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Saturday,
June 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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World Hindi Conference begins
Kashmir: Pak for UN peacekeeping force Entire J&K disputed
territory: Pak UN envoy to seek release of Suu Kyi
Hillary’s memoir move
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China ‘opposed’ Riaz Khan’s appointment
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World Hindi Conference begins
Paramaribo (Surinam), June 6 Surinam President Ronaldo declared the four-day conference open by lighting a lamp. Nearly 400 delegates from 20 countries are participating in the conference, the largest contingent being of 200 from India. In a message to the conference, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said the conference would enrich both Hindi and Surinam. He complimented the people of Surinam, particularly those of Indian origin, for their efforts to develop Hindi. Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee expressed the hope that the conference would give a boost to application of Hindi in various areas and its popularity across the world. Mr Vajpayee said Hindi was capable of unifying people of different faiths, ideologies and regions and was the link language for crores of people in India. Terming Hindi as a “living embodiment” of cultural unity in the country, Mr Vajpayee today asked scholars to work with full dedication to get the language its place of pride at the international level. In a message, which was read at the Conference, Mr Vajpayee said his heart was with the
conference although he could not attend it due to some official engagements. “Only that nation can earn respect and prestige in the world comity which takes pride in its culture and traditions. We get acquainted with our literature, music and civilisation through our language only,” he said. He said Hindi served as link among people of divergent religions and languages in the democratic and secular country and had the full capacity of establishing emotional bonds among millions of people.
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Kashmir: Pak for UN peacekeeping force
London, June 6 “If you think we are encouraging infiltrators into Kashmir, why don’t you agree to a UN-controlled peacekeeping force jointly patrolling under the UN auspices,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said. Participating in BBC World’s weekly programme “Question Time Pakistan” broadcast today, Mr Hayat claimed that none of the jehadi organisations were working in Pakistan. “We do not allow jehadi organisations in Pakistan. They (India) have mentioned a few organisations (that they say) are working in Kashmir, over which Pakistan has no control. We have already told them (the Indian Government) to give us evidence.” He disagreed with New Delhi’s expectation that activities of jehadi groups in PoK should be curbed before any dialogue between the two nations could begin. Mr Hayat criticised the introduction of Sharia law in its present form in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). He attacked the provincial government there, led by the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of six religious parties. “If we follow their brand of politics, if we follow their brand of Islam, their brand of religion, (it) will be leading us once again towards the Talibanisation of Pakistan,” he said. Government officials in the province have been directed to say prayers or face strict disciplinary action. Commenting on that, Mr Hayat said: “Whatever the MMA has announced in NWFP is absolutely and totally repugnant to the spirit of Islam. Nowhere in Islam is it said that harsh treatment be meted out if you don’t say your prayers.” PTI
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Entire J&K disputed territory: Pak
Islamabad, June 6 As far as Pakistan was concerned, the whole of Jammu and Kashmir was a “disputed territory” and its status was yet to be determined as required by UN Security Council resolutions, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri said in an interview to India’s NDTV, carried APP news agency today. Mr Kasuri claimed that this position had been maintained in Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. Mr Kasuri was asked about Mr Vajpayee’s remarks on Tuesday that if talks had to begin with Pakistan on Kashmir, then they would have to start with the part of Kashmir which was under Pakistan’s occupation. PTI He said as far as Pakistan was concerned, PoK had its own President, Prime Minister, Supreme Court and Parliament whereas that was “not the case with the Indian Occupied Kashmir.”
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UN envoy to seek release of Suu Kyi Yangon, June 6 The ruling generals have held the Nobel peace laureate at an undisclosed location since last Friday’s violence as she toured a provincial town. The USA yesterday said it suspected Ms Suu Kyi and her convoy were ambushed and attacked by “government-affiliated thugs”. The military says four persons died and 50 were injured in the clashes but dissidents in exile suspect perhaps as many as 75 of Ms Suu Kyi’s supporters were killed. Diplomats and dissidents fear Ms Suu Kyi was injured in the incident, but Myanmar officials deny this. “I have heard that she’s been injured ..but these are all just rumours,” Mr Razali Ismail, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s envoy to Myanmar, said as he left the Malaysian capital for Yangon. “I think the government can be persuaded to allow me to see her. They should really help themselves by allowing me to see her,” the veteran Malaysian diplomat said. “We are making a strong bid to get her released immediately. Virtually all countries are demanding that she be released.” In Myanmar, Mr Ismail left his central Yangon hotel for an afternoon meeting with Foreign Minister Win Aung, saying he also wanted to see senior leaders of Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), who have been confined to their houses by the military for the past week. But he told reporters the military had not yet given any signal they would allow him access to the NLD leadership. “It’s in the hands of the government here,” he said. The USA and Britain have stepped up diplomatic pressure for Ms Suu Kyi’s release and called on the junta to allow Mr Ismail to meet her. Reuters
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Hillary’s memoir move for presidential run? New York, June 6 Clinton’s inside look at eight tumultuous White House years, including President Bill Clinton’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment, will be published on Monday. Opinions are split on why the New York Senator wrote “Living History.” Some people think she wanted to tell her side of the story, others that she did it for the $ 8 million book deal cash and some think she’s setting the stage for a presidential run. But whatever her motivation, 58 per cent of registered New York state voters don’t want her to run for President, not in 2004 or in the future, according to the poll by Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, New York. Clinton spokesman Karen Dunn declined to comment on the poll except to reiterate that Clinton intends to finish out her six-year Senate term, ruling out a 2004 White House push. Nine Democrats already are vying for the Democratic nomination to run against Republican President George W. Bush, who is riding high in the polls after wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The former First Lady has ruled out a 2004 run, but expectations are high that she would consider a 2008 bid. But the poll showed support for such a run was only 35 per cent among the 512 registered voters contacted on May 12 for the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 per cent. Of the Democrats questioned, 56 per cent supported a Clinton White House run, with Republicans and Independents deeply opposed to the proposition of her seeking the Oval Office. Either way, Clinton’s book will do little harm in boosting her profile. As details of the book leaked out this week, revealing how she felt about her husband’s extramarital affair, Clinton has made headlines around the world. “I Wanted to Wring the President’s Neck,” “Hillary — My Nightmare” and “Love, Need and Betrayal — A Most Peculiar Sort of Marriage,” were among the headlines seen on Thursday. Meanwhile, Monica Lewinski, the White House intern whose affair with former President Bill Clinton almost caused his downfall, has refused to review the book written by Clinton’s wife or read its excerpts, the New York Daily News today said. Daily News reporters caught up with Lewinski at her Manhattan apartment yesterday, the day Clinton talked about her took in an interview with a US television network. Reuters, DPA
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China ‘opposed’ Riaz Khan’s appointment
Islamabad, June 6 Mr Khan, presently Pakistan’s Ambassador to China and a seasoned diplomat, was tipped to take over the high profile assignment in New Delhi as part of the normalisation process between the two countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had announced Mr Khan’s appointment in an interview to India’s state-owned news channel. According to Urdu daily “Jasarat” the Chinese authorities were opposed to the appointment. Mr Khan, who had served as the official spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, had recently taken over as the Ambassador to China. The Pakistan government had to reverse its decision and instead appointed Mr Aziz Mohammad Khan.
UNI
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New York, June 6
