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Commonwealth leaves
door ajar
Victim of campus politics a la India Kidnapped Indians safe, say Taliban
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Putin’s nationalists triumph Pak blames India for blocking
re-entry 11 more
Indian fishermen held
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Commonwealth leaves
door ajar for Zimbabwe Abuja, December 8 In quick and sharp response Zimbabwe withdrew from the 54-nation group of former British colonies last night thus giving the club a dramatic jolt, a shade less severe than the South African apartheid furor more than 40 years ago. Opinion of member nations was clearly divided. There were those who believed that Zimbabwe’s withdrawal would have little impact on the health of the Commonwealth. However, in the context of the evolving global scenario any division in groups, seeking to create a multipolar world order, would be seen as harmful to global peace and human dignity. The rigid position on the Zimbabwean issue is a bit mystifying. There have been instances of countries having fallen foul of the body in its 72-year history, sanctions and suspensions have usually proven only temporary before members were invited back into the fold. The Commonwealth offers a useful forum for leaders to meet informally and establish common agendas. President Mugabe’s decision is not going to harm his country’s economy — that in any case, is as dead a dodo and the modest assistance that he received from Commonwealth members was too less to be of any practical value. There have been any numbers of controversies since the organisation was formed in 1931 — with South Africa and its apartheid policies being the most divisive. It left the club in 1961 and returned in 1994 after the end of apartheid. Agencies add: While both Zimbabwe and Pakistan, suspended from the Commonwealth for violating democratic principles, will continue to remain out of the 54-member body, steps have been initiated to bring about national reconciliation in the former, a Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group has not found any change in Pakistan’s position. A statement issued after the Retreat of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet here late last evening said the leaders authorised Chairperson and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon to initiate steps towards national reconciliation in that country. Mr Obasanjo said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (C-MAG) had found that there had been no material change in Pakistan since the group had last met in New York in September. Addressing the media after the Retreat which went on till late in the evening leading to speculation on Zimbabwe which has dominated the meet here, Mr Obasanjo said it was “rather unfortunate” that the media had made Zimbabwe into a big issue. According to the statement, the Chairperson would consult the six-nation Committee if he felt sufficient progress had been made in Zimbabwe. While he could not fix a time limit of when Zimbabwe would return, he said he would prefer to talk in terms of months and not years in finding a solution to the issue. He said there was already a movement for reconciliation which had not been made public, and its significance would be known only when it is made public. Meanwhile, Australia today defended the Commonwealth’s decision to extend the suspension of Zimbabwe, even though the body’s leaders made the choice knowing President Robert Mugabe would pull his country out altogether. |
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Victim of campus politics a la India ABUJA: Had Silas Owa had an Indian name, he could have passed for any of the victims of campus politics in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Currently he can be seen outside the make-shift media centre at the venue of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. “Hey, you from the media”? He does not wait for an answer before thrusting a copy of a petition addressed to Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, listing his grievances. Silas is clearly a well read person. Whether he is actually a victim of campus politics would require detailed investigations. However, what should be of interest is the clever use of language and historical facts in the petition for arousing Her Majesty’s interest in his case. If Silas’ claims are correct, he has become a destitute because the University of Abuja authorities “bloodied and battered my body, using security goons… I nearly lost an eye and an ear”. It would be a monumental folly to call Silas a nutty academician. He is anything but that. Had he directly accused his tormentors of a range of crimes, he could have been sued for libel. Instead he has used the stratagem of describing the murky goings-on on in the academic world in Nigeria by saying that “I did not steal any money; I did not indulge in examination malpractices; I did not harass any female student of mine for illegal sex; I am not a cult member; I have never been interested in political wheeling and dealing”. Nigeria’s academic world is indeed similar to the one that is alive and kicking in India. As for Silas, he could well have been a great poet-philosopher. Unhappily for the world of letters instead of being a poet, he is at present a “Dismissed Senior Lecturer in Management Sciences” at the University of Abuja. —
L.H.N. |
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Kidnapped Indians safe, say Taliban Kandahar, December 8 Mullah Roazi Khan, who the government says was behind the kidnapping of a Turkish engineer on the same project in October, said on phone that the men were being held by guerrillas linked to the Taliban’s former defence minister Mullah Obaidullah. ‘’The group which holds the Indians will announce their aims at a later stage,’’ he said. ‘’As far as I know they are safe and in good condition.’’ An Indian embassy official said it had heard no word from the kidnappers: ‘’There has been no contact at all.’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad also said there had been no contact. |
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Putin’s nationalists triumph Moscow, December 8 The fourth such poll since the Soviet Union’s collapse also effectively guaranteed Mr Putin a second term in next spring’s presidential election and could give him enough votes to change the constitution so he can run for a third term. Mr Putin’s supporters say a pro-Kremlin majority would hand the ex-KGB spy more power to push economic reform and fight corruption. But critics fear the death of democracy in the the vast nation after liberal parties were all but wiped out. The rouble rose against the dollar but stocks opened down on concerns about liberal parties’ poor showing, which could push key reformists off powerful parliament committees. The United Russia, created by the Kremlin for the last election in 1999 to help secure Putin’s rise to power, won 36.8 per cent of the vote for the state Duma lower House, latest results showed. Its main slogan was “Together with the President”. Ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s party — which backs the Kremlin on key issues — won 11.8 per cent and Motherland, seen by many as a Kremlin creation to draw off votes from the communists, had 9 per cent. “This should bring him to a two-thirds majority, with the backing of at least one of the parties which the United Russia will depend on for support,” said Alex Garrard at UBS. “Backing for those guys could change the constitution, to initiate a referendum to extend Mr Putin’s term.”
— Reuters |
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Pak blames India for blocking re-entry Islamabad, December 8 “We are ready to work with any government in India. Yes, we would like to work with Mr Vajpayee. If your prognosis is correct, then we will work with Mr Vajpayee. Most important thing is that we should work for lasting peace in the region,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters here. He was replying to a question whether Islamabad preferred to work in future with Mr Vajpayee and the BJP. The spokesman said Pakistan hoped that the current ceasefire on the Indo-Pakistan border was “sustainable”. Attacking India, he said, it “played a negative part which proved decisive in preventing Pakistan’s return” to the 54-nation body at the Commonwealth Summit in Nigeria.
— PTI |
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11
more Indian fishermen held Colombo, December 8 The navy seized 180 kg of fish, 11 nets, diesel and outboard motors from them. Last week the navy had arrested 73 Indian fishermen. A court ordered 61 to be freed, but said the other 12 should be detained to answer charges of poaching.
— PTI |
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President Vladimir Putin’s allies won an overwhelming electoral victory today, crushing communist and liberal opponents and giving nationalists and bureaucrats a stranglehold over parliament.
The fourth such poll since the Soviet Union’s collapse also effectively guaranteed Mr Putin a second term in next spring’s presidential election.
