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UN envoy meets Suu Kyi, junta chief
India, China not
doing enough, says US
Suicide bomber kills 13 Afghan cops
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I may allow US strikes against Osama: Bhutto
Benazir’s role important in Pak, says Rice
India for peaceful use of N-energy
Afghanis hooked to Indian serials, films
Diana inquest opens, 10 yrs after her death
Kaul to contest for C’wealth
top post
Court acquits docs in tainted blood scandal
US backs Karzai’s offer to Taliban Pranab meets UN chief
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UN envoy meets Suu Kyi, junta chief
Yangon, October 2 The Nigerian-born diplomat shuttled between the regime’s remote capital of Naypyidaw, where the ruling generals are deliberating to defuse the crisis, and the main city Yangon, where Aung San Suu Kyi is being held under
house arrest. Gambari has waited for days to see the reclusive Than Shwe and express global outrage after security forces put down protests led by Buddhist monks, leaving at least 13 dead and more than 1,000 arrested. After the meeting, he flew to Yangon, where he spent 15 minutes with Aung San Suu Kyi at the military guest house. He also saw her for more than an hour yesterday, an official said. The envoy then headed to the airport in Yangon, where he was expected to board a flight to Singapore, witnesses said. Officials of the UN and junta said at least 1,000 people had been detained
in Yangon. Asia regional director for the UN World Food Programme Tony Banbury said he was concerned at reports that the detainees, including some 500 monks, were now being moved to another location, heightening fears for their wellbeing. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s military junta announced a two-hour reduction on Tuesday in an overnight curfew imposed here last week as it countered the biggest anti-government protests in 20 years. United Nations: The current crisis in Myanmar is the result of a “neo-colonialist” attempt by powerful countries to exploit recent peaceful protests, the country’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly, adding that normalcy has now returned after security forces took action against the demonstrators. Speaking yesterday at the assembly’s annual high-level debate, U. Nyan Win stressed that “the destiny of each and every country cannot be imposed from outside” and Myanmar would proceed towards democracy in its own way. The foreign minister said an initial protest of a small group of activists against the rise in fuel prices had been exploited by the political opportunists.
— PTI
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India, China not
doing enough, says US
The USA wants India and China to take "serious and concrete" actions to force the military junta in Burma resolve the standoff with pro-democracy supporters and monks in the reclusive nation.
State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters on Monday that Washington wants New Delhi and Beijing to "push the Burmese government in the right direction." He noted that the USA had, last week, imposed a fresh batch of sanctions targeting members of the Burmese junta. "If people would like to emulate them that would be fine," he said, hinting that Washington would like similar action from New Delhi and Beijing, both key trading partners of Burma. "But in terms of what specific countries might do to be able to do this, I don't think the Indian government or the Chinese government need me to tell them what the levers in the diplomatic toolbox are that they have. And I think we'd just like to see them use them," Casey said. Casey contended that it was "very clear though that (China and India) have an influence over (the Burmese) government, that they can have more of an impact if they choose to do so." Officials in President George W. Bush’s administration, frustrated that India and China have not done enough to press the Burmese junta, have been publicly urging the two Asian powers to use their clout to find a peaceful solution to the situation. The military government has launched a violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators that so far has led to many deaths, enforced disappearances, and mass arbitrary arrests. Human Rights Watch also urged Chinese, Indian, Thai, and other companies doing business in Burma to ensure their operations do not contribute to or benefit from human rights abuses.
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Suicide bomber kills 13 Afghan cops
Kabul, October 2 The front of the bus was blown apart in the blast, which occurred during morning rush hour in the city’s western outskirts. Shop-windows were shattered and blood and body parts were strewn on the ground. A police officer said women were among the dead and he had picked up the bodies of a number of children. “The report we have indicates that so far 13 policemen have been killed and 15 wounded,” said the official who declined to be named. A Taliban spokesman said the Radical Islamic Movement, which is fighting to topple the government and drive Western troops out of Afghanistan, was behind the attack. “They are criminals. They don’t respect humanity,” health minister Mohammad Amin Fatemi told reporters at the site. “Islam is totally against suicide. Islam is against the killing of human beings like this. We can expect more attacks”. The Kabul head of criminal investigations said the police is investigating for the casualty figures. “I can’t say anything at the moment, there are civilian casualties but we don’t know for sure how many,” General Ali Shah Paktiawal told Reuters. “I was walking down the road when I saw a big explosion. I saw about 20 to 25 persons dead on the bus,” said witness Ajmal Shinwari. Twenty-eight soldiers and two civilians were killed in a similar attack on Saturday. — Reuters
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S Korean President gets cold welcome in North
Seoul, October 2 But his critics say the visit is aimed more at domestic politics and they expect him to tiptoe around the sensitive issues of atomic arms and mass human rights abuses. A portly Kim, in his trademark drab zip-up jacket and wearing platform shoes that made him appear taller than the dark-suited Roh, shook hands unsmilingly with the South Korean leader and his wife. The pair reviewed a military guard of honour. Kim’s greeting was in sharp contrast to his effusive welcome for the South’s then president, Kim Dae-jung, at the first summit in 2000. Then, the two leaders rode together in cars, embraced, and harmonised in singing patriotic songs. While the first summit in 2000 was seen as a landmark event that led to an easing of tensions, the latest meeting has met a far more muted response, due to a vague agenda and doubts that Roh will be able to achieve much. It has not helped that the meeting is again in Pyongyang, despite an agreement in 2000 that Kim Jong-il would head south for the next one.
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I may allow US strikes against Osama: Bhutto
Washington, October 2 "I hope I will be able to take Osama bin Laden myself without depending on the Americans. But if I couldn't do it, of course we are fighting this war together and (I) will seek their cooperation in eliminating him,"
she said. Asked whether she would agree to let the Americans take action against Osama in Pakistan, Bhutto said her decision would depend on the strength of the evidence. "I think one really needs to see the information. So I will really need to see the evidence," she
told BBC. "But if there is evidence, my first reference will be to go in myself and if ... there is a difficulty on that I'd
like to cooperate with the Americans," Bhutto added. Earlier, Bhutto had said that if she again became Prime Minister of Pakistan, she would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to question disgraced nuclear scientist Dr A.Q. Khan. It has to be determined, if Khan was solely responsible for what he had confessed to, or if there were "others" involved, Bhutto said at the Middle East
Institute here. She went on to say that when in power her party would hold a parliamentary debate over the issue.
— ANI
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Benazir’s role important in Pak, says Rice Washington, October 2 The US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, in an interview hailed the role of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in the fight against terrorism and extremism and for bringing the country back essentially from the brink. “I don’t see why not,” Rice responded when asked if Bhutto had a place in the evolving mix. “There will be, we believe, and there should be a contested poll and that people ought to be able to participate,” she said. — PTI
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India for peaceful use of N-energy
United Nations, October 2 “It is disarmament that is our agreed goal and that subsumes arms control and non-proliferation,” external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said, adding that India would bring proposal in the United Nations General Assembly to refocus on general and complete disarmament, particularly nuclear
disarmament. Addressing the 192-member United Nations General Assembly here last evening, he pointed that steps to achieve complete elimination of nuclear weapons had made little headway and despite some progress, the world remains far from achieving the objective. “India’s long-standing commitment to universal, non-discriminatory and comprehensive nuclear disarmament is embodied in the vision of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for nuclear-free and non-violent world.” “The vision put forward two decades ago remains undiminished”, he said, adding that “It is more relevant today given the fact that peaceful uses of nuclear energy can address the inexorably growing demand for new and non-polluting sources of energy to fuel economic
development. The minister warned that the risk posed by the intersection between proliferation and terrorism is real and serious and called for zero tolerance towards all forms of terrorism. Noting India’s impeccable record in preventing the proliferation of sensitive technologies, Pranab Mukherjee offered to work with the international community to develop a new international consensus on non-proliferation. “The international community needs to intensify the effort to address the very real threat posed by the link between proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related materials and technologies to non-state actors,”
he said. The central objective and aim must be to ensure that the international solidarity in words is translated into action as the risk posed by the intersection between proliferation and terrorism is real and
serious. Emphasising the need to unitedly fight the scourge of global terrorism, Pranab Mukherjee said the adoption of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy last September was a noteworthy development, signalling the will of the international
community to combat this menace in a holistic and coordinated manner. — PTI
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Afghanis hooked to Indian serials, films Kabul, October 2 The entire country virtually comes to a standstill at 8.30 pm when the popular Indian soap opera, ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ is aired. With practically all popular television serials, including ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ , ‘Kasauti Zindagi Ki’ and ‘Kumkum’, being aired by Tolo TV, a private channel, the main characters in these soaps have become household names in Afghanistan. All serials have been dubbed in the native language, Pushto. Watching these serials provide temporary relief to the Afghanis, whose lives are otherwise steeped in misery, poverty and fear due to a never-ending war and internal strife. “The serials are so popular that there have been several instances when the burglars looted houses as people were so engrossed watching serials from 8.30 pm till late in the night,” says Khaloolah Ahmidi, a shopkeeper. The character of ‘Tulsi’ is so popular in Afghanistan that the Indian government even considered involving her in a campaign against opium cultivation as much of the country’s economy thrives on the drug trade. “If Tulsi was to contest elections against President Karzai, I will vote for her like most Afghanis,” says Shakeela, a housewife. It’s a different matter that Smriti Irani has been replaced by another actor in the role of ‘Tulsi’ in India some three months back. One can hear popular Hindi movie songs being played in every taxi, buses, shops, TV and radio channels in sharp contrast to the strict ban by the Taliban on any kind of entertainment right from movies, songs and kite flying. Buses, taxis and shops have posters of Indian film stars, with Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali, Preity Zinta and Kajol topping the list. The capital city of Kabul had nearly one dozen cinema halls, but most of them were completely destroyed by the Taliban. Now only three have been made functional and popular Bollywood movies run here to full houses. “I have seen ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ more than a dozen times and Shahrukh Khan is the most popular star in our country,” says Immamudin Salimy, working as a waiter in a hotel. Surprisingly, there are hardly any Afghans, who have seen John Abraham’s ‘Kabul Express’ which was based on the turmoil and tragedy of Afghanistan. Most people say neither have they seen the movie nor do they intend doing so as only negative things have been shown. There are hardly any Afghani movies and the few which were made prior to the ban by the Taliban are not liked by the people. Posters of Katrina Kaif, Karishma Kapoor, Amisha Patel can be seen all over Kabul to endorse products.
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Diana inquest opens, 10 yrs after her death
London, October 2 Mohamed al-Fayed, whose son Dodi died in the crash after a much-publicised summer romance with the ‘people’s princess’, alleges that the couple were killed on the orders of Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Diana’s former father-in-law. Al-Fayed, owner of London’s luxury Harrods store, fought a long-legal battle to have the inquest heard by a judge and jury. The London’s High Court is expected to spend up to six months deciding if her death was an accident. “Mohamed al-Fayed has maintained throughout that the crash was not an accident, but murder in furtherance of a conspiracy by the establishment, in particular his Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who used the security services to carry it out,” judge Lord Justice Scott
Baker said. Major investigations by the French and the British police has concluded the deaths were a tragic accident caused by a speeding chauffeur, who was found to be drunk. Diana (36), Dodi al-Fayed (42), and chauffeur Henri Paul were all killed when their Mercedes car crashed in a road tunnel as they speed away from the Ritz Hotel in Paris, pursued by paparazzi on motorbikes. Britain had to wait for the French legal process to end and then for the British police investigation to run its
course before the inquests into Diana’s and Fayed’s deaths could begin.
— Reuters
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Kaul to contest for C’wealth
top post
London, October 2 “There is no rule that a candidate for the Secretary General’s post should be nominated by a country. It is the heads of government of the Commonwealth countries who decide,” Kaul said while answering questions after delivering a lecture here last night. Kaul said, “One of the key tasks ahead is to change the present image of the Commonwealth and develop a new image which reflects the economic success of member countries on intra-Commonwealth as well as global trade and investment flows.” It will be a triangular fight for the post. The other two candidates in the field are India’s official nominee Kamalesh Sharma, currently the high commissioner to the UK, and Malta’s foreign minister Michael Frendo.
— PTI
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Court acquits docs in tainted blood scandal
Toronto, October 2 Toronto Superior Court Justice Mary Lou Benotto ruled that the defendants did not show conduct displaying wanton and reckless disregard in the use of the blood and that there was no marked departure from the standards of a reasonable person. "The conduct examined in detail over one-and- a half years confirms reasonable and responsible and professional actions and responses during this difficult time," she said. The allegations of criminal conduct on the part of these men and the corporation were not only unsupported by the evidence, they were disproved.
— AP
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US backs Karzai’s offer to Taliban Berlin, October 2 “I think for the government of Afghanistan and President Karzai to want to reach out and work with people who renounce violence, support the central government and human rights, who will build peace and security reconciliation, is an important thing and we support that.” But he warned against lowering the bar for an invitation to the negotiating table. — AFP
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United Nations, October 2 In his meeting with Myanmarese foreign minister U Nayan Win, Mukherjee expressed New Delhi’s concern over the deteriorating situation in the country. He hoped that the process of national reconciliation and political reform, initiated by the government, would be taken forward more quickly. During his parleys with Jamaican foreign minister Kenneth Baugh, the close relations between the two countries were highlighted. Both focused on existing cooperation in the sectors of information technology and medicine. Mukherjee had an audience with minister from Kyrgyzstan Ednan Karabaev. They both reviewed cooperation in the fields of information technology, medicine and engineering. — UNI
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