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Clashes break out in Libya
Iran regime calls for ‘hatred’ rally against Oppn
Nepal Prime Minister in ‘Home’ trouble
TVU issue: US assures Rao of ‘fair solution’
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Courts or victims’
kin to take call on Davis: Gilani Islamabad, February 16 The US, on its part, insisted that Raymond Davis, the arrested man who worked for an American consulate in Pakistan, was covered under diplomatic immunity, though it also offered to conduct a criminal investigation into the matter. During a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry who was dispatched to Pakistan by the Obama administration to calm tensions, Gilani said the bilateral ties should not be held hostage to the issue. It is imperative that the issue "must not be allowed to make bilateral relations hostage and have an impact on the partnership in the ongoing struggle against terrorism and for restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan," Gilani said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister
told the National Seerat Conference, a gathering of clerics and
religious scholars, that the matter "is for the courts to decide or
if the relatives of the dead men grant pardon." Gilani's remarks
came a day after US President Barack Obama stepped into the row over
Davis for the first time, saying Pakistan should release the American on
grounds of diplomatic immunity. Davis was arrested soon after the shooting in Lahore on January 27 and police have rejected his claim that he had acted in self-defence. The Lahore High Court hearing the case is set to take up several petitions, including those from the government on the diplomatic immunity to Davis, tomorrow. The Davis case has become a flashpoint between Pakistan and the US, triggering anti-American sentiments in this country, which is making it harder for authorities to back down despite the US pressure. "Our Department of Justice will conduct its own thorough criminal investigation regardless of the immunity. We still believe the immunity applies but that doesn't mean we don't have the right under our law or the capacity to go through our own process," Kerry said last night. He stressed that the American demand for Davis' release was based not on "arrogance or special treatment" but on international law, including the Vienna Conventions that have been signed by both Pakistan and the US. Media reports quoting unnamed Pakistani
officials claimed that the two countries, after weeks of a tense
standoff, were near an arrangement to repatriate the US official and
that the Pakistan government would concede in the court that he
qualified for diplomatic immunity. During his meeting with Gilani,
Kerry expressed regret at the loss of lives in the shooting incident in
Lahore involving Davis but emphasised the need for an "early
resolution of this issue in the interest of continued strategic
partnership between Pakistan and the US." Gilani highlighted the
need for "positive messaging" by both countries to build trust
and confidence. — PTI
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‘Davis not eligible
for blanket immunity’ Appearing in a defiant mood, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the American citizen Raymond Davis did not enjoy blanket immunity. Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday after a meeting with US Senator John Kerry, Qureshi said on the basis of a briefing from the Foreign Office he had received as the minister after the Lahore murders, one could conclude that “the blanket immunity as being demanded by the US was not available to Davis”. Analysts believe Qureshi might foment a revolt within the party and win public sympathy if the government caved in to US pressure and release the American killer. He said he had told Kerry the same thing and was willing to testify before the court, if desired. Meanwhile, Kerry on a damage-control mission had a feverish round of meetings with top civil and military leadership of Pakistan to strike a compromise settlement.
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Clashes break out in Libya
Libya has been tightly controlled by leader Muammar Gaddafi for over 40 years but has also felt the ripples from popular revolts in its neighbours Egypt and Tunisia. Libyan state television said that rallies were held in the early hours of Wednesday morning across the country in support of Gaddafi, who is Africa’s longest serving leader. Reports from Benghazi, about 1,000 km east of the Libyan capital, indicated the city was now calm but that overnight, protesters armed with stones and petrol bombs had set fire to vehicles and fought with police. The protesters were angry about the arrest of a human rights campaigner and demanded his release. Gaddafi opponents used the Facebook social networking site to call on people to go out onto the streets across Libya on Thursday for what they described as a “day of rage.” Quryna newspaper, which is based in Benghazi, quoted Abdelkrim Gubaili, the director of a local hospital, as saying 38 persons were hurt in the clashes, most of them members of the security forces. He said they had all been discharged. “Last night was a bad night,” a Benghazi resident, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters by telephone. “There were about 500 or 600 people involved. They went to the revolutionary committee (local government headquarters) in Sabri district, and they tried to go to the central revolutionary committee ... They threw stones,” he said. “Now Benghazi is quiet. The banks are open and the students are going to school,” the same witness said later. Some Libyans complain about high unemployment, income inequality and limits on political freedoms, but analysts say an Egypt-style revolt is unlikely. A video clip posted on the YouTube site by someone who said it was recorded in Benghazi on Tuesday night showed a crowd of people outside what looked like a government building chanting: “No God but God!” and “Corruption is the enemy of God.” Quryna newspaper said people demanding the release of the rights activist, Fethi Tarbel, were armed with petrol bombs and threw stones at police in Benghazi’s Shajara square. People in Benghazi and the region around it have a history of distrust of Gaddafi’s rule. Of the hundreds of people jailed in Libya over the past decade for membership of banned Islamist militant groups, many are from the city. One analyst said it was unlikely unrest would spread nationwide, but that the violence in Benghazi could add to the numbers taking part in the protest planned for Thursday. — Reuters
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Iran regime calls for ‘hatred’ rally against Oppn
Tehran, February 16 Today’s call for the mass rally came as clashes erupted between regime backers and “apparent” supporters of the opposition at a funeral attended by thousands in Tehran of a student killed in anti-government protests of Monday. “The noble people of Tehran will take to Enghelab Square after Friday prayers with their solid and informed presence,” the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council, which organises regime-backed programmes, said today. It said those joining the rally will “scream out their hatred, wrath and disgust against the savage crimes and evil movements of sedition leaders, their Monafeghin (hypocrites) and their monarchist allies.” Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been in the firing line since they called a rally on Monday in support of Arab uprisings but which quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations and ended in clashes that left two people dead and several wounded. Both are under de facto house arrest and Karoubi’s son, Hossein, today said, in a statement on his father’s Sahamnews.org website, that “security forces are currently occupying my house... after breaking into the building...they are searching my and my family’s personal belongings.”
— AFP
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Nepal Prime Minister in ‘Home’ trouble
Bishnu Budhathoki in Kathmandu Just a day after Khanal reached a fresh agreement with Prachanda expressing commitment to enforce the past deal and allot Home portfolio to their party, the bone of contention between the two Left allies, the dissident faction within the UML on Wednesday warned Khanal not to commit blunder by going against the party decision. Khanal’s rival faction led by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and party leader KP Oli handed over an appeal to him requesting the latter not to allot Home portfolio to the Maoists. “If Khanal tries to go against the party decision, he will be held responsible for all the consequences,” a leader close to Oli faction said. Now, the Prime Minister is in trouble. If he goes against the party decision, he will have to face blow from the Standing Committee and Central Committee of the UML sooner or later and if he opts to adhere to the party decision by scrapping the deal reached with the Maoists , the latter may withdraw its support from the government.
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TVU issue: US assures Rao of ‘fair solution’
The Obama administration has promised a “fair solution” in the case of Indian students who were enrolled at a sham university in California, according to Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. Indian officials have urged their US counterparts to find a solution that does not harm the students’ future and allows them to transfer to genuine universities in America. “Our emphasis has been on seeking a solution that will help the students who have been affected by this unfortunate development and enable them to find alternative placements in bona fide universities without affecting their future,” Rao told reporters at the end of her two-day visit to Washington on Tuesday. On January 19, Tri-Valley University became the target of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) criminal investigation. ICE officials said the TVU was a sham. At least 1,550 students have been affected. Most of them are Indian, and a majority from Andhra Pradesh. Rao raised the issue at her meeting with Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Bill Burns, on Tuesday. She said the students who have not been involved in illegal activities should be allowed to transfer to other universities “without detriment or without any disadvantage.” Burns assured her that this is an option that the US government is looking at and will provide a “fair solution to this very, very real and critical problem,” she added. Depending on how long they have been out of status, students have the option to depart the US voluntarily and avoid a five-year entry ban that comes with deportations, get a transfer to other schools or find a job and ask an employer to file an H1-B visa. Students who have approached other universities about transfers have been told that they cannot be accepted as they are illegal immigrants since their visas have been revoked. The option of applying for an H-1B visa is also ruled out because the cap for the year has been filled. In some cases where visa violations have allegedly been discovered, students have been forced to wear electronic monitoring ankle bracelets. Rao described the matter as a “very important subject” and said she had “conveyed our concern about the welfare of the students who have been affected by this unfortunate series of events involving the TVU.” “I stressed our concern about the large numbers of bona fide students who have been adversely affected by the events surrounding Tri Valley University and the uncovering of this scam... Our concern was that the future of these students should not be affected,” she said. On February 13, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna raised the matter with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Following that conversation, India’s ambassador in Washington, Meera Shankar, conveyed details of the case to Hillary. Krishna sought Hillary’s intervention in the matter with a view to ensure that the interests of the students are protected and their future is not jeopardised, the Indian Embassy in Washington said in a readout of the call. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has instructed students to call the Student Exchange Visitors Programme (SEVP) and provide their specific details. Sunil, a former TVU student who is based in the Washington area and declined to give his last name, told The Tribune on Tuesday that many students have received court notices and face deportation back to India. Rao’s visit to Washington was intended to lay the ground for a second US-India strategic dialogue, which will be held in New Delhi on April 6. Hillary and Krishna will lead the dialogue. At her meetings with a host of US officials and lawmakers, Rao discussed United Nations reform, export controls, maritime security and the political upheaval in the Arab world. She noted that President Barack Obama’s support for a permanent seat for India on an expanded U.N. Security Council is more than just lip service. Rao came away from the meetings convinced that there exists a political will in both New Delhi and in Washington to take the US-India relationship to a higher plane.
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Tripoli, February 16