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Hindu leader arrested in Malaysia
Lay off, Malaysian minister tells Karuna
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Philippine rebels in Manila hotel arrested
Gen Kayani takes over as chief of Army
Curbs on Pak TV channels challenged
Pak elections: Over 13,000 file papers
Panel gives judge a ringing rebuke
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Hindu leader arrested in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, November 29 V. Ganapathy Rao of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) was picked up by the police from his office, reports here said. P. Uthayakumar, Waytha Moorthy and Rao are the three main leaders of Hindraf, a nongovernmental group that gave the call for the rally on Sunday in which nearly 10,000 persons from the community took part. They wanted to march to the British High Commission and hand over a memorandum complaining of marginalisation of Indians from the time their ancestors were bought to the then Malaya as indentured labourers. The police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstration, declared as “illegal” by the government. The three men were arrested and charged last week with sedition in connection with a speech they had made earlier. However, they were freed on technical grounds when prosecutors failed to produce a copy of the speech in Tamil, the language in which they had spoken. Indians form eight per cent of Malaysia’s population of 27 million. They allege discrimination by an affirmative action policy that they say favours Malays in jobs in government departments and businesses. The government says there were equal opportunities for everyone. — PTI
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Lay off, Malaysian minister tells Karuna
Kuala Lumpur, November 29 “His place is in Tamil Nadu, not Malaysia. He should worry about his own state. His own state has got problems,” Nazri Aziz, minister in the Prime Minister’s department, was quoted as saying by the local media. “This has got nothing to do with him... lay off,” he was quoted as saying by New Straits Times. Karunanidhi on Tuesday said he was “very much pained” at the way in which Tamils in Kuala Lumpur were treated by the police on November 25 when they organised a rally in protest against the “marginalisation of the ethnic Indian minority in that country”. Meanwhile, foreign ministry parliamentary secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek said no formal complaints had been received from the Indian diaspora outside Malaysia on the issue. — PTI
It’s my duty to defend Tamils: Karuna
IN Chennai joining issue with a senior Malaysian minister who asked him to “lay off” from the happenings in his country, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said it was his duty to defend Tamils and he was prepared to accept any punishment for doing so.
Karunanidhi when asked for his response to comments by Nazri Aziz, a minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s department, said he had done his duty as Chief Minister to request Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take action to mitigate the “sufferings of Tamils in Malaysia”. “If there is any punishment for doing the duty, I am prepared to accept it,” he said. The DMK supremo also made it clear that he did not criticise the Malaysian government. Asked if he had to say anything to Aziz for the harsh comments that he should mind his business , Karunanidhi said “I don’t want to reply to his (Aziz) remarks. I don’t want to get into a tit-for-tat. It is my duty to defend Tamils.” On Tuesday, Karunanidhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the Centre to take appropriate action to end the “sufferings” of Tamils in Malaysia. He said he was very much pained at the way in which Tamils in Kuala Lumpur were treated by Malaysian police on November 25 when they had organised a protest rally there. Aziz was quoted by the Malaysian media as saying, “His (Karunanidhi) place is in Tamil Nadu, not Malaysia. He should worry about his own state. His own state has got problems. This has got nothing to do with him ... lay off,” he said. Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi said the recent events involving ethnic Tamils in Kuala Lumpur caused a “lot of concern”.
— PTI
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Philippine rebels in Manila hotel arrested
Manila, November 29 Senator Antonio Trillanes, who led a failed mutiny in 2003 against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was taken away in handcuffs. ''We are going out for the sake of the safety of everybody,'' he had told reporters earlier. ''For your sake, because we will not live with our conscience if some of you get hurt or get killed in the crossfire. We cannot afford that,'' Trillanes said. There were no reports of any casualties. About two dozen rebel soldiers had earlier walked out of their own trial for the 2003 mutiny, escorted by guards assigned to keep them from escaping. They marched to the Peninsula Hotel in Manila's Makati financial district and took over the lobby, calling for the overthrow of President Arroyo. ''We have been witness and victims of the kind of ruthlessness this administration is giving to the people. Now like soldiers we are going to face this,'' Trillanes told reporters, when asked if he was ready to face fresh charges over this incident. An armoured personnel carrier bashed in the front doors of the hotel, fired tear gas canisters, and for a time parked in the trashed lobby of the luxury hotel, a favourite watering hole of Manila's elite. — Reuters
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Gen Kayani takes over as chief of Army
General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani on Thursday formally assumed the command of the Pakistan Army as the Chief of Army Staff.
A Pakistan Army contingent presented guard of honour to Gen Kiyani at a simple ceremony at the GHQ. It was in sharp contrast to the pomp-filled extravaganza on Wednesday when Gen Pervez Musharraf handed over to him the symbolic baton, signifying his retirement as the army chief after nine years - the second longest term after Gen Ziaul Haq. Kiyani watched quietly the oath-taking ceremony of President Pervez Musharraf and smiled slightly as Musharraf showered profuse praise over the army and lauded Kiyani’s qualities as a professional soldier who, he said, had served under him for 20 years. “I am sure that Pakistan will go stronger with me as a civilian President and with Gen Kayani as an army chief,” Musharraf said while recalling that he knew Gen Kayani for two decades, whom he regarded as an “officer of great acumen”. Musharraf hoped that Kiyani would lead the army “as well as I did, if not better”. Gen Kayani is perceived to be a purposeful and pragmatic commander, and an embodiment of professionalism.
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Curbs on Pak TV channels challenged
A constitutional petition filed in the Supreme Court has challenged restrictions on TV channels clamped since November 3 after the proclamation of emergency.
Petitioner Qazi Sheharryar Iqbal prayed that the blocked TV channels should be allowed to resume normal operations so as to enable the people of Pakistan to enjoy their right of choice of information and freedom of speech and expression. “The amended ordinance places unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in the exercise and enjoyment of the fundamental rights of freedom of speech, expression and free flow of information,” said the petition. The petitioner urged the court to strike down Sections 20 and 33 and other provisions of the ordinance that curb constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech and expression.
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Pak elections: Over 13,000 file papers
Islamabad, November 29 He said the commission would display the lists of candidates after the completion of scrutiny of the nomination papers, filing of appeals against decisions of the returning officers and withdrawal of candidates. He said 4.30 lakh transparent ballot boxes to be used, 3.50 lakh had already arrived.
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Panel gives judge a ringing rebuke
New York, November 29 The ringing of a cell phone annoyed Judge Robert M. Restaino in New York state’s Niagara Falls so much that he asked the person whose instrument had made the noise to come forward. Otherwise, everyone in the courtroom could take a week in jail. “Please do not tell me I am the only one who heard that,” Restaino had said. When no one came up voluntarily, the judge carried out his threat. According to the New York state commission on judicial conduct, Restaino ordered 46 defendants to be held in custody and they were ultimately placed in holding cells. The commission was not amused by the judge’s conduct and recommended his removal, describing his action as “egregious and unprecedented abuse of judicial power”. — PTI
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