President accuses Ranil Govt of ‘state terrorism’

COLOMBO, Oct 14: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has accused the United National Front (UNF) Government of perpetrating "one party dictatorship" and "state terrorism" and said the Government was manipulating to take away her powers as the commander in chief of the armed forces.

Ms Kumaratunga said she was not against the Government’s constitutional amendments on Parliament dissolution, but added she would not agree with the Government’s proposal to clip her powers as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

"I will remain in power on the mandate given by the people to fulfil their aspirations," she said at the fifth national conference of the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, the trade union of her People’s Alliance (PA) in Colombo yesterday.

Pointing out that her life was in danger not because of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, but due to those who were in power, she said "the Wickremesinghe Government is taking little action against the LTTE in phase of the cease-fire agreement, while the LTTE has repeatedly violated it and continue to increase its cadres and weaponry."

"I came to know that the National Intelligence Bureau has learnt the LTTE cadres have increased to 10,000 from 5000-6000, but the Government was playing to the whims and fancies of the tigers and betraying the people of the country," the local daily mirror quoted the President as saying at the meeting. The President said that an informal separate state of Eelam has already been established by the LTTE, which she said was now heading for an ‘eastern establishment’.

"Within two months the tigers were behind five major incidents in the East. We should not offer things that Prabhakaran could not win through weapons in the name of peace. The Government should be aware of the boundaries of peace," she said.

Ms Kumaratunga’s comments came a couple of days after the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers, including Defence Minister Thilak Marapana, briefed her on the progress of the peace process and the outcome of the first round of talks with the rebels in Thailand.

Accusing the Wickremesinghe Government of taking political revenge on her party members and security guards, the President pointed out that the Government had recently released two LTTE cadres who were detained for allegedly felling trees and possessing firearms, while keeping her bodyguards behind the bars on ‘trumped-up charges’.

She called upon the working force of the country to be on the alert and fight for their rights in the face of the Government’s privatisation programs. She said the Government had already planned to sell the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Electricity Board, Transport, Insurance Corporation and so on, but vowed that she would exercise her executive powers to stop them. (UNI)

Sikhs in US to clear misunderstandings
about their religion

WASHINGTON, Oct 14: Concerned over more than 200 hate crimes being reported against their community in the wake of the Sept 11 strikes, US-based Sikhs will organise a unique programme aimed at clearing misunderstandings about the world’s fifth largest religion.

Half a million Sikhs in the US will hold a "reach out to neighbours" programme to clear misunderstanding about the religion, Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) said today.

As Sikhs have a distinctive identity due to their turbans and beards, they were erroneously associated with Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, the organisers from SCORE said.

"Although Sikhs have resided and worked in this country for more than 100 years, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks revealed that many Americans are ignorant of Sikh beliefs and their identity," the organisers said.

Sikh children were being victimised by their peers leading to tremendous psychological stress, they alleged.

A national event - ‘sharing your faith with your neighbours’ - will be held on Nov 10 in association with more than 100 Sikh Gurdwaras in the US and it will coincide with the birth-anniversary of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, which is being celebrated from Nov 16-19, they said.

The objective of this event will be to make Americans aware about contributions of Sikhs to the US, they said.

It will also educate non-Sikhs about the Sikh religion and its traditions, including singing and reading of hymns from the Sikh scriptures besides narrating historical passages pertaining to Sikhs, they added.

The specially designed programme will also involve non-Sikhs mingling with their Sikh neighbours and friends and Partaking Langar (a community vegetarian meal), they added.

"We have drawn upon the experience of the other faith communities in America that have a long tradition of inviting their neighbours to observe their services and participate in meals to create an awareness about themselves," Sher Singh, SCORE’s Community Relations Director, said.

"We hope to bring our message to as many people as possible. In addition to other faith communities, we will be inviting elected officials, members of civic groups and police and other law enforcement and support agencies," Rajwant Singh, Chairman of SCORE, said.

"We believe it would strengthen the hands of the police in dealing with future hate crimes if they had greater knowledge of Sikh beliefs and practices," he added. (PTI)

Families search for loved ones on Bali

BALI, INDONESIA, Oct 14: Anxious families and friends hunted for loved ones on the Indonesian resort island of Bali today after bomb blasts killed at least 183 revellers, mostly young westerners, in a popular nightclub strip.

The worst act of terror since the September 11 attacks on the United States heightened fears the Al Qaeda network, scattered from Afghanistan, was regrouping and planning more assaults.

It raised pressure on Indonesia to respond to repeated urgings from the United States, Australia, Singapore and other Asian neighbours to drop its complacency and crack down on militant Islamic groups.

Many Indonesians appeared stunned at the carnage on the "island of the gods" — a Hindu enclave in a moderate Muslim nation that had been cocooned from the violence and unrest that has engulfed the country since former strongman Suharto was toppled nearly five years ago.

"Innocence lost," mourned a headline in the Jakarta Post. Australian C-130 hercules airforce planes flew through the night to evacuate injured Australians, many of them burned and maimed after a suspected car bomb outside the Sari Nightclub on Kuta Beach ignited an inferno late on Saturday night. Some 200 were airlifted to the northern city of Darwin.

Kuta is a playground for young Australians who flock to its white beaches for the Sun and Surf, and spend the night partying in a row of bars and discotheques. Small groups of relatives and friends flew into Bali on Monday and headed for hospital morgues to try to identify the charred bodies of their loved ones.

They filed silently into a small room at the main Sanglah Hospital to view photographs. Among them was Dutch tourist Paul Goulmy looking for a friend last seen at the sari.

"We think the chances of finding him are very, very low," he said.

Hundreds of frightened and injured tourists headed for the airport to catch flights home.

Australia said 15 of its nationals were confirmed dead and about 220 unaccounted for. One died on the flight home. The list of victims also included nationals from Indonesia, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, Ecuador and Sweden.

The United States ordered all non-essential Government personnel and dependents — some 300 people in all — to leave Indonesia. The State Department said the embassy in Jakarta and Consulate in Surabaya would remain open, but may suspend service or close from time to time.

Authorities were still not pointing any finger of blame.

"We are still developing the investigation from all information we have received," national police chief Da’I Bachtiar told reporters.

Diplomats were carefully watching for any moves against the Jemaah Islamiah group, whose members have been rounded up around Southeast Asia but whose most public face, Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, runs a religious school in Cental Java. Yesterday, Bashir blamed the United States for the attacks. "It would be impossible for indonesians to do it," he told a news conference. "Indonesians don’t have such powerful explosives."

Indonesia’s military chief Endriartono Sutarto told reporters he would propose to the cabinet a joint security force to coordinate intelligence.

"Why don’t we form a body and work together under one roof, the military, the police and national intelligence, to solve this case," he said.

The attacks seemed certain to devastate Bali’s tourist industry, the island’s lifeblood. And business leaders worried already jittery foreign investors will flee the world’s fourth most populous nation.

"We’re finished," said Aburizal Bakrie, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Our defence to convince people that doing business in Indonesia is safe is finished."

"Who wants to invest in this kind of situation? not only foreign investors, local investors will think a thousand times before making any investment."

The Jakarta stock market dived almost nine percent in morning trade and the Rupiah currency slumped.

"The world must confront this global menace, terrorism," US President George W Bush said. "And we must call this despicable act by its rightful name, murder." An FBI team was on its way to Bali to help in the blast investigation. Republican US Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama said after an FBI and CIA briefing there was "a definite terrorist link" to the bombings and more assaults could be expected.

A senior US official said Al Qaeda had long had a presence in the most populous Muslim country, but had no information on whether Al Qaeda was involved in the blasts.

"There are a number of reasons that you have to say that it might be them, but we don’t know that," the official said. "They’ve been in Indonesia...They’re all running from Afghanistan. They’ve got to go someplace."

Al Qaeda is suspected in an attack last week that killed a US marine in Kuwait. The blast that gutted a French Tanker near Yemen last week resembled the attack two years ago on the US destroyer Cole that killed 17 sailors, which Washington blames on Al Qaeda.

The New York Times on Sunday quoted senior Government officials saying the incidents showed "the terror network had reconstituted itself, with smaller groups prompted to begin new attacks by inflammatory new messages from (Al) Qaeda leaders."

New tapes released last week contained renewed Al Qaeda threats to the United States and its allies. (AGENCIES)

Annan, Jiang discuss Iraq, but not resolutions
against Baghdad

BEIJING, Oct 14: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan today discussed the vexed Iraq issue with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, whose country is a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, but possible tough resolutions against Baghdad didn’t figure in their talks.

"Iraq came up but we did not discuss the resolutions," annan, who is on a two-day visit to China, told reporters after his meeting with Jiang here.

During the meeting, Jiang called for a peaceful solution through "political means" to the Iraqi issue and backed UN’s role in easing international tensions.

"China has always held the Iraqi issue should be solved peacefully by political means, and it supports the United Nations’ role in this respect," he said.

Praising the UN’s role in international affairs, Jiang said it had contributed in the past five decades to safeguarding world peace and promoting cooperation and development.

Expressing appreciation for China’s support for the UN, Annan said the UN’s role and that of its Security Council should be strengthened in solving the Iraq issue.

This, he said, would enable the UN Security Council (UNSC) to convince Iraq to follow relevant UNSC resolutions, accept inspections and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, promote a proper settlement and avoid any military conflicts occurring in the region, the official Xinhua new agency reported.

Jiang said he hoped the UN would keep playing a crucial role in international affairs in the new century, and China would continue to firmly support the UN and its secretary-general’s efforts.

China is opposed to military intervention in Iraq as suggested by the US and UK and supports the stand taken by France and Russia.

During the meeting, Annan also condemned the bomb attack on the Indonesia island resort of Bali that killed over 180 people, most of them foreigners, terming it as "brutal and inhuman act".

"We all believe there is a need for international cooperation particularly when it comes to fighting terrorism, and what happened in Indonesia really underscores a need for us to work together to defeat the scourge of terrorism," Annan told Jiang.

Jiang said the world was undergoing great changes, experiencing profound and complex shifts in the international situation and the evolutionary twists and turns of multi-polarisation and economic globalisation.

With more unstable factors in international relations, peace and development was still the theme of the times and in the interests and aspirations of all people, he said.

Jiang said the international situation now and in the near future was characterised by general peace and stability, but with regional wars, tensions and turbulence.

The economic revival of developing countries was an historical trend that could not be stopped, and represented an important feature of the new global pattern in the 21st century, Jiang noted.

The Chinese President stressed that the sound development of the world economy could not be based on a rich minority and poor majority for long, and it was difficult to achieve lasting pace and stability in an unevenly developed world.

The international community should pay due attention to development from a strategic perspective, Jiang said.

Annan, who is in China for his fifth visit, also met Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.

Annan began his three-day visit to China yesterday in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang province. Zhejiang University conferred an honorary doctorate on Annan today.

In his acceptance speech, Annan pointed out that China has achieved a rate of economic growth that is the envy of almost all other countries.

"China is one of the few countries that at present are successfully defying the gloomy outlook in the global economy," he said.

"China has made progress in reducing poverty — progress on a scale that is unprecedented in human history."

He said through trade and investment, China was building bridges across the globe. With its membership in the World Trade Organisation, China had become even more fully engaged in the international community — opening up new opportunities for economic cooperation, he said.

Annan also dwelt on the importance on the fight against HIV/AIDS in China and said that young people were the key in the fight against AIDS, and expressed satisfaction that Chinese youngsters were leading the campaign. (PTI)

Blair to press for new action on extremists

LONDON, Oct 14: British Prime Minister Tony Blair today said he would press for further coordinated international action to deal with extremist groups like those behind Saturday’s carnage on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"We have yet again evidence of the appalling depths to which these extremists will sink," Blair, who will make a fuller statement to Parliament tomorrow, told reporters outside his downing street office.

"As I shall say to the House of Commons tomorrow it is also important now that we consider what further action we can take at an international level to make sure that these groups are dealt with and dealt with properly before many more innocent lives are lost," a grim-faced Blair said.

Indonesia linked the Al Qaeda network to Saturday’s Bali bomb explosions that killed nearly 200 people, conceding for the first time today the group was operating in the Muslim country. (AGENCIES)

Britons must be free to eat to death, freedom society says

LONDON, Oct 14: Britons should be free to consume what they want, even if that means "eating themselves to death", a libertarian group that also advocates the right to smoke said today.

The free society, which campaigns against Government "interference" in everyday life, said it opposed all official action to promote healthy eating habits and warned politicians might use tax penalties to discourage the consumption of unhealthy products.

The group has been set up by the organisers of forest - the freedom organisation for the right to enjoy smoking tobacco - which campaigns for smokers’ rights.

"The problem is that Government is now trying to interfere in so many aspects of our lives," Free Society Director Simon Clark told the BBC.

"People have to take responsibility for their own actions. Government is taking over our lives. Politicians want to be seen to be doing something," he added.

"If people wish to eat themselves to death by eating too much fatty food, that has to be their choice," Clark said.

In Britain, as throughout the European Union, tobacco has long carried a variety of health warnings, and there is increasing focus on alcohol consumption in state health campaigns.

Some schools have gone further and are monitoring the lunch boxes of young children to ensure healthy eating. This has sparked anger among parents who see this as unwarranted interference.

Attempts in the United States to prosecute fast-food chains for promoting fatty food have drawn considerable interest in Britain. (DPA)

UN fears for Inspectors in Iraq no-fly zones

VIENNA, Oct 14: UN Weapons Inspectors, preparing to return to Iraq after a four-year break, are insisting on safety guarantees in no-fly zones enforced by US and British warplanes, officials said today.

Under threat of a military attack led by the United States, Iraq has agreed to the return of Weapons Inspectors but says it cannot guarantee their safety in no-fly zones over the north and south of the country.

Iraq does not recognise the zones, where US and British warplanes have stepped up raids in recent weeks. The zones were set up after the 1991 Gulf war in which US led forces drove Iraqi invasion troops out of Kuwait.

"What we’re asking for is security of our own aircraft, when (UN experts) are flying somewhere to do inspections, flying in and out of the country, whether for rotations or medical evacuations or this kind of thing," a UN source told newsmen.

Iraq has said the inspectors, whose job is to destroy weapons of mass destruction that the United States alleges Baghdad is developing, could return on October 19. But it is doubtful they would go to baghdad before the UN Security Council adopts a new resolution setting guidelines for their work, currently the subject of heated debate.

The Inspectors’ first concern is obtaining a safety pledge from Iraq, but UN officials have said they would seek similar pledges from the US and Britain. The no-fly zones protect Kurds in the North and Shi’ite Muslims in the South of Iraq.

"They (Iraq) are saying that when a piece of airspace turns into a combat zone, anything can happen and you shouldn’t be there. We’re not going to deliberately fire at you, but in the heat of battle we just don’t know what can happen," he said.

On October 8, Chief UN Weapons Inspector Hans Blix and head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed Elbaradei sent a letter to Iraq demanding it take "all steps within its control" to ensure the safety of UN aircraft.

Baghdad responded in an October 10 letter from Iraqi Presidential Adviser General Amir Al-Saadi, repeating its view that the no-fly zones were illegal and only if they were abolished could the Iraqis guarantee the UN teams’ safety.

Diplomats said a subsequent Iraqi letter fell short of UN disarmament officials’ requirements.

The UN source said that it was not only the Iraqis who represented a threat to the lives of Weapons Inspectors. British and US forces, who would not be informed ahead of time about the location of surprise inspections, could also be a danger.

"I’d be curious as to whether even the US could offer that kind of assurance," the UN official said.

Nor would UN Inspectors in the air be the only ones in danger in the no-fly zones. The lives of any UN staff caught on the ground during an exchange of fire between the Iraqis and US and British forces could also be at serious risk. (AGENCIES)

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