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US Congress hails India’s decision on Iran’s N-plan
Don’t push Iran to the wall: Malaysia
India, Syria to work jointly on terrorism
India, China inching towards solving border dispute
Musharraf seeks US support on Kashmir issue |
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Sharon scrapes through, Netanyahu cries foul
Israeli missiles hit Gaza
Spanish court jails 9/11 plotters
Radical cleric calls on Muslims to leave Europe
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US Congress hails India’s decision on Iran’s N-plan
India’s decision to vote for a resolution that could refer Iran’s nuclear programme to the United Nations Security Council has won praise from members of the United States Congress, while Indian diplomats insist the action was not the result of pressure from Washington.
Congressman Gary Ackerman, New York Democrat and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said the Government of India had made the “right choice” in voting to urge Iran to comply with its international obligations and return to negotiations on its nuclear programme with the European Union-3 (Britain, France and Germany). At a recent House International Relations Committee (HIRC) hearing, Mr Ackerman, while warning India must not collaborate with Iran on the issues that are contrary to the US policy, noted: “Friends do not let friends play with fire.” On Monday, the Congressman commended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “courageous decision to stand with those nations who insist that international commitments be upheld.” At the Congressional hearing, Congressman Tom Lantos, the senior-most Democrat on the HIRC, called on India to make a choice between its new strategic partnership with the United States and its support for and business dealings with Iran. Mr Lantos’ acerbic criticism of India’s foreign policy and External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, whom he called “dense,” riled New Delhi. Following the IAEA vote, Mr Lantos said he was “pleased that New Delhi clearly heard the message that I and other members have been emphatically trying to convey.” “India’s support this past weekend and next November, when Iran should finally be referred to the UN Security Council for action, will go a long way to cementing our new partnership,” said the California Congressman. Mr Lantos is part of a section in Washington and New Delhi that interprets India’s vote as a consequence of pressure from the US Congress and the administration of President George W. Bush. The 35-member IAEA board of governors’ vote on Saturday was divisive. Twenty-two members voted for it, 12, including Russia and China, abstained from it, and Venezuela opposed it. Noting Iran’s vast resources of natural gas and its large Shia population, Indian diplomatic sources said despite these “high stakes”, India had taken a stand while Washington’s “friends” sat on the fence. An Indian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said harsh statements by Mr Lantos and other members of the US Congress had made Indian diplomats’ jobs much more difficult. “If you give a country like India an ultimatum it is counter-productive,” the official said, at the same time New Delhi knew it had to vote for the resolution because “it was the right thing to do.” Indian ministers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have publicly asserted that New Delhi is opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. “And we see no reason to make an exemption for any country,” said the official, adding, it is also not in India’s interest to have a third nuclear power in its neighbourhood — China and Pakistan being the other two. And finally, the official said, Iran had assumed certain obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of which it, unlike India, is a signatory and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new government should be given time to settle in and honour these commitments. The official said India’s decision to vote for the IAEA resolution was spurred by a realisation that “Iran was not reciprocating” to efforts by the international community to come clean on its nuclear programme. A congressional source said the Iran issue had the potential of “spoiling” the civilian nuclear agreement between India and the US if it was “not handled properly.” The Bush administration must persuade the US Congress to amend laws in order to turn the agreement into reality. Mr Lantos indicated that India’s support for the US against Iran would “certainly promote positive consideration in Congress of the new US-India agreement to expand peaceful nuclear cooperation between our two countries.” An Indian official, meanwhile, insisted that New Delhi was not toeing Washington’s line. “When we feel it’s in our interest. we’ll act in our interest,” the official said. |
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Don’t push Iran to the wall: Malaysia
Washington, September 27 “Let us not put Iran to the wall. If you put Iran to the wall, we do not know what would be the effect,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday when answering a question at a US-Malaysia forum here. He said the world would not want the Iranian nuclear issue to blow up into an Iraq-like conflict. Malaysia chairs the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement.
— AFP |
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India, Syria to work jointly on terrorism
Damascus, September 27 India will be sending experts to Syria in the fields of IT, petrochemicals and small and medium Enterprises, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said during a meeting with President Bashar Al-Assad. Both countries have recently seen a good progress on the economic front particularly in fields like hydrocarbon, power transmission, auto spare parts, machinery and equipment for refineries. Acknowledging India’s growing importance, Assad said “doors are wide open for India to play a major role in West Asia and in the world”. Ahamed, who is on a three-day visit, stressed
the importance of Syria in establishing a just and durable peace in the West Asian region. He also spoke of re-establishing the centrality of the UN and “more importantly, how interference in internal affairs of sovereign countries by outside forces could be avoided”. Appreciating Syrian withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon in line with the Taif Accord and the UN security Council resolution, he said India believed that other Security Council resolutions on West Asia also needed to be implemented fully for achieving a comprehensive peace in the region. Ahmed renewed invitation to the Syrian President to visit India in the near future.
— PTI |
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India, China inching towards solving border dispute
Beijing, September 27 India’s Special Representative and National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and his Chinese interlocutor and Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo held two-day of talks here aimed at resolving the border issue and decided to continue the parleys tomorrow. “We have decided to hold a plenary session tomorrow morning,” Indian Ambassador to China Nalin Suri said adding the sixth round of talks continued over a working dinner at his residence. “The two sides reviewed in a satisfactory manner the past progress that has been made in the Special Representatives’ meeting and agreed to proceed from the political perspective of overall bilateral relations for a framework for resolving the border issue in a fair and reasonable manner,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. Describing the parleys as “friendly, constructive and held in a cooperative atmosphere,” Qin said the two sides have agreed to hold the next round of meeting in New Delhi and the time and date will be decided through diplomatic channel. Commenting on the Sikkim issue, Qin said it has ceased to be an issue in Sino-Indian relations. However, the wordings of his response remained vague. “With the improvement of relations between the two sides, this is not any more a question within our relations,” he said, but declined to make any further clarifications on the Chinese stand on the Sikkim issue. Qin said the special representatives were making efforts to reach a fair and reasonable solution acceptable to both sides. Narayanan and Dai met several times informally and formally in Shanghai and Beijing since Saturday in an attempt to find an early solution to the protracted boundary issue, official sources said. Qin noted that the border dispute “is an issue left over by history.” “It involves many detailed contents and requires the two sides to make contacts and consultations to search for a proper solution.” “But we believe that as long as the two sides proceed from the overall interests of bilateral relations and peace and stability in the region, through consultation and mutual respect, we can steadily promote new progress on the border issue between the two countries,” he said. Earlier today, Jia Qinglin, Communist Party of China Politburo Standing Committee member, said after a meeting with Narayanan that China “sincerely hopes the boundary question be settled in a fair and reasonable way at an early date so that the border areas would become a bridge for eternal peace and friendly cooperation between our two countries.” Narayanan said both sides were having a “rare opportunity” for the further development of bilateral ties and that India was ready to join with China in actively promoting the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership and pushing for an early settlement of the boundary question, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said. He also called on Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing today. The Indian Ambassador to China, Nalin Surie and other senior officials attended the in-camera boundary talks. — PTI
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Musharraf seeks US support on Kashmir issue
Islamabad, September 27 General Musharraf said the US should lend its support to the efforts imed at resolving the Kashmir issue, which was at the heart of tensions in South Asia. He also underscored the importance of moving towards a settlement of the Kashmir issue in the interest of durable peace and stability in the region. Hadley reiterated his government’s commitment to broaden long-term strategic relationship with Islamabad and said Washington appreciated ‘’exemplary’’ Pakistan’s contribution in countering terrorism and taking measures to curb extremism. Meanwhile, the British Permanent Undersecretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Michael Jay, who is visiting Pakistan for Pakistan-EU Troika meeting and bilateral consultations, also met President Musharraf this evening. ‘’During the meeting the President appreciated the existing momentum for enhancement of cooperation in diverse fields, as indicated by increased high-level bilateral exchanges, new institutional linkages being created and growing commercial relations,’’ a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement. The President expressed satisfaction at the pace of follow-up of the joint statements issued after his summit meetings with Prime Minister Tony Blair in London and New York, in November 2004, and September 2005, respectively, which were aimed at bringing the relations to a new level of cooperation. Regional and international issues of mutual interest, including Afghanistan and Iran, were discussed in the meeting. The ongoing composite dialogue with India for the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir issue, also came under discussion. — UNI
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Sharon scrapes through, Netanyahu cries foul
Jerusalem, September 27 Netanyahu attributed Sharon’s success at the vote in the 3000-member central committee yesterday to “pressure, baits and offers of patronage jobs.” The vote was on whether to hold elections for party leader in April, as scheduled, or move up the primary to November. Netanyahu, accusing Sharon of abandoning Likud’s nationalist roots by carrying out Gaza withdrawal, pushed for an early primary election to capitalise on anger against the Prime Minister. Sharon opposed any change in the schedule. Likud members voted 1,433 to 1,329, or 52 per cent to 48 per cent, in favour of keeping the schedule intact, giving the Prime
Minister hopes of completing his tenure before being dethroned by his own party. Netanyahu told Israel Radio “there were, first of all, those who agreed with his path, but there were others who caved in to the pressures, the baits, the patronage jobs or other things.” Asked if he meant that the Prime Minister’s victory was achieved dishonestly, he merely said, “first of
all, I am not demanding a re-vote. We lost by a few votes.” But Sharon’s 104-vote victory also presents new challenges for him as the Likud stands divided in two parallel camps with several of his ministers in the rival camp. Sharon lagged in opinion poll till as late as Sunday when the contest was pushed to the wire with nobody in a position to predict the outcome. Netanyahu also brushed aside characterisation of him as a loser, the “Simon Peres of the Likud.” “I have had many victories, and have also had defeats,” he said calling his showing “a very, very
impressive result.” “If someone had said months ago that a serving Prime Minister, with all of the might of rule, would be fighting for a razor-thin margin in order to get past his own party, it’s as though George W. Bush had to get past the Republican (National Committee),” Netanyahu told the radio. The vote did not ratify Sharon’s political views over his own, he added. The former Finance Minister, who resigned recently on differences over Sharon’s disengagement plan, expressed hopes that the results will be different when all party members vote in the primaries to choose the Chairman in April. “Offers of jobs don’t work there, and microphones don’t work,” he said in reference to an incident on Sunday when Sharon could not read out his speech to the Central Committee due to acoustic problems, which are supposed to have shifted sympathy towards him on charges of sabotage. Calls of working towards Likud unity as well as settling scores over ministers who went against the Prime Minister have been heard from Sharon’s confidantes in the local media after the declaration of yesterday’s results. It was largely believed that the Prime Minister would have quit the party and launched an independent platform had he been defeated.
— PTI |
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Israeli missiles hit Gaza
Gaza, September 27 Later today, Islamic Jihad said it and other militant groups were abiding once again by an informal ceasefire. “We renewed our commitment to calm while reserving the right to respond if Israel continued its attacks. The ball now is in Israel’s court,’’ senior Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh said after a meeting of militant factions in Gaza City. They fell into line with the largest faction Hamas, which had said on Sunday it was calling off attacks, and rocket fire from Gaza over the border into Israel has since abated. Today’s air strikes destroyed two bridges and two buildings said by Israel to have been used by militants, hours after Sharon overcame a leadership challenge in his right-wing party driven by anger at his removal of settlers from Gaza. Israeli troops rounded up 82 suspected militants in the West Bank, bringing to 300, the number arrested since Sharon ordered a crackdown on armed factions that resumed rocket fire last week for the first time since Israel’s pullout from Gaza. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie welcomed the militants’ decision to shelve attacks. His government wants a peaceful Gaza to create a basis for a Palestinian state. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said before Islamic Jihad’s announcement that Israel would press ahead with its offensive as long as rocket attacks continued and that he did not rule out a ground incursion back into Gaza. The worst surge in violence since Israel completed the pullout on September 12 tested the brittle ceasefire and a vow by Sharon that his move would help the Jewish state’s security.
— Reuters |
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Spanish court jails 9/11 plotters
The suspected leader of Al-Qaida in Spain has been jailed for 27 years for conspiring to commit murder in connection with the September 11 attacks in the United States, concluding Europe's biggest trial of Islamic militants.
The Syrian-born Spanish national, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, 43, known as Abu Dahdah, was jailed by Spain's high court along with 17 men convicted on charges of aiding Al-Qaida. Two others were cleared of helping to plot the attacks, though one, Driss Chebli, was sentenced to six years for collaborating with a terrorist organisation. The 17, mostly of Syrian or Moroccan origin, were sentenced to between six and 11 years' jail for offences including belonging to or helping a terrorist group, possession of weapons, forging documents and fraud. Yesterday's verdict represents the most significant conviction in the world of those implicated in the 2001 suicide attacks that killed 2,973 persons. Yarkas's sentence falls short of the 75,337 years for murder sought by the prosecution. It reflects the enormous difficulties in establishing proof in a case where none of the accused was ever near the scene of the crime. Prosecutors wanted a sentence based on 25 years' jail for the murder of each of the victims. The trial of Yarkas and the other suspects jailed since 2001 was from April to July. A journalist for the Arabic television network al-Jazeera, Tayseer Alouny, who interviewed Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in August 1997, was jailed for seven years for collaborating with Al-Qaida. Defence lawyers argued the case consisted of doubts and suspicions rather than concrete evidence. The defendants were among a group of 41 suspects indicted by Spain's campaigning judge, Baltasar Garzon. Judge Garzon has said Spain was a base for hiding, recruiting and financing Al-Qaida members before the attacks on the US. Yarkas was accused of preparing a meeting in Tarragona on 16 June 2001 with Al-Qaida operatives including Mohamed Atta - the suicide hijacker who three months later crashed a plane into New York's twin towers - to decide last-minute plans. Yarkas's cell was dismantled in November 2001. Police believe many of its members took part in the Madrid train bombings last year.
— By arrangement with The Independent, London. |
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Radical cleric calls on Muslims to leave Europe
Paris, September 27 Bakri is the head of the extremist movement Al Muhajirun, (meaning the emigrants in Arabic). Bakri had famously praised 9/11 hijackers as “magnificent”. Then he triggered more outrage after the 7/7 bombings, when he said he would never tip off police if he knew a Muslim was about to carry out an attack.—
AFP |
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In video: Pakistan opposes Iran's UN referral on nuclear issue.
