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Religious atrocities: US panel wants India on watchlist USA welcomes outcome of Indo-Pak talks Indian media targets
AIDS stigma
Pak ban on Indian
channels may go |
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Three new bird flu
outbreaks US soldier charged in
Al-Qaida probe
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Religious atrocities: US panel wants India on watchlist WASHINGTON DC: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has once again recommended to Secretary of State Colin Powell that he designate India a “country of particular concern” for egregious violations of religious freedoms. India is one of the 11 nations the commission has singled out for censure this year. The commission was, however, deeply divided over action to be taken against India with chairman Michael K. Young, and commissioners Preeta Bansal, the sole Indian American on the panel, and Felice Gaer dissenting from the recommendation. Another commissioner, Reverend Charles J. Chaput, the Archbishop of Denver, suggested India be placed on a watch list rather be designated as a country of particular concern (CPC). “I think there is disagreement, but in my judgment, legitimate disagreement, among the commissioners with respect to whether India has risen to the level in terms of the problems there that had not been addressed effectively to the statutory standard,” Young told foreign correspondents at a briefing in Washington on Wednesday. “The statutory standard is a serious and a high one,” he said. He pointed out that there was no disagreement on the commission that there were serious problems in India that had not been addressed. “There have been fatal attacks against Muslims and Christians, and they continue. The government has yet to address adequately the killing of the estimated 2,000 persons in Gujarat in 2002. In a letter to Powell, Young cited continuing violence “including fatal attacks against Muslims and Christians”. New Delhi has not paid much attention to the commission, a statutory body advising the US Congress and the administration on religious freedom abroad. The government has repeatedly brushed aside requests from the commission to visit India. Admitting that this was a problem, Young said: “India is the only democratic country of which we’re aware that has not extended an invitation for the commission to visit, and we would welcome that invitation.” “The government of India has said in some respects, things are not as bad as they appear in the media. And they also tell us that the government is making efforts. We would be delighted to be able to observe some of those firsthand and converse with the government more directly about it, but we’ve not had an invitation, despite repeated requests,” he added. A CPC designation does not mean that India would face US sanctions, but it does require that an agreement be reached that involves the articulation of specific steps that would be taken to improve the state of religious liberties. The panel lauded India’s “vibrant civil society with many vigorous, independent non-governmental human rights organisations that have investigated and published extensive reports about the Gujarat Government’s handling of the situation and the rise of religiously-motivated violence,” and its free Press. However, the commissioners maintained their concern about growing threats to the religiously plural foundations of Indian society and the slow pace of prosecution of individual perpetrators of the Gujarat and other religious violence. |
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USA welcomes outcome of Indo-Pak talks Washington, February 19 “We very much welcome the outcome of the first round of talks as part of a comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan,” US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters here yesterday. “We are pleased that the parties came out with a roadmap for future discussions and they are committed to increasing their engagement,” he added. After a meeting of their Foreign Secretaries in Islamabad yesterday, India and Pakistan issued a joint statement setting out a timetable for the resumption of a composite dialogue at various levels in May-June immediately after the Lok Sabha elections with Jammu and Kashmir to be taken at the level of Foreign Secretaries. Asked about reports that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had sought the clerics’ help against extremists, Boucher said: “I think I’d leave that to him, as far as how he handles the situation inside Pakistan.
— PTI |
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Indian media targets
AIDS stigma Washington, February 19 "It is still said today that HIV is only a problem in India among people who don’t behave themselves," said Carl Haub, head of the population information chair at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) in Washington. About 4.6 million Indians were living with HIV/AIDS in 2002, compared to 1.75 million in 1994, according to figures from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). About 0.8 per cent of people between 15 and 49 years have AIDS or HIV, but that figure is the highest in South Asia. It has steadily increased since 1994.
— AFP |
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Pak ban on Indian channels may go
Islamabad, February 19 Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (COAP)'s vice-president Tahir Khan said they had indications from official sources that the ban would soon be lifted and were now waiting for the formal announcement of the decision. ''However, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has still not told us when it was going to lift the ban,'' the Daily Times today quoted him as saying. The report cited certain officials in Islamabad, who asked not to be named, as saying the government had no objection to lifting the ban on Indian channels dedicated to family entertainment. In the second phase, they added, the cable operators could even relay Indian news channels. ''The growing ties between the two neighbours have convinced the government that the Indian news channels will not be hurling propaganda against Pakistan,'' an official said. ''PEMRA will be announcing fresh guidelines for the cable operators pretty soon,'' another official said.
— UNI |
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Three new bird flu outbreaks in China Beijing, February 19 Three earlier suspected cases were ruled out. Today’s report brings the total tally in China to 46 confirmed and two suspected cases, with 16 provincial regions affected. China is battling a widening outbreak of the deadly virus, although no human transmission has been reported on the mainland. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that bird flu could take years to be eradicated in Asia, and urged affected countries not to drop their guard. China reported its first case of bird flu on January 27 and has since culled more than 1.2 million chicken, geese and ducks.
— AFP |
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US soldier charged in Al-Qaida probe
Fort Lewis, February 19 Ryan G. Anderson was charged on February 12 but the army did not immediately release that information, Lt. Col Stephen Barger said yesterday. A military defence lawyer has been appointed for Anderson, but Barger refused to identify the lawyer. Anderson was charged with two counts of attempting to supply intelligence to the enemy, the army said. He could face the death penalty if convicted. Speaking on condition of anonymity, defence officials have said Anderson signed on to extremist Internet chat rooms and tried to get in touch with Al-Qaida operatives. It was unclear how the US government got wind of his alleged offer to supply military information to the terrorists. It did not appear he transmitted any information to Al-Qaida, the authorities said.
— AP |
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Bush would lose, if vote held now: poll Washington, February 19 The CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey released yesterday showed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry would get 55 per cent of the vote in a direct matchup with President Bush’s 43 per cent. A similar poll conducted at the beginning of the month showed Kerry beating Bush by a much slimmer margin — 49 per cent to 48 per cent. Meanwhile, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, who made a splash during Tuesday’s primaries in Wisconsin by finishing a close second to Kerry, would win a hypothetical contest against the President’s 54 per cent to 44 per cent, according to the survey.
— AFP |
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