Japan PM head on block as allies sharpen knives

TOKYO, Mar 5: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori was expected to survive a no-confidence vote today, but his coalition partners were already sharpening their knives in their own campaign to oust him.

Opposition parties submitted the no-confidence motion against Mori’s cabinet but were expected to lose the vote set for the afternoon, given the ruling camp’s hefty majority in the powerful lower house.

Ruling coalition party leaders have said they would rally round Mori, one of Japan’s least popular Prime Minister ever, to defeat the motion when it comes to a vote in the 480-seat chamber where the ruling bloc holds 277 seats.

"With the strength of the three ruling parties, we will solemnly reject the motion in Parliament," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference.

But Mori’s survival was likely to be only temporary because once the vote is over, coalition members are expected to intensify their calls to unseat Mori to improve their prospects in an upper house election in July.

Losing that election would not immediately end the ruling bloc’s rule, but would induce legislative stalemate and could spark an early general election, not mandated until 2004.

Knives unsheathed

Mori’s coalition partners have already made clear their desire to see him exit stage left.

Today, the head of the number two party in the ruling coalition turned up the heat, saying he wanted a clear decision on mori’s fate ahead of a convention of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on March 13.

"We want a clear decision so we can attend the LDP convention in a good mood," Jiji news agency quoted new Komeito chief Takenori Kanzaki as saying.

Mori’s public support has plummeted to single-digit levels after a string of gaffes and blunders and pressure is mounting within the coalition for him to state his intention to step down ahead of the LDP convention.

His actual resignation, however, could be delayed until early April after budget-related bills pass, domestic media said.

The gaffe-prone Prime Minister could come under fresh attack after a weekend media report that analysts said puts in question Mori’s qualifications as at national leader.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that he sent a hand-written fax last summer to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il via a North Korean official in Beijing, instead of going through proper diplomatic channels.

Successors shy

The political confusion could hardly come at a worse time.

Japan’s economy is showing clear signs of slipping into reverse after a decade of failed attempts to break out of stagnation.

The Tokyo stock market’s benchmark Nikkei average is hitting new 15-year lows almost daily on worries about the economy. The Nikkei was little changed in Monday morning trade from its Friday close, its lowest finish since July 31, 1985.

Financial markets are keen to know who will replace Mori, but agreeing on who should accept what could well be a temporary post if the ruling coalition loses badly in July, is proving tough.

The new Komeito and the new conservatives prefer wily LDP elder Hiromu Nonaka, one of the "gang of four" who selected Mori in a secret cabal last April.

But Nonaka has said he has no desire to take the post and many younger LDP members fear his "shadow shogun" image would turn off voters already fed up with the party’s secretive ways.

Other names in play include Mori’s own chief lieutenant, reformist-minded Junichiro Koizumi, and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, now a minister in Mori’s cabinet.

As for Mori, he is showing no signs of bowing out.

In an apparent bid to keep mori in power by filling his diplomatic schedule, the Prime Minister’s aides have asked Washington to set up a meeting with President George W Bush on March 19, domestic media reported.

A Foreign Ministry official said the timing of any trip was still "under discussion". (REUTERS)

Afghan oppn condemns statue destruction

ISLAMABAD, Mar 5: The head of anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan, who is the country’s internationally recognised president, has condemned the Taliban campaign of destruction of the country’s pre-Islamic heritage.

In a statement prepared in his remote northern headquarters of Faisabad yesterday and sent to reuters today, Burhanuddin Rabbani said Governments throughout the long history of Afghanistan had preserved the treasures left by their predecessors.

"We strongly condemn and oppose the Taliban’s anti-national and anti-cultural action in respect to the destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan," said the statement, issued by Rabbani’s foreign affairs office.

The Taliban announced a week ago that their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had ordered the destruction of all statues -including two world-famous Buddhas carved into a cliff in Bamiyan province - on the grounds they are un-Islamic.

Afghanistan was a centre of Buddhist culture before the arrival of Islam more than 1,200 years ago.

"From thousands of years ago this country has involved and formed different civilisations and cultures," the statement said. "During this long history, no system has tried to destroy the historic monuments of the country — instead has made efforts to preserve them."

Rabbani, whose Government is also Islamic, said in the statement their religion respected other beliefs. The Taliban maintains its action, which has drawn world-wide condemnation, is needed to help create the world’s purest Islamic state.

"Our cultural policy applies to all historical monuments and naturally covers the Buddha’s statues of Bamiyan province in Afghanistan which have been left from the Buddhist religion. It is clear that they are not worshipped in Afghanistan," it said.

The Taliban have been campaigning to have international recognition of the national Government transferred from Rabbani, who they drove from Kabul in 1996.

But diplomats say their destruction of Afghan’s cultural heritage has strengthened the position of those leading the opposition to any dealings with the Taliban.

The Taliban say the opposition, which holds less than 10 percent of Afghanistan, is getting arms from Russia and Iran. The opposition, an alliance united mainly by opposition to the Taliban, accuses neighbouring Pakistan of arming and directing the Taliban.

Pakistan, the only country in the world to have an embassy in Kabul dealing with the Taliban, denies any military involvement with the movement, which sprang from Islamic schools in the border areas of Pakistan.

The United States has led opposition to the Taliban, determined to force them to turn over Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi militant accused of directing the destruction of two US Embassies from his sanctuary in Afghanistan. (REUTERS)

10,000 pilgrims turned back at the border

DUBAI, Mar 5: Immigration authorities turned back as many as 10,000 pilgrims including Saudis and expatriates from various checkpoints along the roads leading to Mina for not carrying Haj permits, even as about two million faithfuls converged on Mount Arafat on the culmination of the annual pilgrimage praying for salvation and forgiveness.

Director General of the Saudi Passports Department Maj Gen Abdul Aziz Sajeeni has been quoted by the Al-Madinah newspaper as saying that this year fewer pilgrims were turned back compared to previous years.

He attributed this to the growing awareness among both saudis and expatriates that they must carry Haj permits before proceeding to the holy sites. He blamed domestic Haj agents for the delay in some pilgrims getting the permits.

The decision to impose restrictions on domestic pilgrims allowing them to perform Haj only once every five years have helped in reducing congestion at the holy sites. Officers had also held about 1,000 overstayers while trying to enter Makkah for Haj.

Meanwhile, Riyadh police arrested a 10-member gang involved in forging Haj permits and seized forged stamps, passports, and travel documents with fake signatures of district chiefs and a large number of Haj permits. (PTI)

Dolphins to the rescue - how animals can
help young invalids

TUEBINGEN (GERMANY), Mar 5: "When a child falls ill, it is not only human comforts which are called for. Pets, such as rabbits, cats, hamsters and birds can also be a useful aspect of any treatment," said Professor Gunther Klosinski, who heads the psychiatry and psychotherapy for children and adolescents department at university clinic in the southern city of Tuebingen.

While the parents of many children show love and affection only when they dutifully tidy their rooms or do their homework and chores, pets never make conditions or take exception.

"That has a positive effect on a child’s feelings of self-worth," says the professor. This attitude explains why starting a few years ago, younger patients were allowed to bring their pets to hospital with them. By caring for their pets’ needs, the children assume an important duty which teaches them to act responsibly - toward themselves and the animals.

The tale of woe told by nine-year-old Nadine David shows just how quickly a relationship to a four-legged friend can develop. "Four years ago the doctors told us that nadine would never walk or talk," said her grandfather Udo Ziegler. Brain damage meant that the child was afflicted by serious speech and mobility impairments. No improvement was noted until two dolphin therapies in the United States brought the long-awaited upturn.

Adults and children are swimming in the water together with dolphins. "The animals circle the people nudging them - an uplifting feeling," says Ziegler. With the support provided by the intelligent sea-mammals, nadine soon learnt to walk, became calmer and began to piece together her first sentences.

David E Nathanson, Director of Dolphin Human Therapy (DHT) in Miami, has used dolphins as part of his therapy courses since 1988. Downs syndrome girls and boys come to him, and children with bone-marrow damage, but he also treats blind, deaf and autistic children. "The children’s awareness grows when they anticipate a special reward," says the psychologist. The young invalids also learn to develop trust and realise that they can overcome life’s hurdles.

In Germany, therapists in this discipline concentrate mainly on horses. Riding helps children in the process of detaching themselves from their parents and improves social skills, say experts. For many years, Heidi Wallert, the regional representative of the German curatorium for therapeutic equestrianism in Hamburg, and her daughter-in-law Anje Wallert have offered "hippo therapy" and curative paedagogical riding for the disabled. Children and youngsters suffering from paraplegia, neurological handicaps and accident injuries come to her.

"The animals’ higher body temperature ensures relaxation, relief from spasms and encourages suppleness of joints," confirms Gerhard Exner, head of the Centre for Paraplegics at a Hamburg Hospital. Unfortunately, despite its effectiveness, the treatment is still not recognised everywhere.

Anja Wallert is convinced of the therapeutic effects achieved through contact with horses - particularly for children with speech or behavioural disorders. "Often problems can be traced to negative experience with the parents," says the equestrian expert. "The horse accepts the children just as they are." (DPA)

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