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Proliferation
of WMDs opposed by China UN
award for Sergio de Mello Musharraf
flayed over media abuses
50
Maoists killed in Nepal |
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Australians
urged to avoid Pak, Kenya
Malaysia
to open more immigration offices in India
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Proliferation of WMDs
opposed by China Beijing, December 3 “China has always taken a responsible attitude toward international affairs, stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all kinds of WMDs, including nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and resolutely opposed the proliferation of such weapons and their means of delivery,” the white paper on non-proliferation said. Issued by the information office of the state council, China’s cabinet, the 9,000-word seven-part white paper, reiterated Beijing’s firm stance of opposing the proliferation of all kinds of WMDS and their means of delivery, and elaborated on the country’s persistent non-proliferation efforts. It pledged that China did not support, encourage or assist any country to develop WMDs and their delivery means. The US frequently imposes sanctions on China and Chinese entities for proliferating materials and technology of WMDs to countries like Pakistan and Iran. However, China has always rejected the American charges as groundless. During Wen’s meetings with US President George W Bush and other leaders, the issue of alleged Chinese proliferation of WMDs is likely to come up for discussion. The White Paper called on all countries, in the course of implementing their non-proliferation policies, to strike a proper balance between non-proliferation and international cooperation for peaceful use of relevant high technologies, given the dual-use nature of many materials. It claimed that China had signed all international treaties related to non-proliferation, and joined most of the relevant international organisations. WASHINGTON: Four new countries are to join the original 11 backers of a US-led initiative to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by seizing such arms in transit, a senior State Department official said. John Bolton, the top US diplomat for arms control, said yesterday Canada, Denmark, Norway and Singapore would participate in the next meeting of countries involved in the so-called Proliferation Security Initiative. Military and law enforcement experts from those countries will join officials from Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the USA at that meeting which is set to be held in the United States later this month, he said.
— PTI, AFP |
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UN award for Sergio de Mello United Nations, December 3 Sergio de Mello, who was UN High Commissioner for Refugees, was temporarily acting as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Iraq when a truck bomb destroyed the headquarters, killing 22 people. Among the winners is an Argentine grandmother who tracks missing children, a Jordanian group which fights domestic violence, a West African women’s peace network, an American founder of a group which track human right worldwide and a Chinese who advocates rights of disabled. The awards have been presented every five years since 1968, with the exception of 1983, under a United Nations General Assembly resolution and are meant to honour those making outstanding contribution in promotion and protection of civil liberties and fundamental freedoms. Generally, the United Nations selects only five individuals or organisations but this year an exception was made to honour Sergio de Mello. The awards will be presented on December 10 at a ceremony to be held in the General Assembly hall, Assembly President Julian Hunte said yesterday while announcing the winners. The five winners will receive a commemorative plaque each. Besides Sergio de Mello, the others who have won the award are Barnes de Carlotto, President of the Association Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (Association of Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers), established in 1977 to look for hundreds of children who disappeared following the 1976 military coup in Argentina. Pufang Deng of China, son of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and founder-director of the 15-year-old Chinese Disabled Persons Federation which fights for the rights of the disabled will also be given the award. The Family Protection Project Management Team in Jordan which helped to promote open discussion of such taboo subjects as domestic violence, gender equality and other human rights issues is one of the winners. In the USA, Shulamith Koenig who heads the People’s Movement for Human Rights Education, which she founded in 1988 to create a global human rights culture has been honoured for her work with educators, social justice groups and human rights experts. The Mano River Women’s Peace Network, which brings together women’s organisations in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea and has initiated projects to demobilise and reintegrate child soldiers and organised peace marches, has also been bestowed with the award.
— PTI |
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Musharraf flayed over media abuses New York, December 3 “It is time for General Musharraf to show the world whether he is a reformer or no different from other military rulers. How he deals with Press freedom is a big test. As of now he and his government are failing,” the US-based Human Rights Watch has said. Since Musharraf took power in a military coup in 1999, the Watch emphasised, the Pakistani Government had “systematically” violated the fundamental rights of members of the Press corps through “threats, harassment and arbitrary arrests.” “Many have been detained without charge, maltreated and tortured, and otherwise denied basic due process rights,” it said. The government, the rights group said, had sought to, and in several cases succeeded in, removing independent journalists from prominent publications. “Meanwhile, the arrest of editors and reporters from local and regional newspapers on charges of sedition is becoming increasingly commonplace,” it added. The Watch also referred to reports that Musharraf had himself threatened a journalist whose car was later set on fire. In a letter to Musharraf, the Watch highlighted the case of Amir Mir, Senior Assistant Editor of the monthly magazine Herald, whom, it said, Musharraf reportedly threatened at a November 20 reception for Pakistani newspaper editors. Musharraf is reported to have condemned Herald for being “anti-Army” and working against the “national interest,” and argued that the time had come for the Herald and Mir to be “dealt with,” the Watch said. Musharraf’s comments, it added, reportedly included specific references to stories filed by Mir for the magazine. Two days later, unidentified persons set Amir Mir’s car ablaze outside his house. Mir later received a message purporting to be from the Pakistani intelligence, services, ISI, claiming responsibility for the attack and warning that this was “just the beginning,” the rights group alleged. In this context, the Watch asked Musharraf to publicly disassociate himself from the comments about the Herald and order an investigation into the attack on Amir Mir’s car, said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. The Watch also raised the case of Rasheed Azam, a journalist and political activist from Khuzdar in Balochistan province, who was arrested on the charges of sedition in August 2002, for publishing a photograph of Pakistan army personnel beating a crowd of Baloch youth. It said it has learned that Azam was abused and tortured by members of the Pakistani military. He remains in jail after his bail application was rejected by the district judge. Human Rights Watch said it had also written a letter to Musharraf about Azam on October 10 this year, but to date has received no response.
— PTI |
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50 Maoists killed in Nepal Kathmandu, December
3 The 50
rebels were killed by a joint team of security forces in THE Pandong
area of Kailali district, 500 km west of Kathmandu, as the troops
launched an operation against Maoists in their training centre at the
district, state-run Radio Nepal reported quoting security
sources. Some of the bodies of rebels were carried away by Maoists,
the radio said. Sources at the Army Headquarters said four policemen
and two armed forces personnel were also killed, while 10 other
securitymen were injured in the clash which started last night and
continued till this morning. They said 15 bodies of the rebels had
been recovered from the site. — PTI |
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Australians urged to avoid Pak, Kenya Sydney, December 3 Australians should also be wary in Malaysia and Georgia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said in a travel advisory. “In the light of the November, 2002, attacks in Mombasa and continued reports of further possible terrorist attacks against western interests in Kenya, we continue to advise Australians to defer non-essential travel to Kenya,” DFAT said. “We have received uncorroborated information of possible terrorist attacks against international hotels in the Nairobi city centre,” it said. The advice comes as Prime Minister John Howard prepares to fly to Abuja in Nigeria to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The department said it continued to receive reports of planning for possible terrorist attacks in Pakistan. In Malaysia, Australians were urged to be particularly cautious in Sabah.
— DPA |
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$ 28,000 for Miss World ticket Sanya (China), December 3 The man surnamed Chen, a local from Sanya city in China’s southern Hainan province where the beauty pageant is being held, bought the ticket at a charity auction, the officials said. “The money will be donated to charity,” Zhou Xiong, director of the Sanya organising
committee said. So far, 90 per cent of the tickets at the newly-built 4,000-seat Beauty Crown Theatre have been sold, organisers said. Ticket prices range from $ 80 to $ 2,000. The Sanya Government spent an estimated $ 3 million to buy the hosting rights to this year’s Miss World, which it hopes to recoup through an increase in tourism.
— AFP |
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Malaysia to open more immigration offices in India Singapore, December 3 ‘’The increasing number of Indian visitors to Malaysia has prompted the Immigration Department to open offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, ‘’Mr Badawi told businessmen and investors at the ‘’Incredible India-2003 business forum and trade exhibition’’ in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. ‘’The number of Indians visiting Malaysia has been increasing. In recognition of this, our Immigration Department has set up new operation centres to facilitate the issuance of visas, and we hope to increase the number of centres,’’ the Prime Minister said.
— UNI |
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