Pak to remain suspended from Common Wealth

LONDON, Nov 1: Declaring that it will be premature to conclude that democracy has been restored in Pakistan, the Commonwealth today decided that the country remain suspended from the grouping.

"The Commonwealth Ministerial Group (CMAG) agreed to maintain the status quo on Pakistan’s suspension from the councils of the commonwealth pending greater clarity and an assessment of the role and functioning of democratic institutions," Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon told mediapersons here.

Answering a volley of questions, mostly from Pakistani journalists, McKinnon and Lt Gen Mompati S Merafhe, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of Botswana, asserted that it was too early to make any judgement on restoration of democracy in Pakistan. "Let us see when the Government is formed," Merafhe said.

In its concluding statement, the CMAG said "the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group looked forward to the early formation of a democratic Government with full executive powers and the establishment of elected legislatures with full constitutional and legislative authority."

Commonwealth sources said India and Australia blocked any attempt to lift sanctions against Pakistan.

Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth following the military coup that brought General Pervez Musharraf to power on October 12, 1999.

Another Awami League leader arrested

DHAKA, Nov 1: Former Bangladesh Minister and Awami League leader Talukder Abdul Khaleq, MP, was arrested today from his residence in the western town of Khulna.

A joint force of the Army and police personnel picked up Mr Khaleq, this afternoon. However, nothing was seized from the house of the ex-minister for disaster management and relief.

Police confirmed the arrest of the opposition Awami League lawmaker, but declined to say where he was taken.

Awami League sources said Mr Khaleq, general secretary of the Awami League’s Kulna city unit, was taken to the Army Camp set up at Khulna Stadium for conducting the antiterrorism operation, launched countrywide on October 16 midnight.

Plainclothes police personnel had gone to his house on Wednesday night also, but Khaleq was not at home.

Protesting his arrest, city Awami League would stage protests tomorrow and has called for a half-day hartal in the city on Sunday.

With his arrest, two sitting Members of Parliament and ministers of the former Awami League Government have been held.

Earlier, former Health Minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim MP was arrested in Dhaka. The Army had also arrested opposition leader Sheikh Hasina’s political secretary and former Deputy Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury.

They were given one month’s detention under the special powers act. (UNI)

Germany calls relationship with US ‘cornerstone’

NEW YORK, Nov 1: Amid continuing tensions with the United States over Iraq, Germany said today its alliance with Washington was a "cornerstone" of its foreign policy and reaffirmed its commitment to Israel, the United States’ staunchest ally in the West Asia.

"The trans-atlantic alliance between Berlin and Washington is a valuable asset and also a cornerstone of German foreign policy," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in a speech to a conference on global anti-semitism.

His remarks came two days after meeting US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington to clear up what the United States has called the poisoned atmosphere between the two longtime allies.

Fischer said the country that had spawned the holocaust had a moral responsibility to support Israel.

"Without any reservation, Germany endorses Israel’s right to exist and the right of its citizens to live within secure borders and at peace with their neighbors," he said.

"This wholehearted commitment to Israel is a key parameter of German foreign policy," he said, adding that Germany was Israel’s most reliable ally after the United States.

The United States and Germany have been at loggerheads over Washington’s plan to use military force against Iraq if Baghdad does not comply with UN resolutions and give up its weapons of mass destruction.

The disagreement between the two countries became more heated after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, while campaigning for reelection, said his Government would not follow the United States into a military "adventure" against Iraq and questioned whether Washington had a plan for Iraq after the departure of President Saddam Hussein.

Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, who is no longer in Government, fanned the flames when she was reported as saying that President George W Bush was using the same diversionary tactics as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

While in Washington yesterday, Fischer reiterated that Germany would not take part actively in any military strike on Iraq but added that the rift with Washington would heal over time.

"We have really serious, serious questions about the consequences of military action in Iraq ... The regime in Baghdad is a terrible regime but there are so many terrible regimes around the world by the way, unfortunately," he said. (AGENCIES)

Kuchma expects no conclusion on alleged Iraq sale

SIMFEROPOL, UKRAINE, Nov 1: Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma said today he did not expect US and British experts probing charges that Ukraine sold arms to Iraq in breach of UN sanctions would return a clearcut verdict.

Repeating his denial that Ukraine sold a "Kolchuga" aircraft detection system to Iraq, Kuchma said that, if the experts had a political aim, he would not be surprised if they said they had not received enough evidence from officials.

Kuchma and his Government are under growing pressure over the affair. Washington suspended financial aid and launched an investigation into the charges, based on a tape recording made by the veteran President’s former bodyguard.

The US-British team, which spent a week in Ukraine last month, is due to report its findings in the next few days.

Kuchma told reporters in the Crimean capital of Simferopol: "We have not yet received the conclusions (of the experts), although I want to announce with all honesty that Ukraine did not supply a Kolchuga radar system to Iraq and more generally has never supplied Iraq with weapons.

"I do not know what aim the commission had, but if it was political I would not rule out that it will announce that ukraine did not present enough evidence. This would not surprise us."

Asking the team to be "objective", the 64-year-old leader said the charges had complicated relations with NATO, which had downgraded an upcoming meeting with Ukraine later this month.

"Before there is a resolution to the question of whether ukraine sold a radar system or not, the (NATO) summit would not be expedient," Kuchma said. (AGENCIES)

Pak to remain suspended from COC

LONDON, Nov 1: The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) on the Harare declaration today decided to continue Pakistan’s suspension from the Council of Commonwealth (CoC).

The CMAG held its 20th meeting at Marlborough house here today to review developments in the countries within its jurisdiction and, in particular, consider commonwealth observer group’s report, which was present at the national and provincial assembly elections in Pakistan, held on October 10, 2002.

The CMAG, comprising of Foreign Ministers of Australia, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Botswana (Chairman), India, Malta, Nigeria and Samoa, agreed to maintain the status-quo for Pakistan’s suspension pending greater clarity and an assessment of the role and functioning of its democratic institutions.

The CMAG noted that according to the conclusions of the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG), certain measures had been introduced during the pre-election period which had a limiting effect on the process of restoring democracy.

It also expressed concern over the continued promulgation of new laws and constitutional amendments even after the elections.

Replying to a question, Group Chairman Lt Gen Mompati S Merfhe, Foreign Minister of Botswana, said the benchmark for the restoration of democracy depends on how much power is passed on to the new Government and the extent of constitutional powers vested in the elected legislative body.

He said that the CMAG had decided that due to concerns regarding fairness of the elections in Pakistan, the process of formation of Government and democratisation of other institutions would be closely watched.

"It is too early to make any judgement at this stage. There is no Government in position as yet. Restoration of democracy is the essence and the finishing line has to be touched," he said.

Asked if the decision would further affect Indo-Pak relations, Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said, "It is not India’s decision, it is CMAG’s decision."

"I would say we are satisfied," he added. (UNI)

Rockets land near US bases in Afghanistan

KABUL, Nov 1: Six rockets landed near American positions in Southeastern Afghanistan early today but caused no casualties, the US military said.

A military statement said two a-10 ground attack aircraft were scrambled from Bagram air base north of Kabul after three rockets landed about one km from a special forces base at Gardez, capital of Paktia province, between midnight and one AM.

It said another rocket landed at the airfield of a US forward operations base in nearby Khost at 12.20 AM then two more within 10 minutes of each other at about 4 AM.

It said there were no casualties in the incidents.

However, two US soldiers were injured when their sports utility vehicle rolled over while travelling in a three-vehicle convoy from the central town of Bamiyan to the US headquarters at Bagram on Thursday.

The statement said one of the soldiers lost consciousness and the other suffered cuts to a hand. They were being treated at Bagram and were in stable condition.

The statement said the a-10s scrambled after the rocket attack did not discover any activity, but US paratroopers found three more rockets pointed at the base at Khost. The rockets were found about six km from the base and were destroyed.

US bases in Afghanistan have come under sporadic but ineffective rocket attack in recent months as a US-led coalition has pursued remnants of the former Taliban regime and its Al Qaeda allies blamed for the attacks on New York and Washington last year.

The military statement also said coalition special forces soldiers had detained for questioning a person found carrying an AK-47 assault rifle and a two-way radio outside Lwara, the site of another US base not far from Khost. (AGENCIES)

Sharon refuses policy change to include
right-wing parties

JERUSALEM, Nov 1: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he will not change the basic policies of his Government in an effort to woo extreme right parties into his coalition.

The moderate Labor Party, the largest faction in Sharon’s coalition, quit the Government this week over a budget dispute that left the Government without a majority and makes it vulnerable to a no-confidence vote in parliament that could bring down the Government and force new elections.

Sharon is looking to small, far-right parties in an attempt to maintain a viable coalition, but he said he would not change his positions to accommodate them.

"I am on the way to forming a Government with a different make-up," he told the Maariv newspaper. He stressed that the "policy lines will remain exactly the same policy lines and its goals won’t change: War on terror, renewing political negotiations and reaching an agreement."

Sharon’s coalition now has only 55 seats in the 120-seat Parliament.

One candidate for inclusion is the far-right national union-Israel Beiteinu Party, which has seven seats, enough to restore the Government’s majority.

The party was originally part of Sharon’s coalition when it was formed last year, but later left amid policy disputes.

"The unity Government was made up of right- and left-wing parties, and the National Union Party signed on to the current guidelines," Cabinet member Danny Naveh said.

National Union Legislators have said they want Sharon to distance himself from some of the policies they believe were put in place to appease the Labor Party. (AP)

UN monitors troops surrounding Chechen refugees

GENEVA, Nov 1: The United Nations announced today it was closely monitoring Russian troops deployed around Chechen refugee camps, saying some refugees saw their presence as a threat or provocation.

Russia has stepped up operations to hunt down Chechen separatists linked to a bloody hostage siege in a Moscow theatre last week. Hundreds of troops have surrounded Chechen refugee camps in the Ingushetia region, which borders Chechnya.

The Russian authorities had told the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that the deployments were designed to prevent rebel attacks on the camps, a UNHCR spokesman said.

"We are also concerned about increasing anxiety among the internally displaced persons, some of whom consider the presence of troops so close to the camps as a potential threat or provocation," spokesman Ron Redmond told a news conference.

"UNHCR protection staff are very closely watching developments in camps for internally displaced Chechens in Ingushetia."

Redmond said the troops had been deployed around four camps holding 17,000 Chechens. Ingushetia has about 110,000 displaced Chechens living either in tent camps or with friends or family.

Since yesterday, soldiers have been checking all cars and people entering or leaving the camps, and only those with registration documents were allowed to move freely, Redmond said.

UNHCR has asked Russia to provide registration papers to all refugees as soon as possible.

The siege ended when Russian troops stormed the theatre. About 50 rebels died in the assault, and a strong anaesthetic gas pumped into the theatre killed 117 of the more than 750 hostages.

Russia has fought two wars in the breakaway region. The first in 1994-96 ended in de-facto independence for Chechnya. Moscow’s troops returned in 1999. (AGENCIES)

| home | state | national | business | editorial | advertisement | sports
| international | weather | mailbag | suggestions | search | subscribe | send mail |