,000 marched to the city’s central square. In Australia several thousand rallied across the state of Victoria. The largest turnout was at
Traralgon, where organisers said 1,500 persons rallied. BANGKOK: More than 3,000 persons protested on Saturday in front of Bangkok’s United Nations building against war in Iraq, a day before leaders of the USA, Britain and Spain hold an emergency summit on the crisis. Chanting “No war” and holding banners reading “No Bush oil” and “UN stand up to the USA”, the protesters, some wearing the traditional black veil of Muslim women, listened to anti-war speeches and released grey pigeons as a symbol of peace as a handful of Thai policemen watched impassively.
AP, Reuters |
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Bush waives curbs on Pakistan Washington, March 15 Mr Bush issued a decree yesterday lifting the final set of US punitive measures against Pakistan, paving the way for export financing and other aid worth millions of dollars. The decree titled “Waiver of Coup-Related Sanctions for Pakistan,” says that Mr Bush is issuing the waiver certifying that it “would facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan” and that the waiver is “important to US efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism.” Faced with strong domestic opposition, Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, has been so far non-committal to US efforts for a resolution authorising war to disarm Iraq. The White House announced that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali would meet Mr Bush on March 28 to discuss a host of international and bilateral issues.
PTI |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN How to please the
masters and keep the masses in good humour has pushed Pakistan’s
military and the hand-picked political leadership into a quandary.
Public opinion is clearly asking the “leadership” to oppose any
American move to attack Iraq and take a clear position in the Security
Council. These not only include the Islamic parties or moderates or
even the media, but also large sections of professionals, students,
and peasants. The compulsions of the Musharraf and Company, however,
are different. President Musharraf warned as early as January that
Pakistan could be next on the list after Iraq? They know they cannot
survive even for a day without the support of the masters, the
Americans. Hence the crisis. Caught in this vortex, the political
class is indulging in guile. Just watch Prime Minister Zafarullah’s
first ever televised address to the nation wherein at one point of
time he declared that it would be very difficult for Pakistan to
support an anticipated US-led war against Iraq. But what did this
four-month-old premier really say for 70 long minutes. The first
attempt was to wish away the issue by saying that Pakistan’s policy
was clear. Nowhere he specifically explain as to which of the three
options — support, oppose or abstain — his government would opt
for to a planned US, UK and Spain moved resolution in the UN Security
Council authorising US-led allies to invade Iraq and disarm President
Saddam Hussain. All he could say was that the government would adopt a
policy measure in this regard while taking into account all aspects of
the ongoing West Asia situation in the supreme national interest of
Pakistan. It was marked by caution and ambiguity and was contrary to
what he had said a day earlier in the National Assembly. Gone were the
declarations that Pakistan will not be a party to any bloodshed in
Iraq. And, Pakistan would not support any US-led military action, as
it would add to the miseries of the Iraqi people. All he said could be
summed up that Pakistan might abstain. The bravado was indeed
gone. Dawn summed up this dilemma. “Even if it had not been a
member of the Security Council at this time, Pakistan would have been
on the horns of a dilemma on the Iraqi crisis; its membership of the
Council has only made the situation doubly difficult. To decide which
way to vote in the Security Council calls for a careful consideration
of the options available to Pakistan. Indeed, given Pakistan’s own
security concerns — the situation in Afghanistan, the unresolved
Kashmir dispute, and the perpetual tension with India —
Islamabad’s policy options are rather limited. What complicates
matters further is Pakistan’s membership of the US-led war on terror
and its position as the “front-line” state,” it wrote. Dawn
also said: “Pakistan as a member of the Organisation of Islamic
Conference and as a key Muslim country cannot afford to support any
resolution that seeks to inflict further human suffering and
devastation on Iraq. In this Pakistan must be guided by the fact that
the cause of peace is just and must be upheld under all circumstances.
An attack on Iraq will be morally and legally unjust.” The present
leadership, however, cannot take this position. Another leading
daily, Nation had similar doubts: “Should we interpret this
statement to mean that Pakistan will vote against the second UN
resolution on Iraq? Or that it will oppose a US attack on Iraq which
takes place without UN sanction, but after voting for the resolution?
Or that it will abstain from any UN vote that will allow military
action against Iraq? According to a widely quoted statement by a
senior PML (Q) official, who prefers to remain anonymous, the
government will be taking up the option of abstaining from a UN vote
to avoid any public anger that will accrue from actively supporting US
action against a brother Muslim country. However, until this stand is
made official, the public will justifiably perceive that Islamabad is
keeping its options open in which case it remains exposed and
vulnerable to US pressure tactics to get a desired Security Council
vote count.” General Musharraf has already expressed regret that
the rotational membership system has put Pakistan in the Security
Council at a time when it would rather not have been there. Nation
also said: “It seems a formula has finally been reached to assuage
domestic opinion without incurring Washington’s wrath. Many will
feel that this is a decision by which you end up displeasing both
Washington and domestic sensitivities, and also reduce your stature in
the Muslim world, where Syria for instance clearly stands out. It is
an imperfect decision.” This passive resistance to US pressure is
below public expectations and considerably less than the ‘no’ vote
demanded by the Parliamentary Opposition. |
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Jintao is China’s new President Beijing, March 15 Hu, 60, an engineer-turned-politician, succeeds Zemin, 76, who held the post for two consecutive five-year terms as President of the world’s most populous nation. Hu, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), was ‘elected’ by the newly-elected 2,951 members of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament here at the great hall of the people. The outgoing President retained considerable power as he was re-elected as Commander-in-Chief of the 2.4 million-strong PLA. The plenary session also elected Zeng Qinghong as Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China and Wu Bangguo as Chairman of the 2,900-member strong Parliament. All the four top leaders were ‘elected’ unopposed and the outcome was predicted by China watchers well in advance. As Vice President, Hu spent the past decade handling difficult tasks meant to test him and prepare him for leadership. Most recently, he held top party management posts handling promotions and reorganising provincial leadership. Analysts say Hu’s first big test came after the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999 by “mistake”. Hu made his first major speech on Chinese television during the crisis that followed and urged agitated countrymen to remain calm.
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