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Protests mark Democracy Day
Pak Oppn divided on LoC bus service
Explosions in Baghdad
kill 29
US forces engaged in prison abuse: report
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Protests mark Democracy Day
Kathmandu, February 18 At least 14 persons were arrested when over a hundred protesters held demonstrations chanting slogans against the authoritarian rule and absolute monarchy and demanding restoration of democracy and fundamental rights in the kingdom. Those arrested included former Nepali Congress MPs Hari Bhakta Adhikari, Mina Pandey and Mukti Prasad Sharma, party sources said. 11 other Nepali Congress workers and four CPN-UML activists were also arrested as they staged demonstrations against the
February 1 royal takeover and imposition of emergency. Mr Man Bahadur Bishwokarma, the President of Nepal Dalit Association,
affiliated with the Nepali Congress, was among those arrested from New Silk road. The government disconnected telephone services in Kathmandu and some other sensitive areas from early this morning, apparently to prevent protesters from executing their plans. Public buses and micro-buses were also stopped from entering the capital to prevent protesters from gathering in large number. Due to heavy deployment of army personnel, the riot police and plain clothed policemen, the demonstrations could not take place in a massive scale as planned by major political parties, including the Nepali Congress, the Nepal Communist Party-UML, the Nepali Congress (Democratic), the Janamorcha Nepal and the
Nepal Sadbhavana Party (A). But political
activists managed to hold protest rallies in some parts of the capital including Ason, Bhotahity and Ratnapark. Meanwhile, the
government released 150 prisoners, mainly criminals, on the occasion of the 55th Democracy Day as per tradition. In a message to the nation on the occasion, King Gyanendra said he took over power in order to save the country’s democracy and talked about holding impartial elections in the kingdom in an environment of peace and security.
— PTI |
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Nepal may face aid cut: USA
Washington, February 18 After recalling their ambassadors to their capitals in protest against King Gyanendra’s power grab, the United States, European nations and India could “seriously consider” cutting off vital military aid to the Himalayan outpost, US envoy to Nepal James Moriarty told the media in Washington. “I can’t lock us in on that but I can tell you that that will be a step that we will seriously consider,” he said. He did not elaborate on the prospective military aid cut, which analysts say could considerably weaken King Gyanendra’s uphill battle against a bloody Maoist insurgency that has left 11,000 people dead so far. “No, I am not going to be too much more specific but to say that I think security assistance, in particular lethal security assistance, will be at risk if you don’t see progress on the king’s commitments,” Mr Moriarty said. He said the Gyanendra administration had given an assurance it would emerge with a plan to address two key concerns — insurgency and the restoration of full multiparty democracy — within 100 days. Despite the pledge, the United States, European Union (EU) members and India, all of which have been key backers of Nepal’s drive to crush the Maoist insurgents, recalled their envoys this week to rebuff the monarch’s actions. — AFP |
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Pak Oppn divided on LoC bus service
Islamabad, February 18 Interviews and statements of various Opposition leaders show that the issue is the latest addition to hurdles that exist in the formation of a grand Opposition alliance. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has welcomed the decision to launch the bus service from April 7 as a step forward towards boosting the peace process but its ally, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has called it an “untimely decision”. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) says it regards the bus service as a victory of Pakistan’s viewpoint on the disputed status of Kashmir while the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) sees it as a ploy to sideline the Kashmir problem. Welcoming the decision, PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in a statement on Thursday said the bus service would help alleviate the sufferings of divided Kashmiri families and also promote the prospects of safe and open borders in South Asia. Safe and open borders in South Asia, without prejudice to the Kashmir dispute, can help build tension-free relations with India, she said, adding that cordial relations could help set the stage for SAARC countries to move towards a common market on the pattern of the European Union. She contended that the PPP was vindicated because its vision of India-friendly Pakistan was now being owned even by those who had dubbed her and the PPP as security risks. Talking to The Dawn, PML-N Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said his party believed that Pakistan was showing far too much flexibility while announcing various confidence-building measures with India. JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, in a statement, opposed the bus service and termed the agreement a ploy to ignore the Kashmir problem. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who is also the MMA chief, said unless India accepted Kashmir as a disputed area, CBMs were a deviation from the national stance on the issue. |
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Explosions in Baghdad
kill 29
Baghdad, February 18 The explosions took place across Baghdad, mostly in Shiite neighbourhoods. Suicide bombers struck at two Shiite mosques after Friday prayers ended, another explosion took place near a Shiite religious procession and a third suicide bomber detonated himself at an Iraqi police and National Guard checkpoint in a Sunni neighbourhood. The first blast occurred in Baghdad’s southern Dora neighbourhood near the al-Khadimain mosque and killed at least 15. Another 20 were injured in the first blast. A second blast caused by a suicide bomber occurred outside the Al Bayaa mosque in a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of western Baghdad, Lt Col Jalal Sabry of the local police station said. Two people were killed and five were injured in a third explosion near an Ashoura procession in the Shiite Ash Shulah district. — AP |
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US forces engaged in prison abuse: report
Washington, February 18 The documents from the army’s Criminal Investigation Division were the latest in a series of such documents obtained through a court order by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In the most serious case, an Iraqi detainee in Tikrit claimed Americans dressed in civilian clothes dislocated his arms, stepped on his face, beat his legs with a baseball bat, stuck an unloaded pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger. A medical examination performed as part of the army’s investigation showed that the detainee, who was not identified, had scars on his left leg and scars from an operation on his stomach. But members of the reconnaissance platoon that took the Iraqi into custody as a suspected insurgent financier denied he had been abused.
— AFP |
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