Daily Excelsior... World

People of J&K have chosen ballot over bullet: India

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5: Charging Pakistan with trying to foster a climate of fear and instability during elections in Jammu and Kashmir, .....more

Deuba terms his ouster
as "unconstitutional"

KATHMANDU, Oct 5: Hours after Nepal’s King Gyanendra stunned the nation by dismissing him as Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba today said his "surprise" ouster was "unconstitutional", as the royal move triggered .....more

Pak poll a vote for or
against US: Islamists

LAHORE, Oct 5: Islamic party leaders have stepped up their campaign against the US presence in Pakistan, labelling the general elections next Thursday a watershed event for anti- and pro-. ....more

Israeli troops kill Palestinian in clash, say witnesses

NABLUS, Oct 5: Israeli soldiers shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian during clashes with stone-throwing protesters today, Palestinian witnesses and medics said, on the eve of an international round of peace diplomacy. ......more

Bush pushes Congress
on Iraq resolution

WASHINGTON, Oct 5: US President George W Bush urged lawmakers today to support a measure authorizing the use of force if necessary to disarm Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. .......more

Foreign reporters receive death threats in Italy

MILAN, Oct 5: At least seven foreign reporters have received letters purporting to be from red brigade guerrillas, threatening to kill them unless...........more

People of J&K have chosen ballot over bullet: India

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5: Charging Pakistan with trying to foster a climate of fear and instability during elections in Jammu and Kashmir, India has said the people of the State have shown their preference to the ballot over the bullet and expressed "unflinching" resolve to fight terrorism.

"Our commitment to the rule of law remains undiminished" despite State-sponsored cross border terrorism taking "horrendous" toll of tens of thousands of lives during the last two decades, India’s ambassador to the UN V K Nambiar told the Security Council yesterday.

Despite campaign of "terror and intimidation" inspired by Pakistan, he said people of Jammu and Kashmir have shown that their preferred choice is the ballot to the bullet" - a preference seen in all democratic societies.

Speaking about ruthlessness of terrorists, he reminded the council of recent attack on a temple in Gujarat which left more than 30 innocent men, women and children dead.

Calling for a global concerted fight against terrorism, Nambiar said it is the common enemy of all peoples, of all beliefs and all religions.

"It is a disorder which seeks to undermine peaceful, democratic and cooperative order that most civil societies aspire to attain," he added.

Participating on the debate on ‘threats of international peace and security caused by terrorists, he said it is intended to cause physical, psychological, social and political damage of the scale that is meant to destabilize and communities and to disrupt and retard peace, economic progress and development, social harmony and political institution building.

In this context, he warned that open, democratic and liberal societies are most vulnerable to this scourge. (PTI)

Deuba terms his ouster as "unconstitutional"

"I am surprised. As far as I have understood, the king cannot remove me as per the Constitution," Deuba said.

Nepalese politics took a dramatic turn last night when the king in a televised address announced sacking of Deuba and dissolving of his cabinet. Earlier Deuba had asked the king to postpone the November 13 polls because of maoist insurgecy.

"I wanted elections and I had decided to postpone elections on request by the all party meeting" Deuba said.

Challenging his ouster, he said "I cannot be removed constitutionally."

According to a source close to Deuba, the king had asked him to voluntarily resign from the post before sacking him.

The king held separate meetings with various political leaders including former Premier G P Koirala, before making the announcement.

Political leaders also reacted sharply to the disbanding of the Deuba cabinet. Nepali Congress is to hold another meeting later in the day after which the formal view point of the party will be made public, its spokesman Arjun Narsingh KC said.

Reacting to the royal move, Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of Nepal Communist Party (UML), said "this is extremely shocking."

This is an "unthinkable" step, he said.

Lilamani Pokhrel, leader of Janamorcha Nepal, said the achievements of people’s movement of 1990 and its spirit have been "jeopardised" by the move.

"The king has created a politial vacuum by sacking the Prime Minister," he said.

In 1990 a multi-party movement succeeded in overthrowing the 30-year party less system of autocratic rule and democracy was re-established.

Nepalese political parties were today holding meetings to discuss the political developments after the king’s move, party sources said. (PTI)

Pak poll a vote for or against US: Islamists

Thousands of supporters gathered in Minar-i-Pakistan in the eastern city of Lahore last evening to hear a succession of Islamic leaders drum up anti-American sentiment, as they vowed to kick out US troops using Pakistani bases for the war in Afghanistan.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad accused the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of threatening Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia "after setting up FBI centers in Pakistan."

About a dozen FBI agents have been operating along the Afghan border area and in some cities in a bid to track down Taliban and Al-Qaeda remnants, assisting Pakistani forces.

The white-bearded cleric told the 8,000 to 10,000 faithful it was "intolerable" that the United States was "interfering in our mosques and seminaries."

Ahmad heads one of six Islamic parties which have formed an alliance called Muttahida Majlils-e-Amal (MMA), combining their forces in the hope of boosting their support over the last vote five years ago.

Railing against the US, MMA’s overall leader Shah Ahmed Noorani said it was a question of solidarity for all Pakistanis to oppose the US forces.

Shiite politician Sajid Naqvi, leader of the Millat-e-Jafria Pakistan (MJP), lambasted the military Government of President Pervez Musharraf and held it responsible for the current problems facing the country. (AFP)

Israeli troops kill Palestinian in clash, say witnesses

The Israeli Army said its troops fired "deterrence shots not aimed at people" after Palestinians threw rocks and opened fire.

The incident in the West Bank city of Nablus, which has been under curfew for more than 100 days, inflamed tensions ahead of the arrival of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana today. Night for shuttle talks with Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinian political sources said solana would bear a letter from the "quartet" of international mediators — the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union — aimed at breaking the current stalemate.

US West Asia Envoy William Burns is expected to visit in coming days and a source close to the Israeli Government said US President George W Bush had invited Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Washington for a meeting on October 15.

Political sources said Sharon’s talks with Bush would address both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iraq.

The youth killed in the West Bank city of Nablus today, Ammar Rajab, was the second Palestinian teenager to be killed in the West Bank in as many days.

Nablus residents said soldiers, who had often allowed children to attend unofficial classes at nearby schools despite the curfew, today ordered them back home, prompting protesters to begin throwing stones.

Israel has re-occupied West Bank cities since a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings and has imposed military curfews, saying they help prevent further attacks. Palestinians and human rights organisations say the measures are collective punishment. At least 1,678 Palestinians and 602 Israelis have been killed in the Palestinian revolt against occupation, which broke out in September 2000 after peace talks with Israel foundered.

Initial moves toward a ceasefire, which included an Israeli pullback from the West Bank town of Bethlehem, were thwarted when Israel besieged the Ramallah base of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat for 10 days last month after a suicide attack.

An Israeli Government source said that following the resolution of the siege, the sides were now ready to return to talks on the security pact that led to the pullout in August.

Solana has meetings on Sunday with Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and a meeting with Arafat on Monday.

Dan Meridor, an Israeli minister without portfolio from the ruling Likud Party, told Israel radio that the Government should move ahead with a peace initiative before any US attack on Iraq.

Meridor said Israel should propose a long-term interim agreement that would include the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders would be worked out later.

Israel is concerned Iraq will respond to a US attack by launching scud missiles with biological or chemical weapons at the Jewish state. In the 1991 Gulf war, Iraq fired 39 scuds with conventional warheads at Israel, causing few casualties.

Israel Army chief Lieutenant-General Moshe Yaalon told Israeli television yesterday: "Any kind of Iraqi initiative to attack Israel will require israel, of course, to defend itself." (AGENCIES)

Bush pushes Congress on Iraq resolution

WASHINGTON, Oct 5: US President George W Bush urged lawmakers today to support a measure authorizing the use of force if necessary to disarm Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.

Leaders of the House of Representatives agreed Wednesday to give Bush broad authority to use military force against Iraq.

The US Senate debated the matter yesterday with a vote on the measure most likely on Wednesday or Thursday.

"By supporting the resolution now before them, members of Congress will send a clear message to Saddam: His only choice is to fully comply with the demands of the world," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

"The time for that choice is limited," he emphasized. Supporting this resolution will also show the resolve of the United States, and will help spur the United Nations to act."

Bush warned that the "danger to America from the Iraqi regime is grave and growing," but he added: "Should force be required to bring Saddam to account, the United States will work with other nations to help the Iraqi people rebuild." (AFP)

Foreign reporters receive death threats in Italy

MILAN, Oct 5: At least seven foreign reporters have received letters purporting to be from red brigade guerrillas, threatening to kill them unless they leave Italy by October 30, authorities and journalists said today.

Police played down the threat as a possible "bad joke" and said the one-page letters in Italian sent over the past two weeks did not appear to be the work of the real red brigades.

Police said US, British and Israeli correspondents based in Milan and Rome have received the hand-written letters with "Brigate Rosse" (red brigades) across the top and proclaiming "global war against Anglo-American-Zionist terrorism".

At least two of the letters bore the red brigades’ five-point star signature. Police in Rome said two journalists had received threats over the telephone, but gave no details.

"This is not how the red brigades operate," a police official in Milan said. "The type of letter, the contents, the writing all point to a bad joke in very bad taste."

The extreme-left group operated in the 1970s and 1980s during Italy’s bloodiest post-war period, dubbed "the years of lead" for the quantity of bullets used by urban guerrillas.

A Rome investigator said the letters were not very credible.

But several journalists who received the letters said they had been advised by security experts and embassy officials to take precautions, including changing their daily route to work.

The US Embassy declined to comment. Diplomats at the British and Israeli Embassies could not be reached for comment. (AGENCIES)